ERIC - EJ686794 - Relativism and the Critical Potential of Philosophy of Education, Journal of Philosophy of Education, 2004-Aug Notes FAQ Contact Us Collection Thesaurus Advanced Search Tips Peer reviewed only Full text available on ERIC Collection Thesaurus Browse Thesaurus Include Synonyms Include Dead terms Peer reviewed Direct link ERIC Number: EJ686794 Record Type: Journal Publication Date: 2004-Aug Pages: 18 Abstractor: Author ISBN: N/A ISSN: ISSN-0309-8249 EISSN: N/A Available Date: N/A Relativism and the Critical Potential of Philosophy of Education Heyting, Frieda Journal of Philosophy of Education , v38 n3 p493-510 Aug 2004 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. Descriptors: Educational Philosophy , Criticism , Epistemology Journal Customer Services, Blackwell Publishing, 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770 (Toll Free); Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: subscrip@bos.blackwellpublishing.com. Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive Education Level: N/A Audience: N/A Language: English Sponsor: N/A Authoring Institution: N/A Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A Author Affiliations: N/A Privacy | Copyright | Contact Us | Selection Policy | API | Metrics Journals | Non-Journals | Download | Submit | Multimedia | Widget