Education, knowledge and freedom

Hinchliffe, Geoffrey (2018) Education, knowledge and freedom. Philosophy, 93 (2). pp. 211-230. ISSN 0031-8191

Preview

PDF (Accepted manuscript) - Accepted Version Download (394kB) | Preview

Abstract

This paper examines the role of knowledge in education. It proposes that the arguments of Paul Hirst on liberal education can be updated using the idea of a ‘space of reasons’ drawn from the epistemology associated with John McDowell. It further argues that for education to flourish within the space of reasons the idea of ‘epistemic freedom’ needs to be both recognised and developed. Such freedom is particularly exemplified in the ability to form judgements. It is noted that education at all levels has been subjected to processes of ‘rationalisation’, processes identified by Max Weber over one hundred years ago: these processes severely restrict epistemic freedom. However, the paper argues that Alistair McIntyre's concept of a practice can be used to inform our thinking about subject disciplines. The pursuit of knowledge can therefore be seen in terms of practices which operate within the space of reasons. Moreover, we can see the idea of a practice as a counterweight to rationalisation

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	education,knowledge,freedom
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Research in Higher Education and Society
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Jun 2018 11:30
Last Modified:	07 Mar 2024 06:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/67352
DOI:	10.1017/S0031819117000511

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item