5 views
Seen by:Misyurov D.A. Dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas // Credo New. 2012. №2
The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with... more The article suggests dialectical formulas based on the binary notation as the development formulas: formula with dominant and the non-dominant elements; universal formula; formula with symbolic weight of elements; tautological formula. For example, it suggests an opportunity to use the dialectical formulas for modeling and artificial intelligence creation, etc.
62 views
Seen by: and 16 moreResponsibility and School Choice in Education
by Ben Colburn
Journal of Philosophy of Education 46 (2012).
Consider the following argument for school choice, based on an appeal to the virtues of the market: allowing parents... more Consider the following argument for school choice, based on an appeal to the virtues of the market: allowing parents some measure of choice over their particular children’s education ultimately serves the interests of all children, because creating a market mechanism in state education will produce improvements through the same pressures that lead to greater efficiency and quality when markets are deployed in more familiar contexts. The argument fails, because it is committed to a principle of equal concern, which (after analysis) implies that a market in education is acceptable only if it is right to hold children disadvantaged by their parents’ poor market choices substantively responsible for the fact. Since that claim is untenable, the market-based argument for school choice not only fails, but also turns out to rely on principles which in fact condemn the very policy it was supposed to support.
Justice and Legitimacy in Upbringing
by Ben Colburn
Journal of Moral Philosophy 7 (2010): 291-293.
This is a review of Justice and Legitimacy in Upbringing, by Matthew Clayton. This is a review of Justice and Legitimacy in Upbringing, by Matthew Clayton.
Forbidden Ways of Life
by Ben Colburn
The Philosophical Quarterly 58 (2008): 618-629.
I examine an objection against autonomy-minded liberalism sometimes made by philosophers such as John Rawls and... more I examine an objection against autonomy-minded liberalism sometimes made by philosophers such as John Rawls and William Galston, that it rules out ways of life which do not themselves value freedom or autonomy. This objection is incorrect, because one need not value autonomy in order to live an autonomous life. Hence autonomy-minded liberalism need not rule out such ways of life. I suggest a modified objection which does work, namely that autonomy-minded liberalism must rule out ways of life that could not develop under an autonomy-promoting education. I conclude by suggesting some reasons why autonomy-minded liberals should bite the bullet and accept this.
“We Teach All Hearts to Break” (2012)
“We Teach All Hearts to Break”: On the Incompatibility of Education with Schooling at All Levels, and the Renewed Need for a De-Schooling of Society
Published in Educational Studies: A Journal of the American Educational Studies Association 48:1, Special Issue: “Anarchism… is a living force within our life…” Anarchism, Education and Alternative Possibilities pps.30-38
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/heds20/48/1
"The Paradox of Freedom: John Dewey on Human Nature, Culture, and Education"
Forthcoming in EDUCATION AND CULTURE.
Sivistys ja vieraantuminen
in: Lindberg, Susanna: Johdatus Hegelin Hengen fenomenologiaan, Gaudeamus: Helsinki 2012.
Peirces Rhetorical Turn. Conceptualizing education as semiosis
Keywords:
Peirce;semeiosis;semiotics;phenomenology;pragmatism;learning;philosophy of education
Peirce;semeiosis;semiotics;phenomenology;pragmatism;learning;philosophy of education
Abstract
The later works of Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1913) offer an extended metaphor of mind and a rich conception of the dynamics of knowledge and learning. After a ‘rhetorical turn’ Peirce develops his early ‘semiotics’ into a more general theory of sign and sign use, while integrating his pragmatism, phenomenology, and semiotics. Therefore, in this article I bring Peirce's notion of semiosis—the sign's action—to the forefront. In doing so, I hope to disclose how Peirce's rhetorical turn not only opens up towards a richer conception of the dynamics of knowledge and learning, but also invites a shift of perspective from the psychological processes of learning to the semeiotic processes that characterizes the very dynamics of knowledge production.
Interculturalism in Practice: Québec's New Ethics and Religious Culture Curriculum and the Bouchard-Taylor Report on Reasonable Accommodation
Pre-print version of book chapter. Co-authored with Bruce Maxwell, Kevin McDonough, Marina Schwimmer, and Andrée-Anne Cormier.
34 views
Seen by: and 4 moreAffirmative Action in the Classroom and Beyond
Published in TermTalk the magazine of the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland Spring 2012. The topic is on my experiences of teaching philosophy to sixth formers and, more broadly, on the topic of "affirmative action".
7 views
Seen by:Trois Générations de Théories de la Complexité: Nuances et Ambiguités
Alhadeff-Jones, M. (2008). Trois Générations de Théories de la Complexité: Nuances et Ambiguités. Programme Européen MCX “Modélisation de la Complexité”. Disponible à l’adresse: http://www.mcxapc.org/docs/conseilscient/0805michel.pdf
Le recours contemporain à la notion de "complexité" renvoie fréquemment à des démarches ayant tendance à... more
Le recours contemporain à la notion de "complexité" renvoie fréquemment à des démarches ayant tendance à unifier sa définition. En langue anglaise, sa réduction à une forme singulière (complexity theory ou complexity science) s'avère ainsi susceptible de masquer la variété des théories permettant de rendre compte des implications inhérentes au recours à cette notion. Cet article, en prenant en considération à la fois les traditions de recherche latines et anglosaxonnes, associées à la notion de complexité, suggère une approche plus nuancée, évitant la simplification de cette notion à certaines des conceptions dominantes qui y sont associées. Partant d'une approche étymologique, cet article propose d'envisager de façon chronologique l'émergence de trois générations de théories de la complexité; ce faisant, certains de leurs enracinements épistémologiques et socio-culturels sont introduits. D'un point de vue épistémologique, la réflexion proposée met en évidence certaines des interprétations hétérogènes sous-jacentes à la définition de ce qui est perçu comme complexe. Suivant une perspective anthropologique, ce texte évoque également la portée à la fois émancipatrice et asservissante susceptible d'être associée à l'idée de complexité. Sur la base des ambiguitiés mises en évidence, cet article suggère finalement de concevoir les contributions renvoyant aux théories contemporaines de la complexité, au même titre que la remise en question de leur légitimité épistémologique et éthique, à partir des boucles et des dynamiques dont elles sont constitutives. Ce faisant, les chercheurs et les praticiens en Sciences de l'éducation devraient considérer leurs pratiques en tant que processus
d'apprentissage dont la complexité renvoie autant aux transformations qu'ils étudient ou provoquent, qu'aux transformations inhérentes aux systèmes de représentations
auxquels ils ont recours pour les conceptualiser.
220 views
Seen by: and 11 moreThree Generations of Complexity Theories: Nuances and Ambiguities
Alhadeff-Jones, M. (2008). Three Generations of Complexity Theories: Nuances and Ambiguities. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 40, 1, 66-82.
The contemporary use of the term ‘complexity’ frequently indicates that it is considered a unified concept. This may... more The contemporary use of the term ‘complexity’ frequently indicates that it is considered a unified concept. This may lead to a neglect of the range of different theories that deal with the implications related to the notion of complexity. This paper, integrating both the English and the Latin traditions of research associated with this notion, suggests a more nuanced use of the term, thereby avoiding simplification of the concept to some of its dominant expressions only. The paper further explores the etymology of ‘complexity’ and offers a chronological presentation of three generations of theories that have shaped its uses; the epistemic and socio-cultural roots of these theories are also introduced. From an epistemological point of view, this reflection sheds light on the competing interpretations underlying the definition of what is considered as complex. Also, from an anthropological perspective it considers both the emancipatory as well as the alienating dimensions of complexity. Based on the highlighted ambiguities, the paper suggests in conclusion that contributions grounded in contemporary theories related to complexity, as well as critical appraisals of their epistemological and ethical legitimacy, need to follow the recursive feedback loops and dynamics that they constitute. In doing so, researchers and practitioners in education should consider their own practice as a learning process that does not require the reduction of the antagonisms and the complementarities that shape its own complexity.
309 views
Seen by: and 17 moreYou Are Not Your Brain: Against "Teaching to the Brain"
Published in the *International Handbook of Academic Research and Teaching: Proceedings of Intellectbase International Consortium*, vol 22, Spring 2012, San Antonio, TX, USA, 298-306.
Since educators are always looking for ways to improve their practice, and since empirical science is now accepted in... more Since educators are always looking for ways to improve their practice, and since empirical science is now accepted in our worldview as the final arbiter of truth, it is no surprise they have been lured toward cognitive neuroscience in hopes that discovering how the brain learns will provide a nutshell explanation for student learning in general. I argue that identifying the person with the brain is scientism (not science), that the brain is not the person, and that it is the person who learns. In fact the brain only responds to the learning of embodied experience within the extra-neural network of intersubjective communications. Learning is a dynamic, cultural activity, not a neural program. Brain-based learning is unnecessary for educators and may be dangerous in that a culturally narrow ontology is taken for granted, thus restricting our creativity and imagination, and narrowing the human community.
116 views
Seen by: and 28 moreMAP 1: Investigative Designing
Cite as: Roudavski, Stanislav, ed., (2011). MAP 1: Investigative Designing (Melbourne: University of Melbourne, Melbourne School of Design)
A book showcasing ideas, projects, designs and courses united by the theme of Investigative Designing (and digital... more
A book showcasing ideas, projects, designs and courses united by the theme of Investigative Designing (and digital architectural design). Realised at the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, University of Melbourne.
Paper copies can be purchased here: http://www.bookshop.unimelb.edu.au/bookshop/p?8880000451055
Civic Fragmentation or Voluntary Association? Habermas, Fraser and Charter School Segregation
by Terri Wilson
Educational Theory, Vol. 60: No. 6 (December 2010).
10 views
Seen by:Tabula Rasa and Human Nature
draft - forthcoming in Philosophy
It is widely believed that the philosophical concept of ‘tabula rasa’ originates with Locke’s Essay Concerning Human... more It is widely believed that the philosophical concept of ‘tabula rasa’ originates with Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding and refers to a state in which a child is as formless as a blank slate. Given that both these beliefs are entirely false, this article will examine why they have endured from the eighteenth century to the present. Attending to the history of philosophy, psychology, psychiatry and feminist scholarship it will be shown how the image of the tabula rasa has been used to signify an originary state of formlessness, against which discourses on the true nature of the human being can differentiate their position. The tabula rasa has operated less as a substantive position than as a whipping post. However, it will be noted that innovations in psychological theory over the past decade have begun to undermine such narratives by rendering unintelligible the idea of an ‘originary’ state of human nature.

