Michel Serres: Knowledge production and education

Abstract

French poststructuralist philosopher Michel Serres writes about knowledge production throughout his work. He is of particular importance to educationists because the production of knowledge shapes our discipline. But Serres is oftentimes dismissed by educationists and philosophers because of his idiosyncratic style. We argue that his style makes him unique. Serres’s style helps scholars think differently. In the first part of this paper, we will discuss matters of style and argue that Serres’s radical departure from the way in which traditional philosophy is written helps education scholars advance our field. In the second part of this paper, we argue that Serres’s work on knowledge production can be better understood in connection with Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, Ludwig Wittgenstein, John Dewey, Martin Heidegger and Gaston Bachelard. In this paper, we will focus upon three of Serres’s books: Genesis, The Troubadour of Knowledge and The Parasite. Scattered throughout these works are Serres’s ideas on knowledge production.