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Epistemology in Excess? A Response to Williams

Emma Williams’ ‘In Excess of Epistemology’ admirably endeavours to open the way to an account of critical thinking that goes beyond the one I have defended ad nauseum in recent decades by developing, via the work of Charles Taylor and Martin Heidegger, ‘a radically different conception of thinking and the human being who thinks’, one that ‘does more justice to receptive and responsible conditions of human thought.’ In this response I hope to show that much of Williams’ alternative approach is compatible with my own; that, where incompatible, the alternative is problematic; and, finally, that there is a risk of talking past one another, talking at cross‐purposes, that all sides must work to overcome.     

'Radical' Pedagogy Requires 'Conservative' Epistemology

Many defences of multiculturalist educational initiatives conjoin a'liberal' or 'radical' moral/political view—that education should endeavour to treat students with respect, and that respecting non-dominant,'marginalised' students requires protecting them from the hegemonic domination of the dominant culture—with what appears to be an equally radical epistemological view, according to which respecting minority students and cultures requires respecting their culturally specific epistemologies, which in turn requires refraining from imposing upon them a dominating hegemonic epistemology concerning the nature of truth, rational justification, and so on. In this paper I argue (1) that this'radical' epistemological position is fatally flawed; and (2) that, if true, it would undermine, rather than undergird, the favoured moral l political view. I argue, that is, that proponents of'radical' pedagogy would do better to reject the associated'radical' epistemological view in favour of a more traditional,'conservative' one.     

Towards Understanding of Social Capital and Citizenship Education

Social capital is often seen as an indicator of the effectiveness of a society. Societies that are healthy and functioning are also well stocked with social capital. However, social capital is not necessarily 'good'. In the disturbingly troubled times facing western democracies since 2001 the concept of social capital appears all the more relevant. Societies which are significantly divided, it may be argued, demonstrate less trust, civic engagement, positive networking and mutual cooperation among members. In turn this can negatively affect the quality of life of members. This argument is examined from the perspective of school programmes of citizenship education in democratic and newly democratic states. What constitutes divided societies is discussed in other articles within this issue, but the emphasis is upon severe divisions, invariably involving violence. Some of the comments in this paper are speculative and potentially contentious. Nevertheless it is important to raise these issues at this time, particularly for the benefit of emergent and newly formed democracies who may see education and social capital formation as the panacea for their future. We suggest there are many 'lessons' for divided societies wishing to enhance their social capital, including an increase in student years of schooling, designing citizenship education based on inclusive democratic citizenship, and engaging students in active participation to build trust, cooperation and networking skills.     

Feminism in Scotland: Self-identification and stereotypes

A questionnaire concerned with gender issues was completed by 2029 women and 2137 men students at a Scottish University. Of the women respondents, 1252 answered a question about whether they thought of themselves as feminists; 5% ticked 'always', 9% 'often', 59% 'occasionally' and 27% 'never'. Women in the 36-45 year old age bracket and postgraduate women were most likely to identify as feminists. This question was included in a factor analysis with items concerning gender roles. It loaded strongly only on the third factor, which linked strong feminist identification to an endorsement of an essentialist model of gender differences. Analysis of extended comments in response to a question about the image of feminism indicated that both male and female students were affected by negative stereotypes of feminism in the media. It was concluded that the study showed a somewhat stronger level of identification with feminism than previous studies.     

Working Together on Education and Research

This article follows a paper ‘Bridging the Gap’ presented to the International Conference on Research and Higher Education in Building Construction which was held in Paris in February 1994. The paper looked at how the School of Construction, Housing and Surveying at the University of Westminster has worked with the building construction industry in the context of two of the conference themes: these were how to train through research and how to involve industry in higher education and research. This article expands on the previous examination of these themes and suggests how the approach could contribute to a fresh approach to training and education. It reviews the progress so far on this initiative and looks to the future to provide even more fruitful models for universities and industry to work together on higher education and research.     

Autonomy, Critical Thinking and the Wittgensteinian Legacy: Reflections on Christopher Winch, Education, Autonomy and Critical Thinking

In this review of Christopher Winch's new book, Education, Autonomy and Critical Thinking (2006), I discuss its main theses, supporting some and criticising others. In particular, I take issue with several of Winch's claims and arguments concerning critical thinking and rationality, and deplore his reliance on what I suggest are problematic strains of the later Wittgenstein. But these criticisms are not such as to upend Winch's powerful critique of antiperfectionism and 'strong autonomy' or his defence of 'weak autonomy'. His account of autonomy as an educational aim is important and in several respects compelling.