Epistemology in Educational Perspective; Scheffler's Idea Applied to Current Epistemological Issues
Author(s):
Conference:
ECER 2006
Format:
Paper

Session Information

, Education in the "Knowledge Society": Challenges, Possibilities and Limitations (II)

Papers

Time:
2006-09-15
10:30-12:00
Room:
4189
Chair:
Leena Kakkori

Contribution

Description: One crucial task of education is the transmission of knowledge, while the analysis of knowledge itself (its nature and justification) is a task of another academic discipline, epistemology. This paper pursues to connect some current issues of epistemology with the questions usually confronted in educational practice. This paper is one part of my research project concerning Israel Scheffler's philosophy of education. Scheffler is one of the founders of analytical philosophy of education, and he was a longstanding professor of philosophy of education at Harvard University. My earlier three articles related to Scheffler's philosophy considered (1) Scheffler's account of rationality, (2) Scheffler's and Nelson Goodman's debate between constructivism and realism, and (3) Scheffler's understanding of human nature and potential. The present paper is related to Scheffler's idea of bridge building between epistemology and education. In his book, Conditions of Knowledge (1965) Scheffler stated that an adequate philosophy of education must strive to view epistemological problems from the perspective of education. Scheffler himself demonstrates laudably the philosophical importance of this project both in Conditions of Knowledge and in his other philosophical contributions. This paper pursues to approach some topical questions of contemporary epistemology along the lines of Scheffler's example. In contemporary epistemology there are ongoing debates, for example, between relativism and absolutism, externalism and internalism, and naturalized epistemology and unnaturalized epistemology. In this paper I will examine these positions from the point of view of education and I will also consider what the differing epistemological positions would imply if they were applied to educational decision-making. Methodology: Philosophical analysis and argumentation used in the tradition of analytical philosophy. Conclusions: In contemporary epistemology there are ongoing debates, for example, between relativism and absolutism, externalism and internalism, and naturalized epistemology and unnaturalized epistemology. In this paper I will examine these positions from the point of view of education and I will also consider what the differing epistemological positions would imply if they were applied to educational decision-making.

Author Information

University of Helsinki

Update Modus of this Database

The current conference programme can be browsed in the conference management system (conftool) and, closer to the conference, in the conference app.
This database will be updated with the conference data after ECER. 

Search the ECER Programme

  • Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
  • Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
  • Search for authors and in the respective field.
  • For planning your conference attendance, please use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference and the conference agenda provided in conftool.
  • If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.