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OPENING PHILOSOPHY TO THE WORLD: DERRIDA AND EDUCATION IN PHILOSOPHY
Author(s) -
Burik Steven
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
educational theory
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1741-5446
pISSN - 0013-2004
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-5446.2009.00320.x
Subject(s) - philosophy education , western philosophy , modern philosophy , epistemology , philosophy of sport , philosophy of computer science , philosophy , rationality , philosophy of education , argument (complex analysis) , eastern philosophy , contemporary philosophy , practical philosophy , political philosophy , law , higher education , politics , political science , chemistry , biochemistry
A bstract In this essay, Steven Burik discusses Jacques Derrida's position with regard to the place of education in philosophy within the university system, and then relates these thoughts to comparative philosophy. Philosophers find themselves constantly having to defend philosophy and the importance of teaching philosophy against pressure from the powers that be. Burik contends that the argument Derrida set forth to “protect” philosophy entails a double bind: Derrida emphasized the value and importance of philosophical thinking while at the same time criticizing the limits of philosophy, both self‐mandated and externally imposed. Derrida's defense of philosophy was anything but a protection of the status quo, according to Burik. Derrida ultimately argued that the teaching of philosophy and philosophy itself should be inherently open to new developments. Burik relates Derrida's defense of philosophy and attack on mainstream philosophy to comparative philosophy, demonstrating that both argue for an expansion of thinking beyond the narrow Western confines of philosophy as “pure” reason or rationality by showing how alterity always inserts itself, and that both seek to give this alterity a valid place in educational systems.