Bildung and the Hidden “S knows that p”

Abstract

This chapter makes the case that contemporary schooling is grounded in a flawed model of knowing, which draws together mistakes in thinking about the nature of the self of knowledge, and of reality. This model hinges on a particular view of knowers, knowing, and knowledge expressed logically as “S knows that p” (SP), which is both the paradigmatic model of knowing of analytic epistemology and grounds the larger, technocratic rationality characterizing Modern thought. This chapter begins by describing the philosophical underpinnings of the SP model and then articulates its presence within contemporary educational theory and practice. It then describes the German conception of Bildung and argues that it must replace SP as the guiding paradigm of knowing within educational practice.