The notion of otherness, often misused, requires important conceptualization work in order for it to be considered in all of its forms, and not simply reduced to the account of others. Although otherness certainly questions the link to the other (relation), it also questions the link to the self (reflexivity) and the link to knowledge (epistemology). Being tridimensional, the process of otherness is a paradox, the meaning of which can only be drawn thanks to ethics, psychoanalytical orientation and the history of philosophical ideas.
This book, which relates to philosophy of education, seeks to explain the problematic notion of otherness, the desire for which is specific to humankind. It examines how otherness questions the limits of knowledge, transmission and language, and argues that it is in fact a value, a tool and practice for all the actors involved in the relationship between education, knowledge and care.
Table of Contents
Foreword xi
Acknowledgements xvii
Introduction xxi
Part 1. Issues, Forms and Processes of Otherness 1
Introduction to Part 1 3
Chapter 1. The Stakes of a Problematic Otherness 5
1.1. A fashionable notion but very dispersed 5
1.1.1. The proliferation of a polysemous term 5
1.1.2. Loss of meaning or polysemy? 9
1.2. The challenges of otherness in education and training 13
1.2.1. In education 14
1.2.2. In training 24
1.3. Otherness, a Socially Acute Question in the educational sciences 30
1.3.1. Socially relevant issues in educational sciences 30
1.3.2. A socially lively otherness between trends and controversies 32
1.3.3. A challenge or a necessity? 38
1.4. Conclusion 40
Chapter 2. The Forms of Otherness 41
2.1. External otherness 41
2.1.1. Absolute otherness 42
2.1.2. Between conflict and encounter 43
2.1.3. The experience of the face 45
2.2. The inner otherness 46
2.2.1. The breaking of the subject 46
2.2.2. Identity alterations 47
2.2.3. Identity over time 48
2.2.4. The voice of an alienated consciousness 49
2.2.5. Unconsciousness, desire, language and knowledge 50
2.3. Epistemological otherness 54
2.3.1. The unspeakable unknown 54
2.3.2. Philosophical origins 57
2.4. Conclusion 63
Chapter 3. The Process of Teaching Otherness 65
3.1. The concept of Otherness 65
3.1.1. Three-dimensional Otherness 65
3.1.2. A discussed meta-category 70
3.1.3. A schematization of Otherness 71
3.1.4. Usefulness of the concept 72
3.2. Teaching Otherness 73
3.2.1. The lessons of external otherness 74
3.2.2. The lessons of internal otherness 76
3.2.3. The lessons of epistemological otherness 77
3.3. A risky but essential process 84
3.3.1. Under different philosophical constructions... 84
3.3.2...the same process... 87
3.3.3...with its lessons and risks 88
3.4. Conclusion 90
Part 2. Thoughts About Otherness 93
Introduction to Part 2 95
Chapter 4. External Otherness, Educational Work and Holiness 97
4.1. An educational work 97
4.1.1. The meaning of education in Levinas’ work: “getting out of” in order to “go towards” 98
4.1.2. Five educational movements 100
4.1.3. The work or liturgy 106
4.2. Holiness 107
4.2.1. Election 107
4.2.2. Substitution 108
4.2.3. A non-religious transcendence 110
4.3. For a new humanism to be transmitted through education? 112
4.4. Conclusion 114
Chapter 5. Inner Otherness and the Object of Research 115
5.1. The researcher’s involvement 115
5.1.1. Subjectivity, involvement, transfer and countertransference 116
5.1.2. The different types of unconscious phenomena at play in research 118
5.1.3. The difficulty of making one’s own research text visible 120
5.2. Personal projections, transfers and countertransfers 121
5.2.1. The apprentice researcher’s unconscious projections on the object of research 121
5.2.2. Transfer from the apprentice researcher to the thesis supervisor 123
5.2.3. Countertransfers from the apprentice teacher-researcher 126
5.2.4. Awareness, writing and scientific visibility 128
5.3. A clinical investigation 129
5.3.1. Methodology 129
5.3.2. Clinical labels 130
5.4. Conclusion 138
Chapter 6. Epistemological Otherness and Non-being 141
6.1. The forbidden way of non-being 142
6.2. Non-being, a succession of paradoxes? 144
6.2.1. Non-being as an ontological paradox 145
6.2.2. Non-being as a linguistic paradox 147
6.2.3. Non-being as a logical paradox 150
6.2.4. Non-being as a philosophical paradox 154
6.2.5. Non-being as a semantic paradox 157
6.3. Non-being thought between literary fiction and philosophical knowledge 161
6.3.1. A literary fiction of non-being? 161
6.3.2. A philosophical knowledge of non-being? 164
6.4. Why think of non-being today? 173
6.5. Conclusion 176
Part 3. Transfers of Otherness in the Educational Sciences 179
Introduction to Part 3 181
Chapter 7. Didactizing Otherness 183
7.1. The conditions for a didactic approach to Otherness 183
7.1.1. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a didactic approach to Otherness 183
7.1.2. Analysis and discussion of these six conditions 185
7.2. Is Otherness didactic knowledge? 193
7.2.1. Towards a didactic problem 193
7.2.2. Otherness and didactic knowledge 194
7.3. Perspectives of didactic research specific to Otherness 203
7.3.1. The didactic system 203
7.3.2. The didactic triangle 204
7.3.3. Didactic transposition 206
7.3.4. Scientific knowledge, expert knowledge or a social reference practice? 206
7.3.5. The teacher’s epistemology 208
7.3.6. Epistemological obstacles 209
7.3.7. Students’ conceptions 210
7.3.8. Didactic, a-didactic and non-didactic situations 210
7.3.9. The didactic contract 211
7.3.10. Devolution 212
7.3.11. Didactic phenomena 212
7.3.12. Didactic time 213
7.3.13. Topogenesis 213
7.3.14. The environment 214
7.4. Conclusion 214
Chapter 8. Educating for Otherness 215
8.1. Another “education for” or an education other than itself? 215
8.2. A Levinasian education? 217
8.2.1. A dialectical education 218
8.2.2. Perspective of the transfer of the Levinasian work in education 221
8.3. A Meinongian pedagogy? 224
8.3.1. For a pedagogy of the unknown 224
8.3.2. The unknown, part of the fifth Morinian knowledge 227
8.3.3. Exploratory implementation in elementary school 233
8.4. Conclusion 241
Chapter 9. Training for Otherness 243
9.1. Legitimacy of professional training in Otherness 243
9.1.1. The problem of professional training in Otherness 243
9.1.2. Epistemologically valid knowledge outside Parmenidian thought 246
9.1.3. Professionally useful knowledge for professionals 247
9.2. A paradoxical pedagogy to train for Otherness 249
9.2.1. Paradoxes in training 249
9.2.2. The Levinasian paradox of impossible transmission 255
9.2.3. Transmitting the idea of impossible transmission in adult education 260
9.3. An Otherness training engineering project 264
9.3.1. Analysis of training needs 265
9.3.2. A proposal for the engineering of training in Otherness 272
9.4. Training for Otherness through research 272
9.4.1. Characteristics common to any Master’s report supervision 277
9.4.2. Specific characteristics for supporting theses about Otherness 277
9.5. Research perspectives 280
9.5.1. Identifying real practices of Otherness and training 281
9.5.2. Prescribing ideal practices of Otherness and training 283
9.6. Conclusion 286
Chapter 10. Evaluating (with) Otherness 289
10.1. Otherness in evaluation 289
10.1.1. Paradoxical place of Otherness in new evaluation models 289
10.1.2. The Other of evaluation 291
10.1.3. The evaluation-measurement of Otherness 295
10.2. Evaluating and interpreting with Otherness 296
10.2.1. Interpretation, meaning and Otherness 297
10.2.2. Otherness as value in the professionalization process 301
10.3. Application: evaluating and interpreting textual otherness 304
10.3.1. Background information 304
10.3.2. Findings 306
10.3.3. In search of the lost third party 307
10.3.4. For what effects? 310
10.4. Conclusion 312
Conclusion 313
Postface 325
References 329
Index of Names 353
Index of Notions 359
