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White Paper Concerning Philosophy of Education and Environment

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Abstract

This paper begins with a recognition that questions of climate change, environmental degradation, and our relations to the natural world are increasingly significant and requiring of a response not only as philosophers of education but also as citizens of the planet. As such the paper explores five of the key journals in philosophy of education in order to identify the extent, range, and content of current discussions related to the environment. It then organizes and summaries the articles that were located while seeking to identify the extent, possibilities, and limitations of current discussions relating to the environment in the philosophy of education community. The hope is that ultimately this work is an invitation to anyone, regardless of tradition, orientation, and expertise, to contribute to the expansion and deepening of both theory and practice in the face of this most serious of challenges.

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Notes

  1. Schinkel outlines a possible alternative to this problem. He writes, “what if we may assume, as we reasonably can, that the contracting parties’ self-interest includes a concern for their own children and grandchildren?” (p. 517). In other words, it is in the interest of the present generation to care for their children’s generation and grandchildren and this a possible way to solve the reciprocity problem; the present generation will be receiving something—their grandchildren will not suffer from lack of resources. However, as Schinkel (2009) suggests, to think that the present generation will care for next generation ad infinitum lacks credibility.

  2. The Brundtland Commission's report defined sustainable development as “development which meets the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

  3. It is interesting to note here that in Schnak’s (Schnak 2009) article, she offers a different perspective. She writes, “Nature, thus construed, is never innocent of culture and cannot therefore be ‘restored’ to some pristine, prelapsarian state” (p. 15). While Schnak may not be referring to an ontological status like Bonnett above, she does argue that nature is a normative concept and ‘concepts of nature and nationhood are strongly interwoven’. Schnak is not arguing for or against a post-structuralist perspective so is not included in the debate above.

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Humphreys, C., Blenkinsop, S. White Paper Concerning Philosophy of Education and Environment. Stud Philos Educ 36, 243–264 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-017-9567-2

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