Spiritual Exercise as Techne: Philosophy as a Way of Liberating Education
The study of education systems as social phenomena has led scholars to question the role of education in modern society. The question of how to improve education naturally leads to concerns about what is wrong with the present education system. If education is meant to elevate the next generation, h...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)
2021-12-01
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| Series: | RUDN Journal of Philosophy |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.rudn.ru/philosophy/article/viewFile/29695/20105 |
| _version_ | 1819101625759825920 |
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| author | Shu-Fen Lin Wei-Ding Tsai Denis Igorevich Chistyakov |
| author_facet | Shu-Fen Lin Wei-Ding Tsai Denis Igorevich Chistyakov |
| author_sort | Shu-Fen Lin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The study of education systems as social phenomena has led scholars to question the role of education in modern society. The question of how to improve education naturally leads to concerns about what is wrong with the present education system. If education is meant to elevate the next generation, how can it meet the goal of ensuring a meaningful existence for those being educated? Scholars have demonstrated that education has been reduced to a process of the construction of objects, where curriculum as techne commodifies students into products with market value. We propose that the tendency of interpreting techne as technology is a perspective of the modern age, and the rules of modern education are based on the rules of modern technology, under the guidance of the paradigm of productivity. We will introduce a broader interpretation of techne which frames it as the cultivation of virtue, i.e., virtue-techne. On this basis, education could be viewed as techne in the sense of praxis (practice, exercise), rather than as fabrication in the sense of production. We highlight the rising rate of student suicides in Taiwan in recent years, where we determine the education system lacks a focus on praxis. This article investigates alternative praxis-oriented notions of education, from Aristotle's cultivation of virtue to Hadot's "spiritual exercises," to advocate for a shift away from the production paradigm. Indebted to Heidegger, we clarify his "techne as revealing" by emphasizing two frameworks for education: The first, modern education being valued by its adherence to metrics based in the paradigm of production. The second, education as a process wherein its value is derived from the life context of the participating individual. Finally, as a comparative study, we explore the current state of education in Russia and Taiwan, and present the case of one high school in Taiwan which has adopted the practice of spiritual exercises in its curriculum, including a required hike to the peak of Taiwan's tallest mountain, to cultivate a sense of (and value for) the liberated life before its students graduate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:21:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ad7f52071f474a4b8352b107f912d5f7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-2302 2408-8900 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T01:21:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | RUDN Journal of Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj.art-ad7f52071f474a4b8352b107f912d5f72022-12-21T18:43:43ZdeuPeoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)RUDN Journal of Philosophy2313-23022408-89002021-12-0125464065510.22363/2313-2302-2021-25-4-640-65520746Spiritual Exercise as Techne: Philosophy as a Way of Liberating EducationShu-Fen Lin0Wei-Ding Tsai1Denis Igorevich Chistyakov2National Chengchi UniversityNational Chengchi UniversityPeoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)The study of education systems as social phenomena has led scholars to question the role of education in modern society. The question of how to improve education naturally leads to concerns about what is wrong with the present education system. If education is meant to elevate the next generation, how can it meet the goal of ensuring a meaningful existence for those being educated? Scholars have demonstrated that education has been reduced to a process of the construction of objects, where curriculum as techne commodifies students into products with market value. We propose that the tendency of interpreting techne as technology is a perspective of the modern age, and the rules of modern education are based on the rules of modern technology, under the guidance of the paradigm of productivity. We will introduce a broader interpretation of techne which frames it as the cultivation of virtue, i.e., virtue-techne. On this basis, education could be viewed as techne in the sense of praxis (practice, exercise), rather than as fabrication in the sense of production. We highlight the rising rate of student suicides in Taiwan in recent years, where we determine the education system lacks a focus on praxis. This article investigates alternative praxis-oriented notions of education, from Aristotle's cultivation of virtue to Hadot's "spiritual exercises," to advocate for a shift away from the production paradigm. Indebted to Heidegger, we clarify his "techne as revealing" by emphasizing two frameworks for education: The first, modern education being valued by its adherence to metrics based in the paradigm of production. The second, education as a process wherein its value is derived from the life context of the participating individual. Finally, as a comparative study, we explore the current state of education in Russia and Taiwan, and present the case of one high school in Taiwan which has adopted the practice of spiritual exercises in its curriculum, including a required hike to the peak of Taiwan's tallest mountain, to cultivate a sense of (and value for) the liberated life before its students graduate.http://journals.rudn.ru/philosophy/article/viewFile/29695/20105philosophy of educationtechneeudaimoniavirtuespiritual exercisepraxislifenaturehadotheideggeraristotletechne |
| spellingShingle | Shu-Fen Lin Wei-Ding Tsai Denis Igorevich Chistyakov Spiritual Exercise as Techne: Philosophy as a Way of Liberating Education RUDN Journal of Philosophy philosophy of education techne eudaimonia virtue spiritual exercise praxis life nature hadot heidegger aristotle techne |
| title | Spiritual Exercise as Techne: Philosophy as a Way of Liberating Education |
| title_full | Spiritual Exercise as Techne: Philosophy as a Way of Liberating Education |
| title_fullStr | Spiritual Exercise as Techne: Philosophy as a Way of Liberating Education |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spiritual Exercise as Techne: Philosophy as a Way of Liberating Education |
| title_short | Spiritual Exercise as Techne: Philosophy as a Way of Liberating Education |
| title_sort | spiritual exercise as techne philosophy as a way of liberating education |
| topic | philosophy of education techne eudaimonia virtue spiritual exercise praxis life nature hadot heidegger aristotle techne |
| url | http://journals.rudn.ru/philosophy/article/viewFile/29695/20105 |
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