Process Studies Supplement 2003 Issue 4
"Whiteheads Theory
of Prehensions as Inclusive of, and Conducive to a Philosophy of
Education Education"
Adam
Scarfe
I. Introduction: On the Links and Discontinuities
Raised by Scholarship Between Whiteheads Theory of Prehensions and
his Philosophy of Education
Over the last half century, scholars and philosophers
of education have been debating whether Alfred North Whitehead has
provided us with a fully thought out and systematic philosophy of
education. Certainly, from 1911 to 1936, Whitehead wrote many essays
pertaining to education, some of which were reprinted and placed
together in The Aims
of Education and Other Essays (1929) and a handful of others which were
published in Essays in
Science and Philosophy (1947). But all of these essays may be said
to be capable of standing on their own, namely, they may be
interpreted as individual depositions, not necessarily linked to
each other, nor to a conceptual whole. For this reason, many
scholars have concluded that Whitehead never wrote systematically on
education. However, since it is widely held that Whiteheads Process and Reality
(1929) is his magnum opus, many scholars have asked whether we may
read, interpret, translate, use and/or apply the concepts and ideas
therein for the purposes of setting forth a more systematic
Whiteheadian philosophy of education. Subsequently, to varying
degrees, scholars of education have made use of Whiteheads complex
philosophical notions in their writings.
Starting in 1951, in his essay, "Whiteheads Views on
Education," Henry Holmes notes that Whitehead has "not written about
education extensively" (Education, 622) and that "neither Process and Reality
nor Adventures of Ideas
contains direct references
to education as a process" (Education, 626).2 As such, Holmes essay
concentrates mostly on the Aims of Education without venturing into his other works.
Holmes provides little in the way of ideas as to how one may link
Whiteheads thoughts on education to his other works and theories.
However, Holmes does foreshadow that "it is not unlikely that his
influence on education will have to come in part by indirection
through interpretation of his general theory" (Education, 622). Hence, from Holmes perspective,
Whiteheads philosophical writings may eventually prove to inform us
of his views on education.
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