Technology is frequently considered in terms of its impact on entities outside its essential nature: as the impact of technology on the environment and society, but also the impact of human values and needs on technology. By taking particular social implications of technology into account, the Science-Technology relationship can be extended to the…

This paper is an analysis of the ongoing work of philosopher Jacques Derrida and the immense body of work associated with him. Derrida's copious work is difficult to categorize since Derrida challenges the very concept that meaning can be grasped in its original moment or that meaning can be represented in the form of some proper, self-identical…

Walter Carlton (1978) has suggested that the most prominent characteristic of contemporary rhetorical theory is its attempt to bring into focus the relationship between knowledge and discourse. The concern with establishing the epistemic status of discourse is not, however, limited to rhetoric. Similar questions dominate much contemporary…

An examination of the "Theaetetus" offers Plato's educational philosophy regarding teachers, the occupation of teaching, and the teacher student relationship. (CB)

Argues that "divisio," an Aristotelian topic which entails partitioning a subject into components, is neglected by rhetoricians. Suggests that divisio empowers by creating knowledge and naming things but de-powers by creating absences and blocking creative alternatives. Notes that rhetoric strives for a balance between divisio and its…

The basic task of educational theory is to ground education in the being of children and youth. Education, however, is a very broad domain, consisting of four major problem areas: (1) the nature and aim of education; (2) the organisation of instruction and school policy; (3) the design and content of the curriculum; and (4) the teaching and…

The principle of reason "as principle of grounding, foundation or institution" has tended to guide the science of research toward techno-practical ends. From this epistemic superintendence of the terms of knowledge and inquiry, there has arisen the traditional notion of academic responsibility that is tied to the pursuit of truth via a conception…

This article presents the author's response to Jim McKenzie's commentary on her article, "Closing the Split between Practical and Theoretical Reasoning: Knowers and the known." In her response, the author wishes to point readers to the book that the article is derived from, for the original article clearly points readers to the preface and…

In this article, the authors comment on Eric Fox's description of functional contextualism which makes several contributions to instructional design and technology (IDT). They agree that functional contextualism does indeed provide some "theoretical clarity and philosophical cohesion," not just for constructivism, but also for understanding…

This essay enacts a philosophy of science education inspired by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's figurations of rhizomatic and nomadic thought. It imagines rhizomes shaking the tree of modern Western science and science education by destabilising arborescent conceptions of knowledge as hierarchically articulated branches of a central stem or…

The author investigates the metaphysical bases of Hirst's solution to the dilemma of constructing curricula on the basis of epistemologically valid principles rather than on de facto social conventions. (MJB)

An educator considers the science of education with an emphasis on the nature of scientific thought. Aspects of educational history, certainty and probability, and research implications are addressed. (CB)

The "erotetic" theory of teaching, which is defined by the statement "To teach someone something is to answer that person's question about some subject matter," is clarified and defended in this article. (CJB)

Recounts how contact with Kant convinced a teacher that while he thought in objectivist terms he taught in subjectivist ones. (JL)

Discussion of philosophy of knowledge considers two forms of epistemology, order and chaos, and argues for honoring both approaches while looking at knowledge in terms of complexity. Suggests that this new conception of knowledge poses a specific challenge to the teacher/educator to become an "instructed third," or mover between disciplines and…