Jānis Tālivaldis Ozoliņš

Creating the Civil Society East and West: Relationality, responsibility and the education of the humane person

Abstract A recurring theme in many places concerns the nurturing and maintenance of a civil society that is committed to justice, to human fulfilment and a community that actively pursues the good of all its members. The creation of a civil society where there is respect for persons and a concern for the good of others is an important social aim and though it is not the sole responsibility of educational institutions, they have a crucial role to play in its development. It also evident that the creation of a civil society includes the family and the wider community and so in order to understand how a civil society is to be fostered, we need to understand relationality, a central concept in both the Western and Eastern understandings of human nature. If we reflect on contemporary education in both the East and the West, an important question to consider is the extent to which education measures up to developing in young people a sense of their responsibilities to one another, their families and to the wider community. In short the question of how well we are developing humane persons who are able to relate to one another and build a civil society. This article argues that there needs to be a rebalancing of the aims of education to include the development of those values and dispositions that will foster a civil society.

The Place of Physical Education and Sport in Education

Aristotle speaks of kindly feeling or good will as the kind of thing which develops into philia——or friendship——and this we can conjecture, adding to Aristotle’s thought, can occur when someone is a spectator at a sport (see Nichomachean Ethics, 1166a1167b). Under one aspect, the spectator derives pleasure in watching the athlete, and, arguably, the athlete derives pleasure in the competition with another. Sport, though it can be, is not a solitary activity, but involves others and hence is an opportunity for feelings of solidarity with others, the type of feelings that can develop into friendship. This is no more obvious than in large sporting events between traditional rivals, such as Australia and England in cricket, where fans collectively celebrate each boundary hit or each wicket taken. The feeling of solidarity with like-minded fans generates positive emotions towards others, including good will. Such feelings play an important part in binding communities together, acting as a reminder of the cooperative and collaborative ties which form the basis of civil society and helping to reinforce a shared vision of the common good. Of course, the other side of the coin is that one-sided support for a particular sporting team can also spill over into hatred towards the other side, but in general, provided we guard against such excesses, sport has a significant positive role to play in bringing communities together. The most important point to make is the recognition of the role that sport plays in human lives. Much more than any other activity, it has the power to bring the divide between individuals to an end, at the very least, closing the gap. The justification for the inclusion of sport in school curricula can be made on the grounds that it contributes to the binding of communities together. More practically, if the next generation of talented sportsmen and sportswomen are to be identified and trained, schools are a good place to start. Of course school sport is more than this, and physical education is justified for other reasons than those mentioned. Sport is not, however, synonymous with physical education, though the two are closely connected. Physical education encompasses much more than sport since it includes not just sport, but a family of physical activities that can range from informal forms of play to more formalised forms of play such as games that involve rules and Educational Philosophy and Theory, 2013 Vol. 45, No. 9, 887–891, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2013.799320

Is peer review in academic publishing still working

ABSTRACT Peer review is central to academic publishing. Yet for many it is a mysterious and contentious practice, which can cause distress for both reviewers, and those whose work is reviewed. This paper, produced by the Editors’ Collective, examines the past and future of peer review in academic publishing. The first sections consider how peer review has been defined and practised in changing academic contexts, and its educational significance in the development of scholarship. The paper then explores major historical and contemporary issues around identity, diversity, anonymity, and the review process, and the related power of editors versus reviewers in academic publishing. Finally, the paper discusses the case of new scholars as reviewers engaging in neoliberal labour, before concluding with some brief recommendations based on our analysis.

A narrative approach exploring philosophy in education and educational research

Abstract The use of narrative – in this case a fictional dialogue – has been a time-honoured way of exploring ideas and most importantly indispensable for learning, at least since the time of the Sophists. Indeed, the dialogues of Plato exemplify this thesis because the qualities and characteristics of philosophy and philosophising are revealed through their lives. Extending on this premise, we would argue that we learn to understand both the unity and complexity of philosophy – particularly in education and educational research – not by formal philosophical arguments, necessary as they are in some contexts, but by narratives that are relevant, narratives that make the actions of one or more characters intelligible and justifiable. As a result, this article uses a narrative approach for the dual purpose of exhibiting the relevance of philosophy intelligibly exhibited through the examples of the characters put forward (enquiring Ph.D. student and university professor), but at the same time characters we ourselves can learn from as they both dialectically engage with philosophically orientated problems.

On the Provision of Medical Nutrition and Hydration

There is no doubt that medical nutrition and hydration to persons in a state of post-coma unresponsiveness [PCU], also called a “persistent vegetative state” should be provided. In agreement with Pope John Paul II, human persons with PCU remain persons and full members of the human community. Although the extent of their unresponsiveness needs to be taken into account in determining appropriate medical treatment, this does not alter their nature as human persons. Hence, they are always to be regarded as subjects of our care and solicitude. The view that they are incapable of acting towards spiritual ends and so it is not morally obligatory to continue nutrition and hydration is rejected, since this implies a loss of personhood. In addition, it is accepted that the burdens of caring for them should not be left solely to their families, but quite properly is also a responsibility of the community and the State. Irrespective of whether provision of medical nutrition and hydration is regarded as medical treatment or normal care, no person with PCU should be left uncared for. This could mean, however, that in some instances, appropriate care could include withdrawal of medical nutrition and hydration.

God and Conceptions of Immanence and Transcendence in Aquinas and Mèngzǐ

The immanence and transcendence of God is clearly outlined in Aquinas and these, he sees as being complementary rather than separate. Only in God are existence and essence united, since he is a simple being and so utterly transcends created things. Nevertheless, God is immanent in His creation because created things depend for their existence on God, who sustains them in their existence. The notion of the transcendence and immanence of God is not so clear in Confucian philosophy. Matteo Ricci in his classic text, T’ien-chu Shih-i [The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven, 天主實義] considers the question of whether the concept of the Lord of Heaven corresponds to the Christian God and though there are similarities there are important distinctions (Ricci, The true meaning of the Lord of Heaven. Trans. Introduction and notes D. Lancashire and P. Hu Kuo-chen, ed. by E.J. Malatesta. The Institute of Jesuit Sources, St. Louis, 1985). Transcendence and immanence are present in Mengzǐ and these concepts in Aquinas and Mengzǐ are outlined and compared.

Proglomena: Globalisation, Cultural Identity and Diversity

Globalisation and the mass communication revolution of the last 40 years has made the world a much smaller place. It has brought diverse cultures, traditions and languages in far greater contact than was previously possible. The expansion of the free market economy and the growth of transnational corporations has also brought both East and West, as well as North and South in closer contact. While the potential for mutual understanding is great, so is the potential for conflict. The forces which shape cultural identity are varied and the challenge is to appreciate the influences that shape our values and beliefs so that we can understand ourselves. In doing so, we are in a better position to value diverse cultures, religions, languages and traditions and recognise their preciousness. This is important if globalisation is not to result in the growth of a monoculture that destroys the rich diversity of culture as well as our individual cultural identities.

Perplexing Times in Educational Research and the Prospects for a New Platinum Standard

D.C. Phillips argues for a platinum standard for educational research and though it is a step in the right the right direction, the disparate voices in educational research make it difficult to see its implementation. Moreover, what might sink the adoption of such a standard is the Deweyan pragmatism that Phillips espouses, since it seems to lead to relativism and a denial that disparate methods might provide different perspectives on the one truth. The view that scientific or quantitative research methods are somehow more objective depends very largely on what is meant by the term “objective”. The statistical methods which are seen as providing an objective assessment of an educational problem are not devoid of subjective choices and in many cases are a blunt instrument. Qualitative methods have their place, and educational researchers need to find ways in which practitioners using different research methodologies can work collaboratively.

Aquinas and His Understanding of Teaching and Learning

The nature of teaching and learning is hotly debated and the purposes of education remain fiercely contested. In more recent times, teachers at all levels have been challenged to justify why they teach the way that they do and in many universities, statements have been formulated that try to prescribe what is meant by effective teaching and to describe effective learning. Many of these statements show little connection to any underlying philosophy of education, let alone of teaching. In this essay, I provide an elaboration of the approach to teaching and learning that Aquinas articulates in a number of his works. For Aquinas, God is the central aim of education and He is at once our Teacher. This does not mean that human beings cannot teach each other, but it shapes what we understand by knowledge and what we mean when we say that someone has learnt. Aquinas shows himself to be anything but doctrinaire in his restless search for truth and wisdom; sometimes he is a rationalist and sometimes an empiricist. He never loses his enthusiasm to know and to understand. In this he is the model teacher.

Popper's Third World: Moral habits, moral habitat and their maintenance

If we accept Poppers idea that the human habitat is described in terms of three worlds, and that there are overlaps between these three worlds, our moral actions and values will also be subject to the same kinds of consideration as a repertoire of behaviours exhibited in a physical environment. We will develop moral habits in a moral habitat and our moral behaviours will also be dependent on the kind of moral habitat in which we find ourselves. There are three main problems to which this analysis leads and on which we will focus in this paper. Firstly, there is the problem of the kind of moral environment—habitat—that we need to provide for human beings if they are to develop the kinds of moral values that we hold to be important. Secondly, there is the question of how we are to develop the kinds of moral habits themselves and thirdly, there is the question of how these moral habits and habitat are to be maintained. If we take Popper seriously then human beings have a crucial responsibility in the creation of a moral third world—that is, a habitat in which human beings can flourish. Schools have an important role as a moral habitat for the inculcation of good moral habits.