Nussbaum

Lynne Wolbert

pp. 313-323

in: Paul Smeyers (ed), International handbook of philosophy of education, Berlin, Springer, 2018

Abstract

Several philosophers of education object to the tendency to think about education in ways that are predominantly informed by science, risk-management, and "economic' thinking. The aim of this chapter is first to give a clear account of this current issue in philosophy in education. What is it that these scholars precisely object to and why? Second, I propose that Martha Nussbaum's 1986 book The fragility of Goodness offers fruitful insights in this issue. I suggest that Nussbaum's interpretation of the Greek discussion of how much of a good human life we can control and how much is up to luck offers a possibility to counter the assumption implicit in the use of the "languages' of science, risk, and economy, namely that it is both necessary and possible to control education.