The Path Not Taken

In a response to critics, R.S. Peters acknowledged that a more general concept of education exists than the ‘school-related’ one he analysed and defended his decision to ignore it by saying that it ‘indiscriminately’ marks out the ‘mundane, instrumentally oriented operations’ involved in rearing children. In this paper I sketch in the portion of the educational landscape that Peters left out of the picture. Once seen, it becomes apparent not only that he staked out just one small part of a vast domain but also that he rendered invisible some of the most basic philosophical issues and problems that confront humankind.