The aim of the article is to theoretically develop a notion of digital "Bildung" that accepts the "world" of today as characterised by the entanglement of humans and technology. I draw on Adorno's critical notion of "Bildung," Luciano Floridi's and Katherine Hayles' respective understandings of the human-technology…

Much of the literature exploring Chinese international student engagement with critical thinking in Western universities draws on reductive essentialisations of 'Confucianism' in efforts to explain cross-cultural differences. In this paper I review literature problematising these tendencies. I then shift focus from inferences about how philosophy…

While virtual simulations are a familiar professional training tool, they have only recently been implemented in teacher education programs. These simulations are used to complement traditional student teacher placement. In this paper, the author critically examines one teacher training simulation, TeachLivE, specifically in terms of its implicit…

This paper seeks to reconceptualise the basis for trusting teachers in current educational discourses. It proposes moving away from trust based on 'absolute accuracy' to trust as encapsulated in the practice of parrhesia. On the surface, parrhesia appears to be the opposite of Sartre's concept of 'bad faith'. Paradoxically, however, our attempts…

In this essay, I ask what form of historical consciousness schools should nurture in students. The two criteria I set up in this regard are plausibility--is the account of history plausible--and practicality--does the form of historical consciousness help young people contribute to the betterment of society. The level of my analysis is that of…

Students today are habitual users of digital technology. However, they do not examine the nature of their relationship with technology. Even though we are all enduring severe environmental crises including the COVID-19 pandemic, our students do not appear to see the interrelated connections between the environmental crisis and themselves. A case…

This paper assumes that educators are now involved in a struggle for their souls and for the souls of their students. The idea of the soul in this case is not the religious one, but the soul invoked by Foucault (1977) to name that aspect of self, (subjectivity, psyche) that 'exists, or is produced … within the body … or born … out of methods of…

I here explore the educational potential of cinema and TV-series through the eyes of the French philosopher Alain Badiou. To illustrate, I read the Norwegian web-based TV-series "Skam" (shame), which reached out to millions of Nordic teens by a broad distribution, easy access and speaking a language young people could relate to. The…

The aim of this article is to make a case for Aristotelian friendship as a 'method' of moral education "qua" mutual character development. After setting out some Aristotelian assumptions about friendship and education (and revising some of those) in the "Aristotle and Beyond: Some Basics about Character Friendship and…

This paper shows that philosophy and contemplation are integral parts of leisure ("scholé") and of a fully conscious educative experience. Through examination of the concepts of philosophy, the philosopher, and contemplation, it will be proposed that leisure is a necessary "condition" for philosophy and for education. To…

In the world of Philosophy for Children (P4C), the word "method" is found frequently in its literature and in its practitioner's handbooks. This paper focuses on the idea of community of philosophical inquiry (CPI) as P4C's methodological framework for educational purposes, and evaluates that framework and those purposes in light of the…

Hannah Arendt has a particular notion of thinking that both is and is not (in her sense of the term) philosophical. While not guided by the search for meta principles, nor concerned with establishing logical systems, her notion of thinking as the examination of "whatever happens to come to pass," and its significance for saving our world…

The primary purpose of this paper is to outline the conceptual means by which it is possible to be optimistic about education. To provide this outline I turn to Ian Hunter and David Blacker, after a brief introduction to Nietzsche's conceptions of optimism and pessimism, to show why certain forms of optimism in education are either intellectually…

Within educational philosophy and theory there has recently been a re-turn to the concept and practices of studying as an alternative or oppositional educational logic to push back against learning as the predominant mode of educational engagement. While promising, we believe that this research on studying has been limited in a few ways. First,…

(Neuro)psychiatric diagnoses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a rapidly growing and globally increasing phenomenon, not least in different educational contexts such as in family and in school. Children and youths labelled as ADHD are challenging normative claims in terms of nurturing and education, whereas those labelled…