Retuning Education: Bildung and exemplarity beyond the logic of progress Morten Timmermann Korsgaard

Abstract

The logic of progress is an umbrella term that encompasses both the expected results in international standardized tests, as well as learning aims, which should also be scaffolded and obtain visible results. All of the former tend to simplify teaching and learning, reducing these to mere technical problems to be solved. To those of us who work in education the logic of progress has become part of our lives. The work of Morten T. Korsgaard (2024) recognizes this context and contributes from philosophy of education with images and metaphors that can help us create other meanings and approaches to education and Bildung, generating starting points to stablish a relationship with the world, rather than focusing on learning aims or objectives that cannot be predicted and threaten creativity and freedom. To this end, he delves into and engages in conversation with solid philosophical references, visiting authors ranging from Antiquity to critical pedagogy or feminisms, who offer him a counterpoint and accompany his careful reflections on Bildung and Erziehung. The author will thus be oriented to formulate key questions for education without trying to solve them, on the contrary, he will propose exemplarity as a possible entryway, as education’s main aim would be to create a space where we can focus our attention and gaze, inclining towards the common world.