The relationship between philosophy and evidence in education

Abstract

This article explores the ways that philosophy and evidence interact in the exploration of normative questions in philosophy of education. First, the authors provide a description of reflective equilibrium, a central method in normative philosophizing. They proceed to describe three tasks of normative philosophy, each of which requires engagement with empirical evidence, albeit in different ways: identifying values, assessing institutional arrangements, and guiding policy action. They recommend increased attention from social scientists to the potential contribution of philosophy in setting the agenda for empirical research, and they recommend increased use by philosophers of real-life case studies, which enable philosophers to better understand decision-makers’ feasibility constraints. These recommendations, they argue, can enable both social scientists and philosophers to better equip decision-makers to enact the best policy from among the options available to them.