There has been much discourse, debates, and polemics in defining education, particularly in a dynamic and rapidly changing world.  Hence, one should delve into the philosophy of education to reclaim the ideals of education in addressing the ever-changing sociopolitical and cultural landscape of the present. In this article, three education philosophies will be discussed as to how education functions to elevate one’s state of consciousness which are self-consciousness, eternal consciousness, and critical consciousness. The last part of the article will deal with the current problem of en emerging neoliberal pedagogy facing education and the society.

With regards to the first form of consciousness which is self-consciousness, one of the most significant ideas on education can be traced back to the German Philosopher, G.F. Hegel (1770-1831) whom influenced many education reformers and idealists of the 19th century. Hegel’s contention on education was that, 

“Education is the art of making men ethical. It begins with pupils whose life is at the instinctive level and shows them the way to a second birth, the way to change their instinctive nature into a second, intellectual nature, and makes this intellectual level habitual to them.” (Hegel quoted in Gordon & White, 2009: 37). 

Based on his statement, education was deemed to be a concept that balances these two experiences of habitual realities so that men could firstly, unlearn their basic intuitive levels of thinking, feeling, and behaving and secondly, relearn the ways of systematic thinking and reasoning so that they may elevate their self-conciousness via education and not be isolated from the wider social reality.  Although Hegel’s philosophy was perceived to be complex due to his unsystematic notions of nature and Spirit, Gordon & White (2009: 14) have noted that in Hegel’s book Phenomenology of Mind, the most significant point for one to understand is the “…cosmic significance of intellectual education…”  In explaining the notion of Spirit (Geist), he believes that there is“…a wider metaphysical reality that is Spirit.” Spirit refers to the other forms of social realities in which man is part of. To put it simply, to learn about one self and gain self-consciousness is to also learn about the wider forms of social realities through the intellectual process that is education. 

As for the second form of consciousness which is eternal consciousness, the philosopher T. H Green (1836-1882) developed an eclectic philosophy, inspired by Hegel and other idealists (Gordon & White, 2009: 6).  Although he was inspired by Hegel’s ideals, he contributed to a more structured argument of consciousness with regards to education by distinguishing between our knowledge of nature and nature itself. He disagreed with Hegel’s argument that man is part of nature because nature itself can only be conceived as a single and unalterable system of relations. Science can explain how events and substances are interconnected, but it cannot explain how the whole system of relations and nature itself, came into being. The ability to conceive of these relations is mind-dependent and this is where he inserted the idea of eternal consciousness where man is continuously engaged in the process of reproduction of consciousness as one grows in knowledge. Higher forms of human consciousness are not part of our animal nature, as it is a ‘reproduction’ or ‘self-realization’ in us of eternal consciousness.  Green further explained that, 

“As one does so, one is participating in an eternal process, enabling the eternal intelligence to reproduce itself in him, and enabling the pupil thereby to participate in the spaceless, timeless activity of that intelligence. Failure to educate a man is a missed opportunity of cosmic significance.”  

It is interesting to note that both Hegel and Green emphasized the cosmic significance of education. In both of them agreed that the fundamental aim of education is to elevate one’s consciousness in any given context and it is of cosmic significance. However, it is the last form of consciousness which binds the self-consciousness and eternal consciousness to emancipate man from the shackles of ignorance and oppression. 

The last form of consciousness is termed critical consciousness which can be attributed to the philosophy of education by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, a critical pedagogist. The philosophical bases on education and the elevation of one’s consciousness espoused by Hegel and Green were also continued and supported by education philosophers such as Paulo Freire. In the introduction of his book, Education for Critical Consciousness (1973, 2005) he validated the education philosophy of both Hegel and Green. Freire stated that, 

“To be human is to engage in relationships with others and with the world. It is to experience that world as an objective reality independent of oneself, capable of being known. Animals, submerged within reality, cannot relate to it; they are creatures of mere contact. But man’s separateness from and openness to the world distinguishes him as a being of relationships. Men, unlike animals, are not only in the world but with the world.” (Freire, 1973, 2005: 3). 

Based on Freire’s statement, man has the capacity to form self-realizations and be conscious of other social realities or Spirit as Hegel has articulated. Man also has the ability to make connections and perceive relationships as one engages in a process of eternal consciousness as Green emphasized. But it is the critical consciousness that awakens man from the deep slumbers of ignorance, hindering change and improvement. 

Freire’s conception of critical consciousness was conceptualized in 1970 in which conscientização represents the development of the awakening of critical awareness (Freire, 1973,2005: 15). He conceived the term while working with adult laborers in Brazil which made him realize that inequality is sustained when the oppressed or the disenfranchised are unable to understand and take action against oppressive conditions that they are experiencing.  He has observed that when individuals go through a cycle of critical consciousness development via dialogue, they are able to gain knowledge about the systems and structures that create and sustain inequality, have a sense of empowerment, and ultimately be committed to taking action against oppressive conditions (el-Amin, et al, 2017:20).  Dialogue according to Freire is 

“…the encounter between men, mediated by the world in order to name the world the encounter between men, hence dialogue cannot occur between those who want to name the world and those who do not wish this naming—between those who deny others the right to speak their word and those whose right to speak has been denied them.” (Freire, 1970:88)

Thus, he views education as the democratic practice of freedom and exchange between the educator and learner to enter into dialogue and engage in learning together. Freire also emphasized that education should be anchored in praxis which is the balance between the acts of engaging in reflection and action to truly transform reality which is the source of knowledge and creation (Freire, 1970: 101). He explained further that action without reflection is mere activism in the sense of action’s sake, and when reflection is done without action, it is idle chatter or” verbalism” in which transformation of reality does not take place (Freire, 1970:126). Thus, Freire has laid out a framework for education to be emancipatory, democratic, and transformative via dialogue, critical consciousness, and praxis.

Coming into the present, education has been significantly affected by many political ideologies and at times used as a tool to uphold certain ideologies that is not necessarily beneficial for the individual and society. Contemporary critical pedagogist, Henry Giroux who was heavily influenced by Freire’s philosophy has consistently emphasized in many of his writings that there continues to be a dire need to engage the critical consciousness because of the continuous detrimental effects of neoliberalism and the culture of positivism which have undermined and weakened the democratic purpose of education (Giroux, 2021: 43).  He has observed that in the present time, the threat to critical modes of education and democracy has never been greater in which he emphasized that, 

 “…a new and more vicious form of ideology and teaching, which I call neoliberal pedagogy, has emerged and now dominates all levels of schooling… neoliberal pedagogy also pervades every aspect of the wider culture, stifling critical thought, reducing citizenship to the act of consuming, defining certain marginal populations as contaminated and disposable, and removing the discourse of democracy from any vestige of pedagogy both in and outside of schooling.” (Giroux, 2021: 8).

The effects that neoliberalism has on education is that education has been forced to follow the free-market which is not critical of inequalities that the free-market has perpetuated. In other words, education no longer functions for the individual and their actual needs but emphasizes more perceived market-driven needs which have created a global social imbalance economically and politically. As for the culture of positivism, education has now been segmented and the specialization of knowledge is deemed to be more favorable. This segmentation has resulted in the fragmentation of knowledge and its inability to solve complex issues in a critical and sustainable way. At the individual level, market-driven education and the fragmentation of knowledge have alienated individuals from gaining self and eternal consciousness devoid of critical engagement in their learning process. Thus Giroux argued for an Education that is important not only for gainful employment and fulfilling the neoliberal market-driven needs but also for creating the formative culture of beliefs, practices, and social relations that enable individuals to wield power, learn how to govern, and nurture a democratic society that takes equality, justice, shared values, and freedom seriously (Giroux, 2021: 4). 

In conclusion, this article explored the philosophy of education established by Hegel, Green, Freire, and Giroux has emphasized the notion of elevated consciousness within an ever-changing social and political context. These philosophers have also emphasized the need to constantly be aware of these changing social realities and undemocratic modes of education. 

References:

El-Amin, A., Seider, S., Graves, D., Tamerat, J., Clark, S., Soutter, M., Johannsen, J., & Malhotra, S. (2017). Critical consciousness: A key to student achievement. Phi Delta Kappan, 98(5), 18–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721717690360

Giroux, H. A. 2021. On Critical Pedagogy. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group.

Gordon, P., & White, J. (1979, 2009). Philosophers as educational reformers: The influence of idealism on British educational thought. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, Boston, Henley.  

Freire, P (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 30^th anniversary edition.  New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group.

Freire, P (1973, 2005). Education for critical consciousness. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group.

Written by Fatimah Tajuddin