The Dilemma of Western Philosophy

This edited collection takes a multifaceted approach to the various limitations and achievements of Western philosophy. Considered on its own, Western philosophy is a highly contentious name. The contributors question its validity as a label and take to task its grand appearance within education. However, part of the problem with Western philosophy is that it has less conventional as well as dominant manifestations. The writers consider both forms of Western philosophy, devoting significant thought and time to it in its own right, but always referring it to the more specific issue of education. This book adds to a growing corpus that sketches the relationship between education and philosophy, showing that they are deeply intertwined, and it is indeed philosophy (and especially its Western variation) that supports Western education and allows it to flourish in the first instance. It is fitting, then, that at various points this book depicts education as a hegemonic vehicle of a deeper phenomenon – that of dominant Western philosophy.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Educational Philosophy and Theory.

Michael A. Peters is Professor of Education at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. He is the Executive Editor of the journal Educational Philosophy and Theory. His interests are in education, philosophy and social policy, and he is the author of numerous books, including The Global Financial Crisis and the Restructuring of Education (with Besley, 2015), Paulo Freire: The Global Legacy (with Tina Besley, 2015) and Education Philosophy and Politics: Selected Works (2011).

Carl Mika is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Education at University of Waikato, New Zealand. He is of Maori descent. He has a background in law practice, indigenous studies and aspects of Western philosophy. His current areas of research focus on indigenous colonial and counter-colonial theory, as well as philosophical research methods.