On the urgent need for philosophical practices in mainstream education today

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12795/HASER/2021.i12.04 HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 © Universidad de Sevilla, 2021 ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES IN MAINSTREAM EDUCATION TODAY SOBRE LA URGENCIA DE LA FILOSOFÍA APLICADA EN LA EDUCACIÓN ACTUAL GURO HANSEN HELSKOG University of South Eastern Norway Norway [email protected] ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3637-3776 MICHAEL NOAH WEISS University of South Eastern Norway Norway [email protected] ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3471-7697 RECEIVED: JULY, 15, 2020 ACCEPTED: NOVEMBER, 19, 2020 Abstract: This essay is written based in a concern of ours that the dominant forms of teaching and learning in education today seem to be more in line with what Aristotle called techné and poiesis than with phronesis and praxis. The reason for that appears to be the aim-, skills- and competence-oriented approach in education as well as the quest for scientific “evidence based” practice. Using a reflective practice research approach, the authors take their point of departure in two concrete cases drawn from their lives as associate professors and researchers in teacher education. Some core themes are extracted from the cases and reflected upon critically and philosophically. Among those themes are, i.e., “reflecting freely and personally” vs. “adjusting to given frameworks and meeting required standards”. Other themes are “answering correctly and reaching predefined goals with the least effort” as opposed to “exploring possible answers”, “learning for its own sake” and “searching wisdom” on the other. GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 108 Key words: Philosophical practice, pedagogy, Bildung, wisdom, reflective practice research, Dialogos Resumen: Este artículo se funda en nuestra preocupación de que las formas dominantes de enseñanza y aprendizaje en la educación actuales parecen estar más en línea con lo que Aristóteles llamó techné y poiesis que con phronesis y praxis. La causa de esto parece ser una educación orientada a objetivos, habilidades y competencias, así como la búsqueda de prácticas científicas “basadas en evidencia”. Utilizando un enfoque de investigación de práctica reflexiva, los autores comienzan su estudio tomando como punto de partida dos casos concretos extraídos de sus vidas como Profesores asociados e investigadores de la formación del profesorado en la universidad. Los temas centrales de los resultados se extraen de los casos y se reflexionan de forma crítica y filosófica. Entre esos temas se encuentrarán, la dicotomía entre “reflexionar libre y personalmente” y “adaptarse a marcos dados y cumplir con los estándares requeridos”, la contraposición entre “responder correctamente y alcanzar metas predefinidas con el menor esfuerzo” y “explorar posibles respuestas”, “aprender por sí mismo” y “buscar sabiduría”, entre otros. Palabras clave: Filosofía Aplicada, Pedagogía, Bildung, sabiduría, investigación de práctica reflexioanda, Dialogos The not so beautiful risk of education 1 today This essay is written due to pressing concerns of ours regarding our teaching and research in teacher education in Norway. The concern is that the dominant forms of teaching and learning in education today seem to be more in line with what Aristotle called techne and poiesis than with phronesis and praxis, due to the prevalent aims-, skills- and competence orientation as well as the quest for scientific “evidence-based” practice. This orientation has become increasingly dominant in mainstream education at all levels since 1 This subtitle can be read in reference to Gert Biesta’s book The Beautiful Risk of Education, which here however receives a different connotation; see BIESTA, Gert: The Beautiful Risk of Education, Routledge, London & New York, 2014. ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 109 the early 1990s 2 . However, as we will discuss later in this essay, it has roots that at least 250 years back, contributing to the creation of a multidimensional crisis that humanity faces today, caused by what some scholars called risk society 3 . The crisis includes environmental, democratic as well as psychological and physical health aspects, which need to be addressed on both structural, collective and individual levels. In the field of education all these three levels are met and faced, i.e. in the teacher-student relationship which receives a central mediating role in this respect. When a teacher steps into a classroom or university seminar room, or even when s/he corrects assignments, tests and exam papers, s/he enters into a moral field in which s/he is responsible for the lives and futures of others – both on an individual level, from human being to human being, on a collective level, with the class forming a community, as well as on a structural level, with the individual students in all classes from all schools forming the next generation. How the teacher acts towards others in this three-leveled field has a crucial effect on whether and to which extent the students can unleash their full human potentials, including the ability to live well and contribute to 2 HANSEN, Guro: 1990-årenes danningsdiskurs – eller humanismens vilkår i vår tid. [The Bildungs-discourse of the 1990s – or the conditions for humanistic pedagogy in our age], in NORGES FORSKNINGSRÅD, KULTs skriftserie, nr. 55, 1996. And: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Den humanistiske dannelsen og 1990-tallets utdanningsreformer”, in Norsk Pedagogisk tidsskrift, 1-2, 2003, p. 20-36. And: DANNELSESUTVALGET: Kunnskap og dannelse foran et nytt århundre [Knowledge and Bildung in the face of a new century], Universitetet i Oslo, Oslo, 2009. And: BIESTA, Gert: “How Does a Competent Teacher Become a Good Teacher? On Judgement, Wisdom and Virtuosity in Teaching and Teacher Education”, in HEILBRONN, Ruth & FOREMAN-PECK, Lorraine (eds.): Philosophical Perspectives on Teacher Education, John Wiley & Sons, West Sussex, 2015. 3 See i.e. BECK, Ulrich: Risk Society – Towards a New Modernity, Sage Publications, London, 1992. GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 110 solving the mentioned crisis, or not – as individuals, as communities and as a generation. The Danish philosopher Knud Løgstrup has formulated this beautifully in his now almost worn out words from Den etiske fordring: The individual never has anything to do with another human being without holding some of the person`s life in his hand. It can be very little, a transient mood, an obviousness that one makes wither, or which one deepens or raises. But it can also be an awful lot, so it simply stands to the individual whether the other person`s life succeeds or not.” 4 (Our modified translation from Danish) The original idea of pedagogy Relationships between those who have skills and insight considered worthwhile, and those who do not yet have such skills and insight, i.e. between teachers and students, craftsmen and apprentices or parents and children, have existed as long as humans have inhabited the globe. Hence, it is in some respect possible to argue that pedagogical practices are as old as humankind. Even if pedagogy as an academic discipline is rather new, dating less than 150 years back, it is worthwhile following its roots further back in history, to its philosophical and theological origins in ancient thought, in order to better understand what we actually mean with pedagogy and pedagogical. Like philosophy, the study of pedagogy, and the practice involved in being a pedagogue, has its etymological roots in Greek language. 4 LØGSTRUP, Knud Eilert. Den etiske fordring. Oslo: J.W. Cappelens Forlag a.s. 1997 [1956, 25] 15-16. Original quote “[…] Den enkelte har aldrig med et andet menneske at gøre uden at han holder noget af dets liv i sin hånd. Det kan være meget lidt, en forbigående stemning, en oplagthed, man får til at visne, eller som man vækker, en lede man uddyber eller hæver. Men det kan også være forfærdende meget, så det simpelthen står til den enkelte, om den andens liv lykkes eller ej” ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 111 Pedagogy comes from “paideia”, implying the shaping of one`s character through a union of civilization, tradition, literature and philosophy, and a training both of the physical and mental faculties. The ideal was to develop towards an enlightened mature personality 5 . Pedagogy also has roots in the German term Bildung, which we here choose to translate as “edification” – a complex and widely discussed concept in European history 6 . The concept is originally German and flourished in the period 1770-1830. It links back to 16th century Pietistic theology, in which the Christian should seek to cultivate himself in line with the image of God 7 , to medieval and baroque Christian mysticism 8 , and further to the ancient Greek concept paideia and phronesis 9 . Bildung was first conceptualized by Meister Eckhard (1260-1328) in his theology as man`s self-realization and sanctification as a 5 JAEGER, Werner: Paideia. The Ideals of Greek Culture. Volume I: Archaic Greece: The Mind of Athens, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1967. 6 See i.e.: LØVLIE, Lars, MORTENSEN, Klaus P. and NORDENBO, Sven Erik (eds.): Educating humanity: Bildung in postmodernity, Blackwell, Malden, Mass, 2003. Originally published as LØVLIE, Lars, NORDENBO, Svein Erik and MORTENSEN, Klaus P. (eds): “Educating Humanity: Bildung in postmodernity”, in Journal of Philosophy of Education, Special Issue 36/3, 2002. Or: SLAGSTAD, Rune, KORSGAARD, Ove and LØVLIE, Lars (eds.): Dannelsens forvandlinger. [Transformations of Bildung], Pax, 2003, Oslo. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Den humanistiske dannelsen og 1990-tallets utdanningsreformer”, in Norsk Pedagogisk tidsskrift, 1-2, 2003, p. 20-36. Or: RISE, Svein (ed.): Danningsperspektiver: teologiske og filosofiske syn på danning i antikken og i moderne tid, [Perspectives on Bildung: theological and philosophical views on Bildung in antiquity and in modern times], Tapir, Trondheim, 2010. 7 SCHMIDT, James: “The Fool’s Truth: Diderot, Goethe, and Hegel” in Journal of the History of Ideas, 57.4., 1996. 8 GADAMER, Hans Georg: Sannhet og metode [Truth and method], Pax forlag, Oslo, 2010 [1960]. 9 HADOT, Pierre: Philosophy as a way of life: spiritual exercises from Socrates to Foucault, Blackwell, Malden MA, 1995. GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 112 being created in the image (Bild) of God. Bildung implied an increase of what in German is called Erkenntnis des Unaussprechbaren, that is, insight into the unspeakable. In his speeches on teaching, Eckhard argued that people should not think so much about what they should do. Rather, they should consider what they are, i.e. their being as humans, and not so much their doing as teachers. This, again, was connected to holiness: One should not establish holiness through mere doing, but rather through being 10 . Those who debated enlightenment within politics and pedagogy gave the concept a more secular connotation. They discussed how to achieve an enlightened society based on the ideas of humanism, with Herder as the first who formulated the expression Bildung zur Humanität – edification towards humaness – a foundational pedagogical idea amongst the German neo humanists at the beginning of the 19th century 11 . These ideas inspired Norwegian educational thinker Frederik Moltke Bugge in the 1830`s. He argued that science and education alike should be free from everything but the duty that lay in its purpose, namely to awaken, nurture and sharpen the thoughtfulness of the young. He insisted that we cannot discover reality unless we have eyes (languge) to help us see. Our ability to see – our gaze – must be sharpened. Only then could it be possible to relate to reality, reflect upon it and criticize (investigate and explore) it. For this purpose, the studies of humanities (i.e. philosophy or literature) were best suited, according to Bugge 12 . 10 BERTHOLD-HEGELHAUPT, Tilman: “Bildung als Erkenntnis des Unaussprechbaren. Über Sprache und Wahrheit bei Meister Eckhart”, Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche Pädagogik, 66 (4.1990), 1990, p. 478-497. 11 MYHRE, Reidar: Grunnlinjer i pedagogikkens historie, Gyldendahl norsk forlag, Oslo, 1988. 12 EVENSHAUG, Trude: “Skolemann versus Stortingsmann. Et blikk på 1830- årenes danningsdiskurs”, [Schoolman versus Parliament-man. A look at the ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 113 Education – more than acquiring knowledge, skills and competences A practical pedagogical situation always consists of numerous ethical, existential and philosophical questions and dilemmas that requires that the teacher not only has knowledge of the subject and relevant skills. It also requires self-knowledge, empathic understanding of the other(s), understanding of the wider situation one finds oneself in, as well as understanding of the existential and relational forces playing out in the situation. Not least, it requires imagination and tact or phronesis (that is prudence or practical wisdom), because every pedagogical situation is pregnant with seeds for future developments, good or bad ones. To link back to Bugge: It requires the intuitive (spiritual and existential as opposed to critical-analytical and rational) ability to (fore)see. At its best, good teaching will nurture the tree of life in students 13 , understood as existential, ethical, spiritual and philosophical mindfulness 14 . This appears to be best enhanced and fostered through various forms of philosophical and dialogical practices 15 . However, as the Bildungsdiscourse of the 1830`s.], Norges forskningsråd, KULTs skriftserie, nr. 90, 1997. 13 HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: Philosophising the Dialogos Way as Nurturing the Tree of Life in us. in HASER – International Journal of Philosophical Practice. Vol. 12, 2021. 14 WEISS, Michael Noah: “Philosophical Mindfulness. An Essay about the Art of Philosophizing”, in HASER – International Journal of Philosophical Practice. Vol. 8, 2017. 15 See also: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: Dialogos. Filosofi for ungdomstrinnet, Fag og kultur, Oslo, 2006. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “The Gandhi Project: Dialogos philosophical dialogues and the ethics and politics of intercultural and interfaith friendship”, in Educational Action Research, Level 2, 2014, p. 1-20, available in https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2014.980287 (last access 13th of March 2019). Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Bildung towards wisdom through dialogue in teacher education”, in Arts and humanities in higher education, GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 114 two cases we will reflect upon in this essay indicate, the educational culture today seems to be dominated by forms of instrumental means-aims didactics that are counterproductive to philosophical practices which might nurture such mindfulness. Research approach and further structure of the essay Our rather personal essay is both a piece of philosophical and dialogical practice 16 , and a piece of reflective practice research 17 . The latter was developed as a research approach by Anders Lindseth, who is also known as a pioneer of philosophical practice in Scandinavia. Similar to what is known as the Socratic method by Nelson and Heckmann 18 , this form of research starts with concrete cases which are then reflected towards more abstract and general Level 1, special issue on dialogue edited by ALTHORF, Marije, 2016, available in https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1474022216670609 (last access 13th of March 2019). Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Searching for wisdom the Dialogos way”, in AMIR, Lydia (ed.): Practicing Philosophy: Expanding Boundaries, New Frontiers, Cambridge Scholar, London, 2017. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Envisioning the Dialogos way towards wisdom”, in STAUDE, Detlef & RUSCHMANN, Eckart (eds.): Understanding the Other and Oneself, Cambridge Scholar Publishing, Cambridge, 2018. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: Philosophising the Dialogos Way towards Wisdom in Education. Between Critical Thinking and Spiritual Contemplation, Routledge, London, 2019. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Om Askeladdens metode – eller essayet som erkjennelsesvei og klokskapsdannende skrivepraksis”, in ASKELAND, Norunn and BRINCK JØRGENDEN, Iben (eds.): Kreativ akademisk skriving, Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 2019b. 16 HANSEN, Finn Thorbjørn: At stå i det åbne. Dannelse gennem filosofisk undren og nærvær, Hans Reitzels forlag, Københanvn, 2008. 17 LINDSETH, Anders: "Dannelsens plass i profesjonsutdanninger", [The place of Bildung in professions education], in DANNELSESUTVALGET: Kunnskap og dannelse foran et nytt århundre, Universitetet i Oslo, Oslo, 2009, p. 21-27. 18 See i.e. HECKMAN, Gustav: “Six Pedagogical Measures and Socratic Facilitation.” Reprinted in Enquiring Minds – Socratic Dialogue in Education, Trentham Books, Chester, (1981) 2004. ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 115 levels of awareness. The purpose of reflective practice research is to get a deeper understanding of one’s own practice (i.e. one’s teaching practice) and by that to improve oneself as a practitioner (i.e. as a teacher). This means that our point of departure are concrete cases from our practice as university lecturers and researchers in teacher education. The cases have left us with a rather unpleasant feeling that something is not right – a feeling which Lindseth calls experience of discrepancy 19 . Our aim in this essay is to investigate what this feeling or intuition might be about, in order to formulate it in more general, theoretical and philosophical terms. Our essay is thus at least roughly structured according to Lindseth’s suggested structure for reflective practice research projects 20 : We begin by narrating two concrete cases drawn from our lives as associate professors and researchers in teacher education at the University of Southeastern Norway. This represents the first phase of the research procedure called concrete reflection. In the next phase of our research, called critical reflection, we extract some core themes that have become important to us in our joint reflection upon the cases. Central questions in this phase will be: Why caused these cases such puzzlement with us? How can we understand them? What is at stake in them? Why do we feel that something is wrong not only in these cases, but in the larger educational culture that we are living, working and educating students in? Then, in the last phase, called theoretical reflection, we reflect upon the themes in more general 19 See i.e. LINDSETH, Anders: “Dosenten i et FoU-perspektiv. Refleksiv praksisforskning som en vei mot dosentkompetanse”, in BACHKE, Carl Christian & HERMANSEN, Mads (eds.): Å satse på dosenter. Et utviklingsarbeid, Cappelen Damm Akademisk, Oslo, 2020, p. 83. 20 LINDSETH, Anders: “Dosenten i et FoU-perspektiv. Refleksiv praksisforskning som en vei mot dosentkompetanse”, in BACHKE, Carl Christian & HERMANSEN, Mads (eds.): Å satse på dosenter. Et utviklingsarbeid, Cappelen Damm Akademisk, Oslo, 2020, p. 75–101. GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 122 Wanting predefined criteria and avoiding self-reflection If this second case is an example of the educational culture that the teacher students in case 1 have grown up in, then at least one reason for their obsession with the final exam, their fear of failure and thus their hesitation to participate in discussions, becomes rather obvious. They are simply used to predefined aims, criteria and frameworks, and thus clear expectations from the teachers. When they are asked to reflect upon themselves, or to engage in the practice of (philosophical) dialogue with others, they become insecure. Such activities do not have clear aims and learning outcomes, but require the students to think for themselves. However, the student in case 2 was not allowed to think freely for herself, as it also appears to have been the case in the educational past of the students in case 1, who were looking for clear expectations and set structures. Moreover, it seems that the students had not been given sufficient room to wonder about the content of good literature, nor of the mystery of words coming to life in human beings several generations after their author died, which fascinated the student in case 2, but which students in case 1 seemed to never have experienced. Rational and measurable aims and formal structures seem to have been more important in their education than existential, ethical and spiritual content. Hence, the art of teaching in these cases appears to have been reduced to techné, as Aristotle called it. That means to the instrumental instructions of predefined techniques and skills – in these cases the skills involved in the analysis and writing of non-subjective, non-creative, texts. Answer correctly and reach the goals with the least effort Some would say that the student behavior in case 1 is perfectly normal student behavior. They just want to pass their exams, for ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 123 obvious reasons. In our understanding, this explanation would be far too simple. When investigating and reflecting upon the first case in terms of a learning practice, certain aspects come to the fore, like trying to meet the required standards, to answer correctly and also to reach the goals with the least effort (in this case, passing the final exams and fulfilling the tasks and assignments during the semester). Even here, some would still say that these aspects are a natural part of taking an education. However, with this point, underlying assumptions about how we see and understand education in general are beginning to surface. Hence, other themes that emerge from this case are the relationships between personal and analytical, and between subjective and objective, and between creativity and rationality. Curiosity, to learn for its own sake, to take a critical stance towards what one is taught and told, and a genuine interest in and an authentic wondering about the subject matter are notably absent in the first case, and it is not encouraged in the second. Nevertheless, if we leave out these aspects from our understanding of education, and even worse, if a teacher is not fostering and challenging them with his or her students, education as such is reduced to nothing but a mechanical exercise, so to speak. Personal involvement and engagement have vanished. That this is a problem was already brought up by Rousseau in his novel Emile 25 . In this novel he offers a critique of existing culture, while exploring an educational model where the student Emile is supervised by his tutor without losing his natural inner drive. 25 ROUSSEAU, Jean-Jacques: Emile- or on Education, Penguin Books Ltd., London 2007 [1756]. GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 124 Theoretical and philosophical reflection What seems to have been at stake in the previously presented educational experiences of the students in the two cases, is, among other things, the denial of authenticity, of not being understood and not being allowed to engage personally with the content taught, let alone express themselves existentially. The denial of authenticity On the one side, with the teacher in case 2, we find the notreflected use of authority, the lack of ability to tune in to the perspective of the student, and the lack of will to understand what the student had tried to do. On the other side, with the students in case 1, it is the culture of education that they had been brought up in, and which had been forming their ways of thinking and learning, as well as their models of teaching. Techné vs. phronesis Plato is known for having criticized the type of education offered by the Sophists 26 . The Sophists were masters of speech. They were teaching away techniques of persuasion and rhetoric, and they were known for talking people into something that they themselves were not even convinced of, but they did it nonetheless because they were paid for it. The difference between the ideal of education of Plato and the one of the Sophists was pointed out by Shaun Gallagher in the following way: Rhetoric, as practiced by Sophists such as Gorgias, is a collection of purely formal techniques used to impress those who listen. As a formal technique it 26 See GALLAGHER, Shaun: Hermeneutics and Education, Suny Press, Albany, NY, 1992. ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 125 does not manifest moral involvement and concern for student, subject matter, or truth. If we define art (a term that in English once signified “learning”) as a practice that manifests such moral concern, then for Plato education has more to do with art than with formal, unconcerned techné 27 It appears to be this difference between acquiring formal techniques on the one side and involvement and concern for student, subject matter and “truth”, on the other, which shows the challenges and difficulties of the two cases. In this regard, Gert Biesta`s article in 2015 “How does a competent teacher become a good teacher?” 28 can be mentiones. In short terms, Biesta assumes that acquiring various competences and skills during one’s studies, does not make a teacher student a good teacher. Even if these competences and skills are mastered outstandingly. Here it has to be mentioned that Biesta’s understanding of competence-oriented teaching and education is quite similar to what Gallagher described as the acquisition of formal techniques. Both authors refer to two of the three forms of knowledge as explicated by Aristotle, which again can already be found with Plato: techné and phronesis (the third one would be epistēmē). Both techné and phronesis represent forms of practical knowledge. However, while techné can be understood as the skills required in order to produce something, phronesis is the awareness necessary in order to do the right thing in the given moment with regards to living a good life overall 29 . In other words, while the former can be understood as know-how knowledge, the latter is often translated with the term prudence or 27 Ibidem, p. 198f. 28 BIESTA, Gert: “How Does a Competent Teacher Become a Good Teacher? On Judgement, Wisdom and Virtuosity in Teaching and Teacher Education”, in HEILBRONN, Ruth & FOREMAN-PECK, Lorraine (eds.): Philosophical Perspectives on Teacher Education, John Wiley & Sons, West Sussex, 2015. 29 See i.e. WEISS, Michael Noah: “Philosophical Mindfulness. An Essay about the Art of Philosophizing”, in HASER – International Journal of Philosophical Practice. Vol. 8, 2017. GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 126 practical wisdom and has a moral connotation. Since both technè and phronesis are forms of practical knowledge, they relate to actions and activities and it is here where the key to the answer on Biesta`s question (“How does a competent teacher become a good teacher?”) can be found. “The Eichmannisation of education” 30 Techné is related to a form of activity which is called poiesis, while phronesis relates to a type of activity called praxis. The difference between these two types of activity is the goal that is pursued with the respective activity. Poiesis is any form of activity that has the goal beyond itself. For example, building a house is a typical poietic activity, since the building process is not the final goal of the activity. Rather, it is to live in that house. Praxis on the other hand is any form of activity which has the goal within itself. Listening to music, going for a walk in the woods are examples of praxis. Both, listening to music and going for a walk, are done for their own sake, because one simply enjoys them. There is no further goal or purpose which would lie beyond these activities. Now, the same could be said about teacher practice: It is a form of praxis, and one is practicing as a teaching because one simply enjoys that. For some, this understanding of being a teacher might sound a little bit weird or even pathetic. Isn’t the goal of education in general to make one’s students acquire competences, skills and knowledge through teaching? In other words, isn’t teaching clearly a poietic activity? If it would be, then it would be about nothing more than applying effective techniques in order to make one’s students acquire other techniques sufficiently. Maths, for example, would then be about applying certain techniques as teacher in order 30 HANSEN, Finn Thorbjørn: At stå i det åbne. Dannelse gennem filosofisk undren og nærvær, Hans Reitzels forlag, Københanvn, 2008. ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 127 to make ones’ students acquire techniques of calculation and so on, and that is it. One does not need any personal involvement or moral concern for the student, for the subject matter nor for the truth” for that kind of activity to work out. And it is exactly this approach to learning and teaching that is meant with “The Eichmannisation of education” 31 – a term coined by Finn Thorbjørn Hansen. The term means to blindly and unreflectedly follow school orders, educational principles and teaching rules. The point here is that even if everything is done right, that is, done in alignment with the respective orders, rules and principles, it would still never be good. Doing good It is here where Aristotle’s explicated idea of praxis, derived from Plato, comes in. Plato thought that all human beings have the same highest goal in life and that is living a good life. Though we all have different ideas of what the good life is, we all try to pursue it. Living in a good way, however, was not meant in terms of egoistic self-realization. Rather, it was meant in terms of doing good. And here the double meaning of doing good comes to the fore. On the one hand, it relates to expressions like “I am doing well,” “I am doing better now” etc. and on the other it also refers to expressions like “doing good to others,” “making things better,” “improving a situation”. Interestingly, all these forms of doing do not so much relate to activities of production (“I am doing this and that”), rather they refer to ways of being and becoming in the sense of developing. Here it also becomes clearer why the term that Aristotle used to signify the good life, namely eudaimonia, is often translated with human flourishing and not simply with happiness. Furthermore, in one way or another, all these previously mentioned expressions have an ethical connotation. They address a 31 HANSEN, Finn Thorbjørn: At stå i det åbne. Dannelse gennem filosofisk undren og nærvær, Hans Reitzels forlag, Københanvn, 2008. GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 128 fundamental personal and moral involvement in whatever we are doing and they can be summarized by the question “How are we all doing in the situation that we find ourselves in?” Here again, this question addresses two sides of the same coin: It relates to how we are feeling about the situation, but also, what we are doing. If we are going for a walk or listening to music, because it does good to us, then this can be called praxis as we have seen. If we see teaching as an activity that we perform because it does good to us and our students, then this can also be called praxis. For it is an activity that has the goal in itself: It does good to everyone involved. However, as teachers we certainly will find ourselves performing certain teaching practices, where not everyone involved feels good about it. Then we want to improve that practice, we want to make it better - we want to become better. We are doing so by reflecting about the respective teaching practice, we find potential improvements and then … we practice, we reflect over our practice, then we practice again, and so on. Until we have reached a level of practice, where everyone involved feels good about it. Here the teacher can be compared with a piano player. The piano player enjoys playing, but it is through reflection that he or she can realize room for improvement. So, he or she continues to practice, in order to become better. The art of improvisation – an art necessary for a good piano player – surely comes only through regular practice, for example. The same can be said about teaching, where improvisation is of significant relevance too. One can only learn to teach well by practicing good teaching, and not by merely acquiring competences. In other words, it is a form of practical knowledge (or even wisdom) that is fostered by practice and which can be called phronesis: The awareness of doing the right thing in the given situation with regards to living a good life overall 32 . 32 WEISS, Michael Noah: “Philosophical Mindfulness. An Essay about the Art of Philosophizing”, in HASER – International Journal of Philosophical Practice. Vol. 8, 2017. ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 129 Adapted for the context of teaching, phronesis might be defined as the awareness of doing the right thing in the given teaching situation with regards to having the students and oneself enjoying the teaching – only then a room for curiosity, critical thinking, a drive to explore etc. can be unleashed. The search for wisdom – the original goal of education According to Pierre Hadot in his book Philosophy as a way of life. Spiritual exercises from Socrates to Foucault 33 all the ancient schools of philosophy agreed that philosophy and the activity of philosophizing involves the individual’s love of and search for wisdom. Even though their understanding of how to develop towards wisdom differed, they all agreed that wisdom first and foremost implies a state of perfect “peace of mind” or “soul”, accompanied by a comprehensive view of the nature of the whole and of humanity’s place within it. Furthermore, they agreed that attaining to such Sophia, or wisdom, represents the highest Good for human beings. However, according to their common assumption, most people live unwise lives most of the time, characterized by unnecessary forms of suffering and disorder. The cause of this suffering and disorder is being unaware of the powers of unregulated passions, that is, of unregulated desires and exaggerated fears. Hence, people are held back from truly living, these schools agreed, according to the interpretation of Hadot 34 . Therefore, in order to truly live, people need to develop their wisdom, a stance that has a parallel in the Indian Yoga philosophy. Here it is argued that a person`s capacity to deal effectively with his or her emotions, listen to the guidance that these emotions give, harness their energy, and channel their powers into healthy 33 HADOT, Pierre: Philosophy as a way of life: spiritual exercises from Socrates to Foucault, Blackwell, Malden MA, 1995. 34 Ibidem. GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 130 motivation, communication, and behavior, is a hallmark of a healthy individual. Failures in one or more of these areas will lead to various forms of breakdown in the wellbeing and psychological functioning and health of the person 35 . Both the teachings in the Academy of Plato and in the Lyceum of Aristotle, were oriented towards wisdom development as a remedy against suffering and disorder both in personal and political life 36 . Developing the insight and skills involved in wise living was thus a core interest of the pedagogies of all the ancient schools of philosophy, and in fact, until the eighteens century, moral theory and practice were largely Aristotelian in character, if we are to accept MacIntyre`s analysis in After Virtue 37 . The idea was that there are certain qualities of mind and character (virtues) which should guide people in their daily lives. Practical wisdom was one of them. Moreover, in the Christian tradition, there was a corresponding list of vices or “deadly sins” 38 signaling failure in life. Moreover, it was generally agreed that human beings had a purpose (telos) which involved the cultivation of the virtues in order to become both a good person and a good citizen, the one being necessarily connected with the other. Never again Auschwitz Today, wisdom as a virtue worthwhile pursuing, is rarely studied by scholars of pedagogy, nor used as an ideal for pedagogical practice. 35 YOGENDRA, Shri: Why Yoga?, The Yoga Institute, Mumbai, 2007 [1976]. 36 HADOT, Pierre: Philosophy as a way of life: spiritual exercises from Socrates to Foucault, Blackwell, Malden MA, 1995. 37 See MACINTYRE, Alistair: “After Virtue”, in Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie, 46 (1):, 1981, p. 169-171. 38 See also BRUNSTAD, Paul Otto: Klokt lederskap: mellom dyder og dødssynder, [Prudent leadership: between virtues and deadly sins], Gyldendal, Oslo, 2009. ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 131 Neither is wisdom at the center of academic philosophy nowadays. However, in the face of the global situation today, with increasing tensions between states and within states, and with rising rightwing policies and nationalist agendas, Adorno`s concern as expressed in his article “Education after Auschwitz” from 1967 seem disturbingly relevant 39 . After the Second World War one could have expected a revitalization of the Bildung tradition, he claims. This did not happen. Adorno could not understand why this had been given so little attention, claiming it shows that the monstrosity had not penetrated people’s minds deeply enough. This, Adorno argues, is itself is a symptom of the continuing potential for the recurrence of what happened in Auschwitz, as far as peoples’ consciousness and unconscious is concerned. Despite the beautiful traditions and thoughts that Germany and Europe had been built upon, the «Endlösung» was made possible due to modern infrastructure and means of transportation, concentration camps organized as giant factories with industrial mass killings and medical experiments. Adorno`s strong claim is that Every debate about the ideals of education is trivial and inconsequential compared to this single ideal: never again Auschwitz. It was the barbarism all education strives against. One speaks of the threat of a relapse into barbarism. But it is not a threat—Auschwitz was this relapse, and barbarism continues as long as the fundamental conditions that favored that relapse continue largely unchanged. 40 Yet the barbarism was carried out by well-educated and trained doctors and nurses, engineers and lawyers, many of them probably performing their jobs to the best of their abilities. Education, as it had developed from the Enlightenment period on, had not 39 ADORNO, Theodor W.: Education after Auschwitz, 1967, available in http://josswinn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/AdornoEducation.pdf (last access 14th of May 2019) 40 Ibidem. GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 138 What is a good life? What is right action? What is the relationship between emotions and reason? Between existence and rationality? Between mind and body? How can human beings overcome suffering and disorder in life? What is wisdom, and how can human beings become wise? These are questions important to philosophical practice, as discussed for instance by Weiss 56 and Helskog 57 . The latter, for instance, has developed the Dialogos approach – a multidimensional approach to philosophical practice in mainstream education that has the search of wisdom at its core. Her book Philosophising the Dialogos Way towards Wisdom in Education – between critical thinking and spiritual contemplation can be read as an attempt to give philosophical practitioners, teachers and teacher educators theoretical perspectives as well as text samples and exercises that can be used for practicing philosophy across all levels in education 58 . 56 WEISS, Michael Noah (ed.): The Socratic Handbook. Dialogue Methods for Philosophical Practice, LIT publishing, Vienna, 2015. 57 HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: Philosophising the Dialogos Way towards Wisdom in Education. Between Critical Thinking and Spiritual Contemplation, Routledge, London, 2019a. 58 See HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: Dialogos. Filosofi for ungdomstrinnet, Fag og kultur, Oslo, 2006. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “The Gandhi Project: Dialogos philosophical dialogues and the ethics and politics of intercultural and interfaith friendship”, in Educational Action Research, Level 2, 2014, p. 1-20, available in https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2014.980287 (last access 13th of March 2019). Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Bildung towards wisdom through dialogue in teacher education”, in Arts and humanities in higher education, Level 1, special issue on dialogue edited by ALTHORF, Marije, 2016, available in https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1474022216670609 (last access 13th of March 2019). Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Searching for wisdom the Dialogos way”, in AMIR, Lydia (ed.): Practicing Philosophy: Expanding Boundaries, New Frontiers, Cambridge Scholar, London, 2017. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Envisioning the Dialogos way towards wisdom”, in STAUDE, Detlef & RUSCHMANN, Eckart (eds.): Understanding the Other and Oneself, Cambridge Scholar Publishing, Cambridge, 2018. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: Philosophising the Dialogos Way towards Wisdom in Education. Between ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 139 Pedagogical practice as an open-ended practice Philosophical questions such as the ones mentioned above are still relevant to the lives of human beings in all ages across the world today. They can best be treated through dialogical and philosophical practices because they cannot be answered once and for all. Every human being and every generation needs to answer them for themselves. Not striving to answer them, however, might lead to the type of non-reflectivity and loyalty that lead to the barbarism of Auschwitz, to refer back to Adorno 59 . Only openended practices can give human beings the flexibility of mind and the ability to take the perspectives of others needed, for instance in life skills, democratic citizenship skills and sustainable living skills – three of the core themes running through the newly reformed Norwegian curriculum for primary, secondary and upper secondary schools. Most important: Such practices are good in themselves, serving one`s inner life and being while preparing for morally good action. Summary and final remarks We began this essay by stating our concern that there is an urgent need for philosophical practices in education today. Taking our Critical Thinking and Spiritual Contemplation, Routledge, London, 2019a. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Om Askeladdens metode – eller essayet som erkjennelsesvei og klokskapsdannende skrivepraksis”, in ASKELAND, Norunn and BRINCK JØRGENDEN, Iben (eds.): Kreativ akademisk skriving, Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 2019b. Or: HELSKOG, Guro Hansen: “Fragmentering og disharmoni – eller helse og livsmestring?”, in Prismet 1, 2019c, p. 53-61. 59 ADORNO, Theodor W.: Education after Auschwitz, 1967, available in http://josswinn.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/AdornoEducation.pdf (last access 14th of May 2019). GURO HANSEN HELSKOG – MICHAEL NOAH WEISS HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 140 departure in two cases, the first from Weiss` work with younger teacher students, the second from Helskog`s reflective practice research in the field of education, some core themes were extracted and reflected upon both critically and theoretically. A case in reflective practice research, however, is never clear cut, because it is taken from real life situations that are constantly evolving. We thus close this essay by taking each case one step further. At the end of the semester in case 1, Weiss had a talk with two students of the described class. He asked them why they were so concerned about meeting the required standards, to answer correctly, to reach the goals with the least effort and so forth. In short, their answer was because this is how they learned to learn during their years at school. When Weiss replied that this is interesting, because their class would be among the first generation who grew up with the so-called competence aims (an educational framework coming into force in the 1990s). For a moment they were baffled, and they left the session with wondrous minds. As to case 2, three years after the incident described, and at this point in her final year of high school, the student told Helskog she had a similar experience when working on an analysis of the short story “Hills like white elephants” by Ernest Hemingway 60 . This time the text was included in an assignment in her English class. The student had read the story over and over again, not understanding anything to begin with, then experiencing that “the spirit” of the story gradually was released and rose from between the few lines of the story. She had been completely mind blown and left in awe and wonderment about the almost mysterious workings of words on a piece of paper, written by one human being and brought to life in another, the two living almost 100 years apart. 60 HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Hills like White Elephants. 1927. Retrieved 30.05.2020 from Hills Like White Elephants.rtf (weber.edu) ON THE URGENT NEED FOR PHILOSOPHICAL PRACTICES HASER. Revista Internacional de Filosofía Aplicada, nº 12, 2021, pp. 107-147 141 The student had asked her Norwegian teacher at the time to read the story, asking how such a text would have been assessed if it was written by a student. The teachers` response was that she did not think most teachers would understand what the student would have done. The teacher speculated that nowadays, Norwegian teachers mostly commented on text structure, and not on content, meaning that a teacher probably would not read the content thoroughly enough to uncover the deeper meaning of the story, even if it had the qualities of Hemingway`s. Like the students in case 1, the teacher in case 2 had been rather baffled. We as philosophers call this state aporia. The development in the two cases indicate that something new might emerge. This is also where the freedom of paradox 61 shows itself. In both cases a door to a possible different kind of understanding had opened up, giving us at least some hope that teaching and learning in the future will include philosophical and dialogical practices that can baffle and redirect, serving the good life for teachers and students alike. 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