There was a time when, in the Liberal Arts, philosophy and education enjoyed the most intimate and productive relationship. Drawing together philosophy and nature they sought to understand the greatest of human mysteries. This meant thinking about both the macrocosm and the microcosm and especially the relation between them. In this relation lies…

Traditionally, philosophical inquiry into pedagogical issues has occurred far from the classrooms in which pedagogy materialises. However, an organised form of inquiry into issues of a normative nature (about what ought to be done pedagogically) and of an analytic nature (about the meaning of pedagogical concepts), making use of ideas obtained in…

In this paper, I explore different ways of picturing language learning in philosophy, all of them inspired by Wittgenstein and all of them concerned about scepticism of meaning. I start by outlining the two pictures of children and language learning that emerge from Kripke's famous reading of Wittgenstein. Next, I explore how social-pragmatic…

Although empathy is arguably an important factor to consider in moral education, the concept itself has consistently stood on tenuous ground. In this essay, I claim that our adherence to ontological dualism and discrete subjectivity have problematized our comprehension of empathy. I propose that our understanding is limited by our understanding of…

This paper locates the concept of learning among real-life human experiences and events. Functioning as a sign, a meaningful event can be understood in terms of a cultural extra-linguistic "text." Reading and interpreting diverse cultural "texts" are equivalent to constructing and learning critical symbolic lessons embedded in a continuous process…

This essay juxtaposes concepts created by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari with worlds imagined by Ursula Le Guin in a performance of "rhizosemiotic play" that explores some possible ways of generating and sustaining what William Pinar calls "complicated conversation" within the regime of signs that constitutes an increasingly internationalized…

Immanuel Kant is often viewed by educational theorists as an individualist, who put education on "an individual track," paving the way for political liberal conceptions of education such as that of John Rawls. One can easily find evidence for such a view, in "Answer to the Question: "What is Enlightenment?"," as well as in his more metaphysical,…

In accordance with Progressivism, Matthew Lipman, introduced an educational model for renewal and change by means of the child. With his Philosophy for Children programme he wished to offer an alternative for the intellectualistic oriented education which silenced children. The answer to the search for freedom and change, Lipman finds in the…

Explores pragmatism's association with relativism in order to highlight how aspects of the classis pragmatists' positions support qualified relativism. Addresses qualified relativism and the characteristics of qualified relativists. States that qualified relativists can claim roots to their position in Peirce, James, and Dewey, some of the…

Explains Philip Higgs' post modern pluralist thought by reaction to the monolithic rigidities of the decreed dogma of his country's (South Africa) past. Author argues that Higgs has overreacted and has become over tolerant of diversity of thought and that intellectual endeavors should be relativised to particular intellectual parochial…

Author argues that the philosophical movement known as postmodernism seriously undermined the notion that truth can be at all objective and that truth depends entirely on democratic consensus. Addresses Davon-Galle's criticism of the author's assertions and explains that the certainty that Davon-Galle seeks is not to be found in philosophy or any…

Provides some philosophical groundwork for contemporary debates about the idea of critical thinking. Discusses three styles of critique: critical dogmatism, transcendental critique (Karl-Otto Apel), and deconstruction (Jacques Derrida). Argues that while transcendental critique is able to solve some of the problems of the dogmatic approach to…

Argues for a Foucauldean position on the self to extend critical theory. Discusses several philosophical accounts of the self, including the work of such philosophers as Descartes, Hume, Locke, Rousseau, Schopenhauer, Wittgenstein, and Nietzsche. Concludes that Foucault's philosophy provides a powerful critical conception of the self for critical…

Examines ongoing controversy within Deweyan philosophy of education scholarship regarding the proper role and scope of science in Dewey's concept of inquiry. Utilizes Dewey's references to inquiry in aesthetic experience to develop a nuanced argument. (Contains 17 references.) (AUTH/NB)

Examines two controversial issues: Foucault's analysis of a French murder case and the debate surrounding facilitated communication and autism in the United States. Asks whether persons identified as mentally disabled are capable of representing themselves. Uses a materialist analysis to explore the implications that the poststructuralist…