Questions around the purpose(s) of education are as old as education itself. Ancient Greek philosophers contemplated the purpose of education, pondered the suitability of certain materials as educational content, and arguably first developed the connection between educating citizens and achieving social justice. In the UK, ‘education’ in the sense of formal training, not carried out by one’s own family, was traditionally reserved for the elite, for whom education was often about becoming ‘cultured’.
Tag: philosophy
When crisis becomes opportunity
We are at home, in crisis, and without wishing to trivialise the situation, I want to tell you that this is a great opportunity. Perhaps for you, and quite possibly for me, but most of all for humanity…
A Critical Exploration of the Concept of ‘Human’
This essay aims to engage in a interdisciplinary exploration of the concept of the ‘human’ (and necessarily also with the ‘animal’), its history and construction, to deconstruct it, and to conclude that the social sciences need to reflexively engage with this concept in order to move beyond the anthropocentric paradigm
Should non-human animals be included in the scope of social justice?
Social justice always relates to morality, and theories of social justice can generally be understood as considerations of the best possible practical applications of philosophical theories around ethics and morality
Critical Theory, Poststructuralism and Postmodernism
This article explores the arguments these three schools of thought put forward, critiquing positivism and its shortcomings, and offering new ways to theorise and study within the social sciences.
