From the point where I stand to the place where I can be found: The critique of perspectival reason as philosophy for education

Abstract

In this paper I provide a critique of what I refer to as ‘perspectival reason’, which is the idea that the fundamental setup of human beings in relation to the world is in terms of individuals having perspectives on the world. I argue that the idea of the world as something to view and have a perspective on is not a neutral, trans-historical category but a configuration that emerged in modern times when the world became ‘view’ of ‘picture’, as Heidegger has put it. I indicate some of the key problems of perspectival reason in our time, both in education and society. I then work towards an alternative configuration by discussing a number of ‘world-returning philosophies’. I discuss pragmatism and phenomenology as attempts to return the world, and indicate that, while successful in returning (to) the world, they return the self in problematic ways. Through a discussion of ideas from Emmanuel Levinas and Jean-Luc Marion I propose a configuration in which both world and self are ‘returned’ in more meaningful ways. Key in this is the idea of the world as appeal and of the self as the one who responds to this appeal and through this ‘arrives’ in the world. My explorations are intended to highlight why the idea of ‘taking a perspective’ is problematic, and how we can work towards an alternative. I also discuss where the logic of perspectival reason causes problems for education and how the alternative configuration I present provides a productive way forward.