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Whitehead's Benedictine Ideal in Education: Rhythms of listening, reading and work
Article first published online: 23 JAN 2011
DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00716.x
© 2011 The Author. Educational Philosophy and Theory © 2011 Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia
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How to Cite
CARANFA, A. (2012), Whitehead's Benedictine Ideal in Education: Rhythms of listening, reading and work. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 44: 386–402. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00716.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 16 MAY 2012
- Article first published online: 23 JAN 2011
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Keywords:
- aesthetic;
- spiritual;
- Whitehead;
- Benedict;
- education;
- theory
Abstract
The article attempts to clarify the appeal to the Benedictine ideal that Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) makes in The Aims of Education and Other Essays as a way to renew the life of the spirit in education. In particular, the essay will consider St. Benedict's three central themes of Whitehead's philosophy: freedom and discipline, the teacher as artist and the art of life, and universities as workshops or homes of creative energy. The aim is to bring about a harmony of thought and action, the mind to the feelings of the heart, to subordinate scientific or critical pedagogy to aesthetic-spiritual instruction. This deserves our attention because today's educational theories and practices emphasize the technical, the critical, and the social sides to the neglect of the aesthetic-spiritual side. On both its practical and theoretical side, the educational theory of Whitehead falls within the Benedictine tradition of ora (meditative reading) and labora (work).