1st Edition

A Praxis of Nothingness in Education On Heidegger and Wittgenstein

By Håvard Åsvoll Copyright 2022
    112 Pages
    by Routledge

    112 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book puts forward a "theory of Nothing" and shows how a praxis of "Nothing" can offer new possibilities for educational research and practice. Taking inspiration from Heidegger’s and Wittgenstein’s philosophy and with regards to phenomenology and language, the book indicates how nothing can be a condition for an educational technology.

    The book translates the complex philosophical thinking of Heidegger and Wittgenstein into the realm of education studies, drawing on their perspectives to contribute to an understanding of how nothingness comes into being and how this relates to education. Arguing that nothingness addresses new possibilities for understanding and how we perceive the world and our place in it, the book theorises different aspects that can be included in a theory of Nothing; including indeterminateness, embodiment and how the inexpressible can be made expressible. The book presents vignettes and examples of educational practice and explores how nothing can show up in educational research, theory and practice.

    Outlining a unique conceptualisation of nothingness in education, the book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the field of educational philosophy and educational theory.

    Part 1: Introduction and theorising nothing

    1. Introduction

    2. Four arguments for a theory of nothing

    3. Technology in educational theory and practice 

    4. Heidegger and Wittgenstein on education

    5. Heidegger and Wittgenstein combined towards a theory of nothing 

    Part 2: Nothingness in educational practice

    6. Towards a theory of nothing in education

    7. Vignettes and examples of educational technology and nothing

    8. Implications and reflections on nothing for educational theory, research and practice

    Biography

    Håvard Åsvoll is Professor at Nord University, Norway.