The role of critique in the Anglophone analytical tradition of philosophy of education is outlined and some of its shortcomings are noted, particularly its apparent claim to methodological objectivity in arriving at what are clearly contestable positions about the normative basis of education. Many of these issues can be seen to have a long history within European, and especially German, philosophy of education. In the light of this the discussion moves on to a consideration of similarities and contrasts between the (...) Anglophone and German-inspired deployment of the concept of critical rationality in philosophy of education. The claims to objectivity of the Anglophone tradition are contrasted with a more self-conscious concern for social justice and improvement in other European traditions, which has been followed more recently by a greater scepticism concerning the potential of critique for delivering social justice and improvement in education. This has parallels with the growing Anglophone disillusion with ‘classical’ analytic philosophy of education. This in turn has resulted in a greater awareness of the limitations of critique: its ideological character, its rootedness in specific contexts, its own potential dogmatism and its ambiguities. The various contributions to this volume are briefly described and related to each other. (shrink)

The question of whether protective labor legislation is beneficial to female workers has triggered much debate among feminist scholars. Like proponents of laissez-faire, some feminist scholars and activists have argued that such legislation harms the economic interests of women by lowering their wages and diminishing their employment prospects on the free labor market. This article reexamines the arguments made by opponents of protective labor legislation in the light of the historical development of the welfare state in Britain and France. It (...) is shown that the case against gender-specific protective labor legislation does not hold on empirical grounds. A strong body of evidence shows that protective labor legislation historically brought increasing economic returns and expanded opportunities to women in both countries. This has important implications for contemporary debates about the relationship between protective labor legislation and gender discrimination in the European Community, the International Labor Organization, and developing countries. (shrink)

How can philosophy exert its critical function in society and in education if any appeal to independent and even relatively ‘certain’ criteria seems problematic? The epistemological doubts that foundationalist models of justification encounter unavoidably seem to raise this question. In particular, the relativist implications that seem to result from rejecting such models seem to paralyse the critical potential of philosophy of education. In order to explore the possibilities of a conception of educational critique that avoids the pitfalls of foundationalism, I (...) analyse the epistemological dimensions of this much-feared relativism, illustrating this with some characteristic examples. Solving the problems raised will require an interpretation of critique that leaves our daily sense of critique intact, without literally adopting its—foundationalist—basic assumptions. After systematically developing such an alternative interpretation of critical usage, a non-relativist but still non-foundationalist and powerful conception of philosophical critique seems possible. I illustrate results with some examples from philosophy of education. (shrink)

The Philosopher's Banquet is the first sustained study of Plutarch's Table Talk, a Greek prose text which is a combination of philosophical dialogue (in the ...

Éditeur, commentateur, traducteur d’Érasme et de More, C. Miller s’est particulièrement illustré dans ses travaux sur l’Encomium Moriae et dans sa traduction des poèmes de l’humaniste hollandais. Attentif aux “métamorphoses” de la Moria, il a étudié avec une rigueur extrême les diverses éditions de ce texte fameux, en tenant compte notamment du commentaire de Listrius, pour donner en 1979 une excellente traduction de The Praise of Folly et une non moins excellente édition critique de ce texte. Plus récemment, s’attaquant avec (...) Harry Vredeveld aux poèmes d’Érasme—Vredeveld est l’éditeur des Carmina dans l’édition critique d’Amsterdam—il en fournit la première traduction complète en langue anglaise, sans chercher à opposer aux différents mètres latins les équivalents approximatifs d’ une métrique anglaise: mais c’est une prose poétique, d’une parfaite rigueur, brillante—souvent plus brillante que le modèle latin—, attentive aux nuances subtiles de l’affectivité d’Érasme comme à ses variations d’humeur, passant du grave au mélancolique, ou du dévotieux à l’humoristique selon la couleur du temps, le thème choisi, le destinataire, l’étiage psychique du poeta orator. (shrink)

In reaction to Doret De Ruyter's recent defence of the importance of ideals in education, I advocate cautiousness in three respects. First, I explain the importance of distinguishing ideals more sharply from goals by demonstrating the problems of considering ideals even approximately realisable. Second, I substantiate my doubts about their indispensability in human motivation, and question the desirability of encouraging the motivational use of ideals. Third, I question whether ideals could or should be ‘passed on’ in education, drawing attention to (...) their non-objective, personally created nature. (shrink)

Au total 1367 documents avec une inscription en linéaire A sur les 1427 connus peuvent être datés selon le système d'Evans. Ils permettent d'établir avec certitude que cette écriture a été en usage en Crète du MM II au MR I B, avec peut-être un prolongement au MR II. En dehors de Crète, elle est attestée dans les Cyclades, à Kéa au MM III et au MR I B, à Milos au MR I et à Théra au MR I A (...) ; elle est connue à Cythère au MM IIΙ Β-MR I Aet elle a même gagné la Laconie sans qu'on puisse dire à quelle époque. (shrink)

This book gives a comprehensive account of methods in philosophy of education, it also examines their application in the 'real world' of education. It will therefore be of interest to philosophers and educators alike.

Is Judaism essentially a religion of laws and commandments? Or do its sources reflect significant attempts at addressing the individual's inner life, existential crises and spiritual experiences? Inner Religion in Jewish Sources offers a comprehensive exploration of inner life in the Jewish sources from the Bible to rabbinic literature, from Medieval Jewish philosophy to Kabbalistic writings and the Hasidic world, where it gained particularly potent expressions. Addressing the issue from the perspective of comparative religion, it seeks to emphasize the commonality (...) of processes of interiorization in various religious traditions, suggesting an innovative angle both in the study of religion and of religious thought. In doing so, it sheds new light on the inner aspect of Jewish religious life, which is all too often hidden behind the external and institutional aspects of the Jewish religion. (shrink)

This paper focuses on the Hasidic view, namely, that human flaws do not function as a barrier between a fallen humanity and a perfect deity, since the whole of creation stems from a divine act of self-contraction. Thus, we need not be discouraged by our own shortcomings, nor by those of our loved ones. Rather, seeing our flaws in the face of another should remind us that imperfection is an aspect of the God who created us. Such a positive approach (...) to human fallibility arouses forgiveness, mutual acceptance, and a hope for repair, and, therefore, has much to recommend itself. In the first part of the paper, I argue that the notion of a perfect God derives from the Greeks rather than the Hebrew Bible. A review of classical philosophies and the idea of God’s imperfection is followed by a consideration of several Jewish attempts to resolve the dichotomy between Divine perfection and an imperfect creation. I focus on Lurianic Kabbalah, Hans Jonas, and on the Hasidic concept of "Ayin " or “nothingness” as the very source of redemption. This Hasidic idea, which was further expanded upon by the Baal Shem Tov’s students, appears in a tale recounted by his great-grandson R. Nachman of Bratslav called “The Hanging Lamp.” I focus on the tale, which illustrates the idea that knowledge of human imperfection is itself a means of perfection and redemption. (shrink)

Stage organise par le Centre d'etudes superieures de la Renaissance de Tours, sous la direction de Jean-Claude Margolin et tenu du 3 au 25 juillet.

Researchers and clinicians describe how the vocabulary, theoretical framework, and information processing models of cognitive psychology are applied to various disorders of attention, memory, language, vision, calculation, and motor control.

Parallèlement à ses travaux divers relatifs à Érasme et à l'érasmisme (études biographiques et critiques, éditions, traductions), l'auteur poursuit depuis de nombreuses années une bibliographie analytique de tous les erasmiana publiés (voire inédits) depuis 1936 (année du quatrième centenaire de la mort d'Érasme). Avec ce quatrième volume sera couvert le champ de quarante années de bibliographie érasmienne. De nombreux index - notammment les index des éditions et des traductions, et les index thématiques - permettent de déterminer, à travers l'univers, les (...) points de concentration d'études spécifiques, l'importance de quelques "chantiers" ouverts dans l'Ancien et le Nouveau Monde, la plus grande popularité de certaines œuvres, les intérêts nouveaux suscités par la pensée et les textes de l'humaniste hollandais, avec, à l'occasion des temps forts marqués par les célébrations des anniversaires (1936, 1967-69, 1986 - pour le 450e anniversaire de la mort d'Érasme -) une véritable accumulation de travaux. La poursuite de ses travaux bibliographiques, que l'auteur espère pouvoir mener jusqu'à l'actualité la plus immédiate, semble bien confirmer, une fois de plus, la parole prophétique de John Colet : "Nomen Erasmi nunquam peribit", le nom d'Érasme ne périra jamais. (shrink)