Existentialism and Education 

The SERA Theory and Philosophy Network’s theme for 2022 is ‘Existentialism and Education’. This theme will bring together researchers whose interests lie at the intersection between existentialist philosophy and education. While resistant to systematic definition, existentialist philosophy considers basic paradoxes of human existence in their ambivalence and complexity; many theorists who are labelled existentialist resist appeals to divine or cosmic agencies or assurances (notably Nietzsche, Sartre, Camus); other existentialists emphasise the paradoxical nature of living in relation to transcendence as a finite human being (Kierkegaard; Berdyaev; Tillich). To live as if finite and responsible, is to live authentically, to be in an existential condition, a condition often associated with insecurity, angst, dread and despair. While these terms are widely interpreted negatively, they may also offer a sense of the significance of the here and now. The existential condition offers a great deal for educationalists to positively reflect upon: the projection of meaning and trust that young children undertake (e.g. Bollnow); growing up and experiencing distanciation  (e.g. Ricoeur) or alienation (e.g. Kenklies). Moreover, educators routinely explore the educational conditions of becoming a subject, or subjectification (e.g. Biesta). Becoming a subject is often interpreted in terms of realising an authenticity. These kinds of educational aims (of coming into an authentic self) often entail processes or experiences of alienation, even forms of crisis. 

At a more specific level, existentialism engages in the analysis of fundamental moods that accompany education: 

  •  Trust  

  • Affirmation  

  • Care 

  • Boredom 

  • Angst

To a greater or lesser degree, these moods are an important part of the educational relation, though again their role can be seen as ambivalent. As part of the educational relation, existential moods offer opportunities for creation and formation as well as destruction and dissolution. This highlights the complex and dynamic nature of the educational relation: e.g. the trust that accompanies the educational relation in early childhood needs to mature, change and transform into something else. Trust must ‘come of age’, but can a loss of trust ever be regained?

Other existentialist themes relevant to education:

  • Mortality

  • Natality 

  • Temporality 

  • Finitude

  • Freedom

  • Choice

  • Agency 

Some Key Figures 

  • Kierkegaard 

  • Nietzsche 

  • Heidegger 

  • Sartre 

  • De Beauvoir 

  • Bollnow 

  • Dostoyevsky 

  • Tolstoy 

  • Berdyaev 

  • Arendt 

  • Hesse 

  • Murdoch 

  • R. D. Laing