Abstract
Concluding the book, this chapter formulates a concept of less violent epistemology and of the circumstances that might be conducive to fostering its enactment. This chapter discusses the implications of, and processes required, to transition towards non-violent epistemology from habitual and historically engrained enactment of violent epistemology. This includes a discussion of what this is likely to mean for individuals from an emotional, psychological, and practical standpoint, and of how moving away from violent epistemology towards less violent epistemic practice is not a concept that can simply be ‘adopted’, but is rather a complex, whole-person approach which requires deep transformation of how we relate with ourselves, others and the phenomenal world. This chapter ends with a discussion on the potential and possibilities for change within social systems and structures which have been built on violent epistemology and suggested directions for future research.
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- 1.
Except perhaps for those with certain forms and degrees of cognitive impairment. More research would be necessary to explore the impact of this on epistemic agency.
- 2.
For example, noticing that a child needs more help with learning than previously thought can easily be integrated into a teacher’s existing schema related to that child by acknowledging this and making a mental note to spend a bit more time with them on the topic or to look into additional learning support. However, this is very unlikely to cause significant disequilibrium by challenging the validity of everything the teacher knows about teaching and learning.
- 3.
For example, when a teacher is required by a phenomenon to call into question the validity of an entire pedagogical philosophy into which their career and sense of self may be heavily invested.
- 4.
This is not to say that Summerhill School is a perfect example of conducive circumstances, but is rather an example of a school that aims to break away from many of the characteristics of traditional schooling that can be seen to constitute non-conducive circumstances.
- 5.
This is not to say that such categories should be done away with altogether, but simply to caution against their use as a form of violent epistemic ‘identity thinking’ (cf. Adorno 1973).
- 6.
While recognising that simply integrating more people into the existing economic system does nothing to challenge its underlying ideology.
- 7.
However, previous attempts to introduce such activities have perpetuated the exclusion of students who live in tenements. As Kohara (2009) found, these students would not participate because the activity required them to remove their shoes, and lacking access to adequate sanitary facilities, the children were embarrassed about the smell of their feet. This highlights yet again the importance of addressing broader contextual factors. As analysis of the Educommunication project also found (cf. Titchiner 2017), simply increasing opportunities for self-expression is also not sufficient.
- 8.
However, this would not address the fact that low self-esteem is often a product of subject de-formations fostered by struggling to conform to conditions of worth ascribed by an ideological society. Therefore, such actions do not address this underlying issue.
- 9.
This would need to be implemented with caution so as not to assign conditions of worth to placement in particular groups, which could simply reinforce students’ self-schema as ‘bad’, or ‘sub-standard’ if placed in a group which is seen to be for students of lower ability, for example.
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Titchiner, B.M. (2019). Moving Forwards. In: The Epistemology of Violence. Critical Political Theory and Radical Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12911-8_8
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