The Educator's World-view, the Problem of Meta-Ontology, and a Covenant Ontology

Abstract

In replying to Rocha''s (2018) arguments regarding the necessity of the teacher''s world-view and the necessity of dealing with the ensuing metaphysical disputes in a diverse classroom, I formulate his concerns as an introduction to the problem of meta-ontology. Rocha recommends pragmatist methods to address metaphysical disputes that avoid this meta-ontology trap. I argue that these methods do not avoid this trap themselves. I explore the necessity of encountering other worldviews from within our own ― no metaphysical demand exists outside of one''s ontology that can change it from the outside. Any such position would then require an expansion of that ontology itself or would propose a higher-order ontology. This changes the question from, does the teacher need to choose another world-view, to the question of, how do these encounters affect the teacher, given their world-view? In this vein, I will introduce a covenant ontology in which reality is manifold and accessible in particular domains through discipline. I argue that one''s primary world-view tradition can be extended to a non-fascist teacher''s world-view, specifically through integration of limits and humility. I argue that the world-views people start from, before they are taught out of them, are longer-standing cultural intellectual traditions ― and if we are talking about their mature versions ― have better chances of producing humble pluralist teachers than do relatively novel pluralist world-views.