Practical Philosophy in education: philosophy & praxis of dialogue/discussion
University of the Aegean (UAegean)
Laboratory of Research on Practical Philosophy (L.R.P.Ph.)
Department of Preschool Education Sciences & Educational Design
Coordinator οf the Blended Intensive Program
Prof. Elena Theodoropoulou
Directress of the L.R.P.Ph.
Beyond the methodological inputs from philosophy to teaching practice, which education seems to be content with, as they feed its dynamic objectives, philosophy’s teaching forms can be a bridge to incorporate into education ways in which persons perceive reality, to capture and share thinking on the move, to sharpen fine observation, to capture sounds, movements, gestures, silences, as they sculpt and differentiate meanings, to perceive discontinuities and evaluate continuities, linking experiences into narratives and interpretations that organize and reorganize aspects and perspectives of life, introducing the body as a shaper of meanings, giving space to surprise and enduring reversals. Philosophy thus becomes not only a guide to rationality and its anatomy, but a peculiar tool for resilience to non-rational or even irrational aberrations, which nevertheless remain part of experience, cognitive processes, and interpretive openings. A large part of the creativity of philosophy is related to the detailed critique to which it submits the concepts and perceptions that form the theories of life, man and his relations within the social and natural environment on a continuous basis, since this critical positioning, being uninterrupted, reorganizes judgments, theories, stances and positions, leading to new life choices. The development of thinking skills and the multiple cognitive processes through which thought is articulated and reasoning ability is refined and complexified are not limited to rhetorical or argumentative prowess, but are mainly related to the exercise of the ability of individuals to be aware of their choices, which is directly linked to their philosophical attitude, ethics and aesthetics. It would thus be an intense exercise in complex thinking, an ecological kind of thought leading to acts, constructions, performances, the creation of new forms of experiencing life and its images.
This multiple integration of ongoing parameters into a coherent concept capable of supporting the specific philosophical practice and act in the space-time of education, this elusive, plural and untamed raw material and the difficulties of assembling the different levels constitute at the same time, not only a philosophical-pedagogical project of high difficulty and precision, but also a creative act, to the extent that such difficulties can deregulate this system, opening up spaces of perplexity, where philosophy, pedagogy, interlocutors in various settings are called upon to regroup their powers, mental, physical, moral, emotional, aesthetic, cognitive, in a continuous effort to organize common and personal, individual and collective meanings. The systematic articulation of the concept (as basic philosophical lever), with the method (as a way and support of the persons while they act) and the material (as interdisciplinary tool for the development of synergy between philosophy, pedagogy and arts/literature) produces a flexible mechanism of a critical transfer of practical philosophy in educational contexts.
On that grounds, the acknowledgment of practical philosophy as epistemological framework for pedagogical-didactic practices related to philosophical procedures, is desirable to be restored and within this very framework, the discussion/dialogue procedures to take a prominent position because on the hand of their multiple meaningfulness for education and philosophy as well and on the other hand of their innate relation with educational and philosophical praxis and practices. The reason to consider discussion/dialogue forms as a way of practical philosophy to develop in educational environments lies exactly in this double position. Conversely, to this extent, and as we go along the exploration of dialogical/discussional frameworks, methodologies and acts, we have the opportunity to explore simultaneously the possibility for practical philosophy to be recognized on them and, moreover, to extend or reimagine its claims, through the understanding of this exploration as an aspect of its own understanding: could practical philosophy be understood beyond and without any fundamental relatedness with dialogical event?
Bibliography
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