A celebration of the writing and professional work of Paul Hirst: an introduction

Abstract

Abstract This paper introduces this Special Issue celebrating the writing and professional work of Paul Hirst. The international range of contributors include scholars who knew him and his work in his heyday, as well as younger generations of philosophers of education. In this Introduction the editors, in conversation, first introduce the papers on Hirst’s early work on liberal education and the nature of knowledge, and then go on to discuss his later turn to advocacy of an education centred on social practices and his discussions of the nature of educational theory and teacher education. They consider those papers that refer to his work on the place of the arts in education and those involving detailed exploration of his work in moral and religious education. The extensive nature of his high-level administrative work in London and Cambridge, as well as nationally, is also recognized. A paper based on his personal correspondence reveals the lively man behind the work. An Appendix to this Introduction includes two extensive bibliographies, of Hirst’s writings and of critical discussions of his work.