Adrian Skilbeck – författare

WITTGENSTEIN AND EDUCATION

Wittgenstein’s later writings are abundant with examples, and these return repeatedly to scenes of teaching and learning. Light is cast on language, belief, imagination, perception, illusion and obsession, by asking for each how it is acquired. How do we come into the practices that make up our lives? How, beyond the biological, do we become human beings? Wittgenstein wanted not to spare others the trouble of thinking but to stimulate readers to thoughts of their own. Yet so much in education today leads students (and their teachers) along clearly-planned direct routes to achievement, to success without the trouble of thinking. Knowledge and understanding are displaced by transferrable skills and competences, with teacher education reduced to priorities of classroom management skills and curriculum ‘delivery’. In this climate there is a new growth of interest in the illumination Wittgenstein provides for enquiry into education. This collection, originating in the Annual Conference of the British Wittgenstein Society in 2018, celebrates this influence and demonstrates the range of Wittgenstein’s importance for education.

WITTGENSTEIN AND EDUCATION

Wittgenstein’s later writings are abundant with examples, and these return repeatedly to scenes of teaching and learning. Light is cast on language, belief, imagination, perception, illusion and obsession, by asking for each how it is acquired. How do we come into the practices that make up our lives? How, beyond the biological, do we become human beings? Wittgenstein wanted not to spare others the trouble of thinking but to stimulate readers to thoughts of their own. Yet so much in education today leads students (and their teachers) along clearly-planned direct routes to achievement, to success without the trouble of thinking. Knowledge and understanding are displaced by transferrable skills and competences, with teacher education reduced to priorities of classroom management skills and curriculum ‘delivery’. In this climate there is a new growth of interest in the illumination Wittgenstein provides for enquiry into education. This collection, originating in the Annual Conference of the British Wittgenstein Society in 2018, celebrates this influence and demonstrates the range of Wittgenstein’s importance for education.

This book explores the themes of seriousness and human voice in education, drawing on the work of the American philosopher Stanley Cavell. Cavell’s views on culture, the arts, politics, morality, judgement, vulnerability, and the need for people to find something they can be sincere and serious in, are discussed in relation to education. The book represents a reappraisal of seriousness in education, art and philosophy, getting to the heart of what matters in education beyond ideology. Drawing on examples from film, theatre, literature and educational practice, it provides a philosophical analysis of conventional assumptions of educational seriousness. It offers an analysis of the central importance of voice and expression in education for both learners and teachers in terms of what it means to speak authentically; both literally, in conversation, and through forms of artistic expression. Carefully chosen examples offer insights into the value of drama in education for understanding the way in which we each inhabit a voice and body and give it expression. Cavell’s work is brought into conversation with a number of philosophers, with Austin, Dewey, Derrida and Wittgenstein all contributing to a reappraisal of what it means to be serious and how slippery and elusive this can be.

This book explores the themes of seriousness and human voice in education, drawing on the work of the American philosopher Stanley Cavell. Cavell''s views on culture, the arts, politics, morality, judgement, vulnerability, and the need for people to find something they can be sincere and serious in, are discussed in relation to education. The book represents a reappraisal of seriousness in education, art and philosophy, getting to the heart of what matters in education beyond ideology. Drawing on examples from film, theatre, literature and educational practice, it provides a philosophical analysis of conventional assumptions of educational seriousness. It offers an analysis of the central importance of voice and expression in education for both learners and teachers in terms of what it means to speak authentically; both literally, in conversation, and through forms of artistic expression. Carefully chosen examples offer insights into the value of drama in education for understanding the way in which we each inhabit a voice and body and give it expression. Cavell''s work is brought into conversation with a number of philosophers, with Austin, Dewey, Derrida and Wittgenstein all contributing to a reappraisal of what it means to be serious and how slippery and elusive this can be.

This book explores the themes of seriousness and human voice in education, drawing on the work of the American philosopher Stanley Cavell. Cavell''s views on culture, the arts, politics, morality, judgement, vulnerability, and the need for people to find something they can be sincere and serious in, are discussed in relation to education. The book represents a reappraisal of seriousness in education, art and philosophy, getting to the heart of what matters in education beyond ideology. Drawing on examples from film, theatre, literature and educational practice, it provides a philosophical analysis of conventional assumptions of educational seriousness. It offers an analysis of the central importance of voice and expression in education for both learners and teachers in terms of what it means to speak authentically; both literally, in conversation, and through forms of artistic expression. Carefully chosen examples offer insights into the value of drama in education for understanding the way in which we each inhabit a voice and body and give it expression. Cavell''s work is brought into conversation with a number of philosophers, with Austin, Dewey, Derrida and Wittgenstein all contributing to a reappraisal of what it means to be serious and how slippery and elusive this can be.