Abstract
Set within the backdrop of Helmuth Plessner's notion of «eccentricity», this article presents the main lines of a narrative anthropology. According to this, human beings, besides our biological and cultural nature (in many aspects shared by other animals), also possess condition; that is, we are capable of questioning our nature. For this reason it is not possible to find a «firm and safe» basis that directs our existence in a definitive way. The great pedagogical question, therefore, is not «What are we?» but rather «How can we orientate our life?»; «What meaning do we imbue it with?» In narrative anthropology this question can never be definitively answered. Consequently, a pedagogy that has as its aim the transmission of «the full meaning of life» would have disquieting dogmatic and totalitarian aspects. © Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 101-124 |
| Journal | Teoria de la Educacion |
| Volume | 20 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2008 |
Keywords
- Desire
- Human condition
- Human nature
- Meaning of life
- Narration
- Pedagogical anthropology
- Situation