Aleksi Ivanov Gramatikov

During the years 1967–1968, Paulo Freire, in exile, wrote his Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Originally written in Portuguese and first published in Spanish in 1968, we end up receiving its first edition in English in 1970. In this relatively short book, Freire posits at least one foundational claim: education can be a source (and force) of liberation, but is often implemented to the contrary. Certainly, for Freire, education is all about freedom. Education, as the means through which ideas are transmitted and given space to grow, is capable of indoctrination. This constant struggle between simply prescribing a way of thought and allowing a student the breathing space to flourish—this is one of the central problems of education. On the one hand, the novice requires instruction insofar as they need help to simply begin learning, in whatever discipline that may be. On the other, creativity can, potentially, be stifled. If we are to consult Freire at all, education, if it is to be anything more than the replication of existing ideas in the minds of students, must always be geared towards liberation. From what he calls, in Portuguese, conscientização, or ‘critical consciousness’, we can infer that the student does not only receive knowledge but is, and should be treated as, a valuable co-creator of it too. Indeed, when reading a book the reader necessarily, already, influences its meaning for, and effect on, the ‘world’. In nurturing a critical, empathetic, conscientious attitude towards knowledge, we can liberate each other. In cultivating ‘critical consciousness’ we equip one another with the necessary ‘tools’ and attitude to not only make sense of the world but to also think about its betterment. Education as such, as a collective process, is both dialectical and empathetic. In this way we may hope to live up to the ideals of human rights, virtue, and freedom. For, as the idiom goes, an education without the education of the heart is no education at all. In this, our second, issue Maynooth Philosophy Supplement explores the importance, and many complexities, of education. With pieces ranging from articles on philosophies of education, to those who highlight and tackle the uncertainties of the contemporary, to pieces that educate us on the authors’ expert subject matter, this collection holds a breadth and depth of insight befitting of its topic.