Hogan, Pádraig
(2006)
Education as a discipline of thought
and action: a memorial to John Wilson.
Educational Theory, 32 (2).
pp. 253-264.
ISSN 0013-2004
Abstract
The late John Wilson has long been a champion of education as a human undertaking with an integrity
of its own, as distinct from one that is essentially subordinate to extrinsic interests and influences
(e.g. religious, political, commercial). He has also been a fearless critic of forms of thinking that he
regarded as failing to articulate adequately that integrity. In keeping with this view he has boldly
argued that the philosophy of education must be conceived and practised as a sui generis activity.
In this memorial essay I am keen to show that Wilson is right, and crucially so, in arguing that
education is a field of action in its own right and in maintaining that the philosophy of education is
a sui generis activity. I am also keen to illustrate however, that Wilson is wrong in decisive respects
in how he conceives of the sui generis character of the philosophy of education and in the restricted
understanding of education as a practice that flows from this conception. Acknowledging a debt to
Wilson’s writings, the essay seeks to pursue further some of his more incisive insights and to connect
these to some promising inspirations for educational thought and practice that have their origins in
the distinctive, but largely eclipsed work of the historical figure Socrates. To argue thus is to highlight
the radical nature of the claim that educational thought and action constitute a sui generis
undertaking and to call into question any claim that philosophy of education is ‘a branch of’ one or
other form of academic philosophy.
| Item Type: |
Article
|
| Keywords: |
Education; discipline; thought;
action; memorial; John Wilson; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Education |
| Item ID: |
8572 |
| Identification Number: |
https://doi.org/10.1080/03054980600645420 |
| Depositing User: |
Dr. Padraig Hogan,
|
| Date Deposited: |
08 Aug 2017 12:35 |
| Journal or Publication Title: |
Educational Theory |
| Publisher: |
Wiley |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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