Over recent years, it has been claimed that we live in a 'post-truth' age: a moment in history where the ideal of truth seems to have been abandoned. The prevailing attitude towards truth is not one of antagonism but of "indifference." Should this bother us? If so, why? What might we mean by 'truth'? How is truth relevant to education?…

Often regarded as one of life's few certainties, death is both instantly familiar to us and deeply mysterious. Death is everywhere, yet few of us take the time to consider its significance in shaping human lives. This book addresses the difficult, complex, sensitive subject of death from a unique point of view. Drawing on insights from…

This article examines the importance of doubt in Western philosophy, with particular attention to the work of Søren Kierkegaard and Miguel de Unamuno. Kierkegaard's pseudonymous author Johannes Climacus ventures down the pathway of doubt, finds it perplexing and difficult and discovers that he is unable to return to his pre-doubting self. In…

In Fyodor Dostoevsky's influential novel "Notes from underground", we find one of the most memorable characters in nineteenth century literature. The Underground Man, around whom everything else in this book revolves, is in some respects utterly repugnant: he is self-centred, obsessive and cruel. Yet he is also highly intelligent,…

The work of the French thinker Simone Weil has exerted an important influence on scholars in a wide range of fields. To date, however, her writings have attracted comparatively little interest from educationists. This article discusses some of the key concepts in Weil's philosophy--gravity, grace, decreation, and attention--and assesses their…

Both literature and philosophy, as genres of writing, can enable us to address important ontological, epistemological and ethical questions. One author who makes it possible for readers to bridge these two genres is Albert Camus. Nowhere is this more evident than in Camus' short novel, "The Fall". "The Fall", through the character and words of…

At the end of the main part of Hermann Hesse's classic novel, "The Glass Bead Game," the central character, Joseph Knecht, dies suddenly. In this article, I consider the educational significance of Hesse's portrayal of Knecht's death. This pivotal moment in the book tells readers much about the process of educational transformation. I argue that…

This paper examines Hermann Hesse's penultimate novel, "The Journey to the East", from an educational point of view. Hesse was a man of the West who turned to the idea of "the East" in seeking to understand himself and his society. While highly critical of elements of Western modernism, Hesse nonetheless viewed "the East" through Western lenses…

States that Paulo Freire distinguished between authoritarianism and the legitimate exercise of authority, aligning legitimate authority with the assurance of freedom. He also linked freedom with the process of struggle, indicating a strong relationship between freedom and social justice. (NB)