The unnatural nature of nature and nurture: questioning the romantic heritage

Andrew Stables

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

From a cultural-historical perspective, nature and nurture (and thus education) are contested concepts. The paper focuses on the nature/nurture debate in the work of William Shakespeare (influenced by Montaigne) and in the Romantic tradition (evidenced by Rousseau and Wordsworth), and argues that while our Romantic inheritance (still highly influential in education) problematises nurture, it tends to mystify nature. Given that conceptions of nature are culturally driven, there is an urgent educational challenge to problematise nature as well as nurture.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3-14
Number of pages12
JournalStudies in Philosophy and Education
Volume28
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2009
EventSymposium on Environmental Concerns and the Transformation of Knowledge - Geneva, Switzerland
Duration: 1 Jan 2009 → …

Bibliographical note

Symposium on Environmental Concerns and the Transformation of Knowledge. Geneva, Switzerland, September, 2006. European Educ Res Assoc
ID number: 000262373100002

Keywords

  • Environment
  • Romanticism
  • Education
  • Culture
  • History
  • Philosophy
  • Nature

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