Abstract
While discussing critical individuality as oneof the main goals of liberal education, theemphasis has usually been on direct educationalmeasures. Much less attention has been given tothe social preconditions for its development.This paper discusses the societal aspect of thequestion by employing the notion of spherepluralism. The attempt is to point out someways in which the diversified nature of societycan be employed in its full potential for thedevelopment of critical individuality. Thearticle aims to outline a form of spherepluralism, which is based on structuraldifferentiation, cultural diversity, communalvitality, confessional pluralism andcross-communal criticism. The suggestion isthat the critical potential of sphere pluralismpresupposes a proper balance between sphereautonomy and inter-sphere criticism as well asthat between social construction of meaning andobjective-structural constraints.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Althusius, J. (1614/1995). Politica. Politics methodically set forth and illustrated with sacred and profane examples. F.S. Carney (ed and trans). Indianapolis: Liberty Press.
Ackerman, B. (1987). Social justice in the liberal state. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Bell, D. (1996). The cultural contradictions of capitalism. New York: Basic Books.
Blacker, D. (1999). Complex equality and democratic education: The challenge of Walzer's spherical pluralism. Educational Theory, 49(2), 181-206.
Carens, J. (1995). Complex justice, cultural difference, and political community. In D. Miller & M. Walzer (eds), Pluralism, justice and equality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dooyeweerd, H. (1957). A new critique of theoretical thought III. Amsterdam: H.J. Paris.
Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates. Garden City, NJ: Anchor.
Gutman, A. (1987). Democratic education. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Gutman, A. (1995). Justice across the spheres. In D. Miller & M. Walzer (eds), Pluralism, justice and equality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
MacIntyre, A. (1988). Whose justice? Which rationality? Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame University Press.
Mulhall, S. & Swift, A. (1992). Liberals and communitarians. Oxford: Blackwell.
Peshkin, A. (1986). God's choice: The total world of a fundamentalist Christian school. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Raz, J. (1988). The morality of freedom. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Siegel, H. (1995). 'Radical’ pedagogy requires ‘conservative’ epistemology. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 29(1), 33-46.
Stout, J. (1988). Ethics after Babel. The languages of morals and their discontents. Boston: Beacon Press.
Taylor, C. (1992). The ethics of authenticity: Three malaises of modernity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Thiessen, E. (1993). Teaching for commitment: Liberal education, indoctrination and Christian nurture. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
Walzer, M. (1983). Spheres of justice: A defence of pluralism and equality. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Walzer, M. (1995). Response. In D. Miller & M. Walzer (eds), Pluralism, justice, and equality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Walzer, M. (1997). On toleration. Yale University Press.
Zagzebski, L. (1996). Virtues of the mind: An inquiry into the nature of virtue and the ethical foundations of knowledge. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Puolimatka, T. Sphere Pluralism and Critical Individuality. Studies in Philosophy and Education 23, 21–39 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPED.0000010662.19610.29
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPED.0000010662.19610.29