Education and Conversation: Exploring Oakeshott’s Legacy

Review

Drawing together leading figures from philosophy and education, Bakhurst and Fairfield's Education and Conversation positions Oakeshott's work within a contemporary context, offering not only an important contribution to the understanding of Oakeshott's own thinking, but also showing why his work remains relevant today. The conversational vision that Oakeshott enunciates, and upon which Bakhurst and Fairfield's contributors elaborate, provides a compelling alternative to the unthinking instrumentalism and reductionism that seems currently to hold sway in business, governmental, and even in many educational circles. This is a valuable book on an important theme. (Jeff Malpas, Distinguished Professor, University of Tasmania, Australia)

Inspired by a famous essay of Michael Oakeshott, these essays argue for 'conversation' as the most fertile metaphor for understanding the life of mind. They elucidate and scrutinise Oakeshott's thought by enacting a conversation of their own in which his singularly eloquent voice is brought into play with a fascinating array of other voices. While offering much to pique the philosophical imagination, the collection succeeds admirably in its main aim: to expose the hollow claims and to resist the insidiously growing power of a whole plethora of efficiency-blinded, outcomes-driven and technology-boosted approaches in contemporary education. (Joseph Dunne, Cregan Professor of Philosophy and Education, Emeritus, Dublin City University, Ireland)

Product Description

Since Michael Oakeshott spoke of education as initiation into 'the conversation of mankind' more than fifty years ago, the idea has inspired a diverse array of thinkers and continues to be invoked today by those seeking to resist the influence of managerialism and narrow instrumentalism in educational policy and practice.

Education and Conversation draws together papers written by scholars from both the analytic and continental philosophical traditions to offer a variety of perspectives on the implications of Oakeshott's educational ideas. The metaphor of the conversation of mankind is explored, together with the roots of Oakeshott's thinking in his early philosophical work, the relevance of his ideas to the concept of Bildung, and the significance of his political conservatism in evaluating the seemingly progressive potential of his educational ideas. In addition, concepts prominent in Oakeshott's thought are taken up and brought to bear on contemporary philosophical discussions about education, learning and development, including the nature of initiation, the phenomenology of listening, and the value of the liberal arts tradition.

Education and Conversation shows how the idea of conversation illuminates both the character and the ends of education, yielding insight into the scope and limits of the philosophy of education and the character of philosophical inquiry more generally.

Book Description

Pursues Oakeshott's idea that education can be understood as a "conversation of mankind," addressing questions about the nature of education, styles of listening and reflection, dialogue and reasoning, and implications for new teaching and learning methods.

About the Author

Paul Fairfield is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Queen's University, Canada.