Education, truth and subjectivity: Revisiting Kierkegaard

ABSTRACT

Over recent years, it has been claimed that we live in a ‘post-truth’ age: a moment in history where the ideal of truth seems to have been abandoned. The prevailing attitude towards truth is not one of antagonism but of indifference. Should this bother us? If so, why? What might we mean by ‘truth’? How is truth relevant to education? One thinker who can help us in addressing these questions is the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard demonstrated a deep commitment to truth, not as an abstract idea but as a way of life. For Kierkegaard, a posture of indifference in facing the question of truth would have been abhorrent. One of the best known, but most frequently misunderstood, aspects of his work is his notion that truth is subjectivity. This stance needs to be carefully distinguished from a position, commonly expressed today, where truth is regarded as ‘relative’ or ‘subjective’. Kierkegaard’s concern is not so much with the notion of ‘being subjective’ as with becoming an existing subject. Some truths – notably, those connected with the question of existence – matter more than others, and education, it is argued in this paper, ought to have a stronger focus on such truths.

KEYWORDS:

• Truth
• post-truth
• Kierkegaard
• higher education
• subjectivity
• existence

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Notes on contributors

Peter Roberts

Peter Roberts is Professor of Education at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. His teaching and research interests are in philosophy of education and educational policy studies. His latest books include Performativity, Politics and Education: From Policy to Philosophy (2022), Education and the Limits of Reason: Reading Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Nabokov (with Herner Saeverot, 2018), Happiness, Hope, and Despair: Rethinking the Role of Education (2016), and Education, Ethics and Existence: Camus and the Human Condition (with Andrew Gibbons and Richard Heraud, 2015).