Is good reasoning in the moral domain different from its counterpart in non-moral domains? What counts as a good moral argument, or a valid moral assertion or claim? What does 'validity' mean in the moral realm? Lots of ink has been spilled on these and related questions in the past few decades, but not much has been settled. In what follows I…

A long tradition in the philosophy of education identifies education's most fundamental aim and ideal as that of the "fostering" or "cultivation of rationality". In this article I relate this tradition in philosophy of education to recent work inspired by Wilfred Sellars on "the space of reasons". I first offer a very brief overview of the…

Research in education and the training of education researchers are often said to require attention to "epistemological diversity": Researchers ought to be familiar with different ways of knowing and diverse epistemological perspectives. But the notion is unclear. What is "epistemological diversity"? What exactly is "epistemological" about it?…

Critical thinkers must be critical about critical thinking itself, and because there is a close conceptual connection between critical thinking and rationality, the demand for justification for a commitment to critical thinking is tantamount to a demand for reasons that justify a commitment to rationality. Several authors have argued that the…

Defining critical thinking and discussing its relevance to the ethics and epistemology of education, the author presents three reasons why it is an educational ideal: (1) it forms the basis of a moral process of teaching; (2) it prepares students to manage their adult lives; and (3) it initiates students into rational traditions. (SK)

Examines reasons for embracing multiculturalism, arguing that multiculturalism is best defined in universalistic moral, rather than epistemic, terms. The paper criticizes the view that multiculturalism is incompatible with a universalistic conception of science, arguing that it is compatible with suitable epistemic universalism and discussing…

This paper examines inclusion as both a conversational and a theoretical idea, investigating whether scholarly standards and the universal claims of science function to exclude certain individuals and groups. The paper argues that inclusion is best understood as a moral rather than an epistemological virtue. (Author/SM)