The challenge of “rationality” and “commitment” within “Pedagogical Problematicism” paradigm

Abstract

The thought of Giovanni Maria Bertin and the "Pedagogical Problematicism" approach he forged, aims to establish “the education challenge” as an essential issue for the whole of society. Studies adopting Problematicism as their theoretical framework build upon or argue in favour of two core notions: “rationality”, conceived of as a methodological horizon (i.e. a guideline for conferring meaning on education); and “commitment”, conceived of as fundamental to an ethical and political vision of education. Like other deleterious effects of globalisation, the coronavirus pandemic poses new questions to both education professionals and scholars, providing us with new and urgent issues to be analysed from the viewpoint of Problematicism. In the contemporary scenario, Pedagogy should be considered as an authoritative reference in the public debate, as a discipline capable of (re)orienting educational practices towards more autonomous and critical thought and as a scientific discipline at least as influential as the other human sciences. The following three contributions included in the Issue introduction, aim to highlight the categories of Bertin’s Philosophy of Education by applying them to contemporary dilemmas and emergencies. In the first one (Towards a new Problematicism) Massimo Baldacci underlines the connection between Antonio Banfi’s and Berti’s thoughts as references to read the contemporary education dilemmas. The second one by Maurizio Fabbri (Experience and reality. Epistemological and political implications of the concept of reason in Antonio Banfi and his reasons for actuality) has focused on the connection between Pedagogical Problematicism and politics. In the third one (What use for pedagogical problematicism in 2022? Problematicism and uncertainty against polarizations and binary thought) Alessandro Tolomelli uses the Problematicism approach to read two typical bias of the contemporary main stream way of thinking as the polarization and binarism tendency.