Gert Biesta criticises deliberative models of democracy and education for being based on an understanding of democracy as a 'normal' order, which involves certain 'entry conditions' for democratic participation. As an alternative, Biesta introduces the idea of democracy as 'disruption' and the associated subjectification conception of education…

This article explores how literary study engages readers' moral perception and imagination. Although some philosophers discuss reading as a largely solitary activity, this article explores social practices of reading common in English language arts classrooms in secondary schools. The article shows how reading with others can change the quality of…

This paper aims to provide parents and others resources to resist technology-mediated personalized learning. To develop these resources and make the case against technology-mediated personalized learning, I turn to the work of American philosophers Henry Bugbee and John William Miller.

In this article, we argue that it is possible to approach teaching from a fully affirmative perspective: as an educational practice that has its own internal logic and intrinsic value. By analysing a fragment from one of the Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Concerts presented in this article as a teaching event, we show that when starting from…

The paper is a response to the articles published in the current issue analysing Rorty's philosophy of hope. In these articles, Bianca Thoilliez, Stefano Oliverio and Kai Wortmann highlight the pragmatist characteristics of post-critical pedagogy. Taking a poststructuralist perspective, I propose to examine some limits of the association between…

Currently, the repetition of a critical way of speaking results in a stagnating tendency in educational debates. This had led to the endeavour of developing a 'post-critical pedagogy'. This paper employs Rortyan and Latourian language in order to tackle the question of how such a post-critical pedagogy should deal with critique. It argues that if…

This introduction outlines the rationale of the symposium 'Vocabularies of Hope in Place of Vocabularies of Critique: Can Rorty Help Us to Redescribe (Philosophy of) Education?'. In particular, it argues that, despite some early statements of Richard Rorty, he may turn out to be a particularly timely thinker in reference to debates occurring in…

First of all, I define the concept of epistemic freedom in the light of the changing nature of educational practice that prioritise over-prescriptive conceptions of learning. I defend the 'reality' of this freedom against possible determinist-related criticisms. I do this by stressing the concept of agency as characterised by 'becoming'. I also…

Research supporting social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools demonstrates numerous benefits for students, including increased academic achievement and social and emotional competencies. However, research supporting the adoption of SEL lacks a clear conception of "ethical competence." This lack of clarity is problematic for two…

To what extent does the common claim that childhood is "socially constructed" affect the ethical debate on the "intrinsic" and "special" goods of childhood? Philosophers have referred to this kind of goods in their critique of overly adult-centred and future-oriented conceptions of childhood. The view that some goods…

For Rorty, any attempt to articulate a theory of truth as such is of no interest. This implies that although it may be meaningful to differentiate the truths from the falsehoods, it is pointless to say what the property of goodness is in the things we believe are good to do. Rorty points out that our no longer understanding Philosophy -- with the…

In recent years restorative practice in schools has been heralded as a new paradigm for thinking about student behaviour. Its premise is to provide solutions to indiscipline, to restore relationships where there has been conflict or harm, and to give pupils a language with which to understand wrongdoing. This article offers a critique of…

Bringing philosophical work on friendship to bear on the growing body of critique about the state of the neoliberal academy, this paper defends academic friendship. Initially a vignette illustrates the key features of academic friendship and the multiple demands on academics to account for themselves in the neoliberal university. We locate…