Epistemology and pedagogy: the false dichotomies in the philosophy of education

Abstract

The article problematizes the false dichotomies that, since Greek antiquity, have determined which knowledge is legitimized for teaching, thereby restricting the curriculum. First, it examines the transition from mythos (μῦθος) to lógos (λóγος) as a criterion for truth. This distinction is problematic because the foundational arguments of philosophical texts, such as Plato's Republic, include myths, while literary tragedies (like those of Sophocles) demonstrate pedagogical potential and serve as instruments for scientific theories (Freud) or discussions in political philosophy (Butler). Subsequently, the text addresses the distinction between reason and affects. Through Nietzsche, it is argued that philosophical rationality is illusory, as all language is rhetoric, and truth is a "movement of metaphors." Finally, the article analyzes the fiction versus reality dichotomy, highlighting that utopian literature, according to Gramsci, possesses an implicit political value and offers tools for social transformation. The conclusion posits that these barriers are a consequence of the contemporary departmentalization of knowledge, with the rational and the affective being distinct expressions of the same phenomenon: language.