In his article, King (1998) investigates the philosophy of teaching and learning by reviewing the ideas of Augustine and Wittgenstein against the background of the contemporary teaching philosophy. The research question stated by the author is whether Augustine’s insights on the role of understanding as an internal process in learning outweigh the information-transference ideas and conformity in learning. The author’s thesis, therefore, is that teaching as a mere information-transference episode influenced by conformity to authority is impossible because only internal episode of understanding a new piece of knowledge might be considered true learning.
The argument made by King (1998) is based on the contrasting analysis of these philosophical approaches and entails that “accepting something on the basis of authority will never provide knowledge since the reason for accepting the belief is not appropriately linked to its content” (p. 194). The research questions raised by the article include the ways in which authority and voluntary learning intertwine in contemporary teaching, as well as the mechanics of understanding as a central process in acquiring new knowledge. King (1998) refutes the claims of philosophers supporting information-transference and conformity ideas that suggest that “knowledge is intrinsically public and so cannot have private unshareable constituents” by elaborating on multiple examples that prove the validity of Augustine’s points (p. 180).
The research implications entail the potential of transforming the contemporary philosophical approach from transference to individual learning, which is growing in the modern world. The author meticulously compares the opposing views on teaching and learning using analysis and synthesis as the main methods. The conclusions made by the author are to-the-point, validated by logical reasoning and evidence, and strongly support the initial argument stating that learning does not occur under the influence of teacher’s authority or transferability of knowledge but a complex process that requires continuous research.
Reference
King, P. (1998). Augustine on the impossibility of teaching.Metaphilosophy, 29(3), 179-195. Web.