Raising the Question of Being in Education by Way of Heidegger's Phenomenological Ontology

Abstract

The aim of this essay is to explore how to raise the question of Being in education by way of Heidegger's phenomenological ontology. Phenomenological ontology is a way of approaching and conducting philosophy exemplified in Heidegger's Being and Time. To prepare the way for raising the question of Being in education, a nuanced understanding of Heidegger's phenomenological analyses on truth and language is summarized. Thereafter, the manner in which Being is referenced is analyzed before considering the way of Heidegger's phenomenological ontology. In conclusion, existing attempts and continuing efforts to explore the question of Being in education through phenomenological ontology are outlined. At a time when decontextualized and reductive ways of knowing and being are becoming the norm within education, phenomenological ontology offers new possibilities for scholarship and practice. The present inquiry does not offer solutions in the traditional sense, but rather traces a path that opens and keeps in tension the question of Being in education in order to support further study.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Matthew Kruger-Ross

Matthew Kruger-Ross is a doctoral candidate in the Curriculum Theory and Implementation: Philosophy of Education programme in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.

Broadly his interests include the intersection of philosophy of education and the existential-ontotheological phenomenology of Martin Heidegger. Specifically, Matthew is exploring what it means to “be” in education, where being-in-the-world-as-teacher and being-in-the-world-as-learner are two intricately interwoven phenomena grounded in the lived experience of teachers and students.