The logic of modern education and the principle of controversiality

Abstract

In recent years, philosophy of education increasingly has been addressing the question of which controversial issues should be taught as controversial in the context of public education. In this article, I will consider this question from an educational point of view; in other words, keeping in mind the specific logic of modern education. On the one hand this enables us to contextualize the debate about the principle of controversiality in terms of educational theory. On the other hand, it grapples with a specific gap in educational descriptions of public education: Although there is support for the principle of controversiality, the question about possible criteria for differentiating between issues that are to be addressed in a directive versus non-directive manner has received little attention up to now. My proposed solution to this problem involves a combination of two criteria, each of which can be justified in relation to the overarching task of modern education – the enablement of Bildung.