Human kinds in education: An outline of a two-pronged research project

Abstract

How should we assess the variety of ideas students encounter in education about the kinds of people they ought to be? What kind of people should students be educated to become? In this essay, I argue that the line of thought opened up by David Bakhurst's recent work offers a philosophically robust way to approach the twofold project of (1) analysing existing ‘human kinds’ promoted in education and (2) discovering and elaborating a more adequate and multi-faceted picture of the kind of beings we are and should be helping students to become. I first explain how Bakhurst mobilises Ian Hacking's concept of ‘human kinds’, and the role Bakhurst's ‘modest realism’ plays in this context. Then I briefly outline some of the contextual considerations that have to be taken into account when assessing existing human kinds promoted in education. Finally, in relation to the question of which human kind ought to be promoted in education, I describe Bakhurst's proposed ‘rational agent’, consider a few recent critiques and offer my own friendly elaborations of his account.