Abstract
Peter Winch’s claim that the province of social science is one of philosophical as well as empirical enquiry is examined using education as an extended example. On Winch’s view, understanding a social institution or practice involves a grasp of its conceptual structure and this itself should be the subject of empirical investigation. Winch’s own criticism of his earlier position is compared with Rush Rhees’s critique of the Builders example in Wittgenstein’s Philosophical Investigations (1958/1967). Language games are not to be considered in isolation but as part of a society consisting of interconnected practices that taken together make sense. Education as a family of preparatory human practices is considered as an integral part of a society and, drawing on Vico, the complexity of education’s role in society is considered. The implications of this complexity for a conceptual investigation of education is outlined and a distinction is drawn between the concept of education and various operative conceptions which are the province of the empirical as well as the normative researcher. This approach to the study of education is illustrated through an extended example and the possibilities for an empirical investigation of education are considered.
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Notes
- 1.
As is well-known, the English term ‘science’ has connotations of experimental enquiries concerning natural phenomena, whereas the German ‘Wissenschaft’ is a more hold-all term encompassing all kinds of systematic enquiry aiming at knowledge. The term ‘Wissenschaft’, when substituted for ‘science’ already makes Winch’s claim sound much less controversial.
- 2.
Adam Smith makes this crucial move in Bk 1 of the Wealth of Nations (1776/1981). Moving from the relatively uncontroversial suggestion that we always act from our (perceived) interests in matters economic, he equates this with the more controversial claim that we thus act out of self-love in such matters (pp. 26–27), despite his friend David Hume cautioning against such an interpretation ‘Of the Dignity and Meanness of Human Nature’ (Hume 1741/2008).
- 3.
The dispute between Walther von Stolzing and Hans Sachs in Act 3 of Wagner’s ‘Die Meistersingers’, expresses this conflict, and Wagner gives due weight to both sides.
- 4.
See the discussion in (Reid 1987)
- 5.
Space does not allow me to develop this example further. It concerns the assessment of the quality of the writing of young children. In this case we have a genuinely contested concept, and perhaps a considerable degree of confusion as to how to resolve it. It is difficult to frame an investigation into a practice if the investigators cannot determine their own framing concepts for the investigation because of radical disagreements within their own culture about what the practice involves. The interested reader should look at the references to Barrow and Woods (1974), Howe (1990), Best (1992), Gingell (2001) and Reid (1987) in the bibliography to follow this issue up.
- 6.
This could be considered as a ‘hinge’ proposition and one might wonder about its universal scope (Dromm 2018). I am not here concerned about its status as a putative hinge proposition and merely suggest that it is hard to make sense of any human society without taking account of biological parameters. This does not imply that it is straightforward to just ‘read off’ the non-categorial contingent manifestations of categorial concepts simply by treating them as a kind of deduction from those concepts or by covertly importing non-categorial content into the categorial concepts.
- 7.
The role of conflict receives explicit recognition in the 1990 Introduction to ISS.
- 8.
One rarely remarked on consequence of such perspectivalism is that what one group may regard as a worthwhile life for another is not recognised as a worthwhile life for them. Vico was aware of such conflicts of perception.
- 9.
This is not to imply that all children are inculcated into every societal practice, which would be absurd. But it does imply that they are inculcated into those practices that make a human life possible, even if, for some, that life is more restricted than that of others.
- 10.
See Everett (2008) on the child-rearing practices of the Piraha. When we come across examples like this, we can better understand what Winch meant when he said that any worthwhile philosophy involves the study of society. We are alerted to different ways of living and gain a better understanding of such concepts as initiation, trust, obedience and understanding as a result.
- 11.
See Rousseau’s comments in Emile on the need for Emile to have a life partner, Sophie (Rousseau 1762/1968, 465).
- 12.
We can add here that the Germanophone Bildungsroman literary tradition takes seriously the idea that self-knowledge is not available to one just because one is an adult, but must be painfully acquired through experiences, often of occupational engagement and romantic attachment. See for example the novels of Keller, Goethe, Lenz, and many others, in particular Goethe (1790/1980).
- 13.
Plato (2016) ‘The Laws’ Bk 1, 644 onwards for a very strong statement of a moral view of education as opposed to training. I do not mean to exclude of course that members of a particular group can disagree amongst themselves about what form of education is appropriate for their own children.
- 14.
If we cannot do this then it is difficult to make sense of those who reject a certain educational practice. If one fails to take account of what unwilling participants in an educational practice think about what is an adequate preparation for them and fail to relate it to what they consider to be important, for example their local labour market and its associated form of life, then one is unlikely to see that their behaviour has any point. (see Willis 1977) Learning to Labour for an example. If one thinks of fiction as a form of telling lies, then one is unlikely to see the point of storytelling for children (see Ways with Words, Brice-Heath 1983). Needless to say, such examples illustrate how it is possible for educators to misunderstand the beliefs and practices of those with whom they deal within their own society.
- 15.
Arguably, the earlier work of Basil Bernstein (1973) on social class and language use tried to do this. It failed to gather the data that would validate the thesis however, and subsequent work has not supported Bernstein’s empirical claims.
- 16.
As Winch points out, our own confusions may lie deep and may need to be brought to the surface, perhaps by a process of dialectic, as he demonstrates how Socrates attempts to show Polus what his opinion really is (Winch 1990, pp. 98–100 – the discussion is of the dialogue between Socrates and Polus in the Republic).
- 17.
Some might say that it is about job rather than occupational preparation, but I will not deal with that complication now as it is not particularly relevant to the discussion.
- 18.
- 19.
It should, however, be noted how rich and complex Ryle’s examples often are, ranging over fishing, chess playing, surgery, archery and courtroom oratory. Stanley and Williamson focus on riding a bicycle. Later work deals with games like basketball (Stanley and Williamson 2017).
- 20.
This does not imply that problem solving is some kind of generic ability.
- 21.
And also, to an extent in Austria and Germanophone Switzerland.
- 22.
Contested because some (especially on the trade union side of social partnership arrangements) would insist on a reflective element in this broad capacity, while others might see it as of little or no importance.
- 23.
Cf. Kerschensteiner (1906/1968) for an articulation of this concept of work, which bears some resemblance to Marx’s non-alienated labour.
- 24.
I owe this example to my colleague, Dr. Bernadette O’Neill.
- 25.
See the prevalence of talk in Germany about ‘soft skills’.
- 26.
Sometimes this is difficult, even in practices with which we are superficially familiar as Winch (1997) argued. We sometimes cannot find our feet with these practices. Winch does not elaborate, but it is reasonable to suggest that the spontaneous and affective reactions that demonstrate their importance for their participants may elude us. But can we gain some inkling of this importance? A football fan (to use Winch’s example) identifies, not just with the team, but with what the team represents, a community united in a common endeavour. And that is something that (it is to be hoped) we should all be able to understand.
- 27.
As in the case of the Germanic conception of know-how discussed above.
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Winch, C. (2020). Researching Education: Perspectives from Winch’s Approach to the Social Sciences. In: Campbell, M., Reid, L. (eds) Ethics, Society and Politics: Themes from the Philosophy of Peter Winch. Nordic Wittgenstein Studies, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40742-1_15
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