C. J. B. Macmillan

Using the "New Philosophy of Science" in Criticizing Current Research Traditions in Education:

The “new” or post-Kuhnian philosophy of science emphasizes a historical, comparative assessment of research traditions; here, its use as a critical perspective on current research traditions is explored, with process- product research on teaching as a living example. The research traditions assumptions about the nature of teaching and the proper methods for studying it are criticized, and an approach that emphasizes different outlooks is recommended. Reflection on the philosophical approach itself leads to recommendations of caution and suggests the philosophers responsibility to be more than negatively critical. The power of the approach is seen in its results.

Erotetics, Cognitive Psychology and the Process of Problem Solving

Thus far, we have restricted ourselves to the erotetic approach to teaching. This chapter will reconsider the basic ideas of erotetic logic and relate them to some of the principles central to cognitive psychology and information processing models of problem solving. The introduction of erotetic logic into the discussion of problem solving not only provides an alternative way of studying problem solving activity, but more importantly, it also provides a “logical home” for a number of the central concepts and theories found in this burgeoning area of study.

Socratic and Erotetic Teaching

This chapter applies the principles and insights of erotetic theory, especially those of erotetic strategy, to the analysis of teaching. We select for this purpose a teaching episode by the most famous of philosophical teachers. From among the many dialogues in which Plato immortalized his favorite teacher we pick the dialogue between Socrates and the slave boy for closer erotetic scrutiny. We shall use the translation of W.K.C. Guthrie (1956).

Introduction: The Intentionalist Manifesto

Over the past thirty years or so philosophers of education have made repeated assaults on the dominant tradition of educational research. This research tradition can be characterized, perhaps too roughly, as behavioristic in theory, statistical in methodology, and positivistic in epistemology and metaphysics. It has reared its head in almost every area of educational thinking and has ridden many waves of political and administrative faddism despite the outraged cries of philosophers from Dewey (1916) to Scheffler (1960) to Green (1971). But philosophers’ arguments have had remarkably little effect; in part this may be the result of — and evidence for — the relatively weak place that philosophically oriented people have in the educational establishment.

Erotetic Teaching Strategies

In any given narrative style the choice of character and plot are unlimited. In this chapter we will explore some of the more obvious possibilities. Since it is our purpose to apply the erotetic narrative directly to the improvement of teaching we will refer to these narrative possibilities as “erotetic teaching strategies.”

Erotetic Logic and Teaching

How does erotetic logic help us see what is happening in teaching? That is the topic of this chapter. Answering this question will take us into some relatively formal notions of questions and answers, for it is there that the rigor of the approach can be seen most clearly.