Philosophical Arguments, Historical Contexts, and Theory of Education

This paper argues that many philosophical arguments within the education discourse are
too little embedded in their own historical contexts. Starting out from the obvious fact that
philosophers of education use sources from the past, the paper asks how we can deal with
the arguments that these sources contain. The general attitude within philosophy of education,
which views arguments as timeless, is being challenged by the insight that arguments always
depend upon their own contexts. For this reason, citing past authors, heroes, or enemies
without respecting the context says more about our interest at the present time than it does
about the times of the authors examined. Conversely, the contextual approach helps us to avoid
believing that ‘timeless truths’ are to be found in different texts of different ages. However,
the present contribution in no way advocates a total relativization of statements. Quite the
contrary; it claims that the contextual approach helps us to understand the traditions and
contexts within which we ourselves, as researchers, are positioned. And this self-awareness
is believed to be the proper starting position for theoretical statements about education.