According to Matthew Lipman, one of the founders of the Philosophy for Children (P4C) programme, critical thinking improves reasonableness and the exercise of good judgement, both of which Lipman takes to be necessary to sustaining a democratic society. Against his view, I argue that although critical thinking can be done well or badly, it does…

This article examines approaches to education developed by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and his contemporary and close friend, Friedrich Niethammer, two thinkers who significantly contributed to pedagogy. The aim is not only to compare both thinkers' ideas concerning education, analysing the similarities and the differences between their…

This review article offers a critique of René Arcilla's theory of education as destiny in "Wim Wenders's Road Movie Philosophy: Education Without Learning." After exploring Arcilla's long-standing interest in developing a dramatic approach to educational philosophy, one that avoids both bloodless theorising and melodramatic kitsch, it is…

Arendt-inspired philosophy of education has been a lively field of research in recent years. This research is mostly based on Arendt's essay 'The Crisis in Education'. In the same historical context, Arendt wrote her initial essay on education, the controversial 'Reflections on Little Rock', and her political-theoretical work "The Human…

Character education in schools in England is flourishing. I give many examples of the enthusiasm for it as well as drawing attention to the UK government's new ambivalence towards it. Character education seems largely impervious to the many criticisms to which it has been subjected. I touch on these only briefly as my focus is on a criticism that…

This second chapter of "Interpreting Kant in Education" begins to contrast different interpretations of some of Kant's key terms. Kant makes many distinctions in formulating his view, most notably between spontaneity and intuition, sensibility and the understanding, things in themselves and appearances, and receptive and spontaneous…

The critique of the dominant image of thought bears important consequences for pedagogical theory and practice. I discuss how Deleuze can help us think about the role of the teacher, the teaching of thinking and the relationship between knowledge and learning. Reading Deleuze's "Difference and Repetition" as a treatise on thinking and…

In this essay I argue, first, that René Arcilla's project in his book "Wim Wenders's Road Movies: Education without Learning," can be understood as an effort to draw the reader away from a conception of personhood grounded in the Enlightenment and towards an expressive-romantic conception. Yet the sense of the person to which Arcilla…

Chapter Eight of "Interpreting Kant in Education" again illustrates the tendency in education theory to attribute to Kant a radical subjectivism, an all-powerful mind, that leads to accusations of intellectualism and a disembedded conception of mind, detached from real life. Interpretations of Kant's terms, previously introduced from…

In this, the first chapter of "Interpreting Kant in Education," contrasting interpretations of some of Kant's central terms and insights are introduced. It is argued that some central assumptions about mind and world, rooted in traditional empiricist epistemology, have acted as obstacles in interpreting Kant. Discussion of John…

In previous chapters of "Interpreting Kant in Education," a particular set of assumptions about mind and world has been identified for their influence on the familiar 'Kantian' picture in education, a picture that receives widespread criticism. In this fourth chapter, various understandings of familiar concepts are again discussed for…

In the earlier chapters of "Interpreting Kant in Education," a reading of Kant was developed that contrasts sharply with the widespread 'Kantian' picture in education theory. Having discussed aspects of Kant's view in relation to empiricist and naturalist (mind-independent) epistemologies, I turn in this sixth chapter to contrast them…

In this final chapter of "Interpreting Kant in Education," I revisit and expand on some of the main differences in interpretation between the reading of Kant being presented and the familiar Kant found in education theory. It has been maintained that some deep-seated presuppositions from empiricist epistemology have influenced…

Kant writes, 'to have trained one's children is not enough … what really matters is that they learn to "think"'. By 'thinking', Kant means thinking for oneself. But how can one learn to think for oneself? I focus on how we can be motivated to think for ourselves and argue that for Kant it is through the feeling of wonder. I make my case…

In this ninth chapter of "Interpreting Kant in Education," I respond to familiar criticisms in education theory of a dualism that is seen to be at the heart of Kant's philosophy. This, and related charges of a detached conception of mind, are addressed through a discussion of concepts--conceptual unity, conceptual distinctions, how these…