Philosophy as a Way of Life for Educators in Higher Education

Abstract

The audit culture in Modern Western education has increasingly brought about pervasive practices of accountability and standardization associated with the political regimes that have power in these systems. I argue that these practices occupy our attention, shape our subjectivity, and dictate who we are as educators; it leads to inward impoverishment. Consequently, I further contend, prevents us from growing towards holism, embodiment, and animism, falling prey to the ills of a neoliberal approach to education that dominates the current educational scenes. Given this, I urge educators to re/turn to the self and to regenerate self as the site of being.

Taking my lead from Pierre Hadot’s, Philosophy as a Way of Life, I revitalize the importance of self-cultivation for educators and the need to embody a philosophical way of life. Our moral responsibility as educators to pay our attention inwardly at the condition of our inner life has been largely ignored, but the necessity of self-cultivation and inner work lies at the heart of authentic teaching. I investigate how the nature of teaching is to be a mode of existing-in-the-world, rather than sole competency with theory, pedagogy, and practice. Drawing on my experiences in higher education, I consider how this is generated through contemplative inquiry and practice; not as a solipsistic endeavour, but one situated within a collective attempt towards humanity’s harmony and interdependent existence.