Abstract

This paper considers the place of freedom in discussions of the aims of education. Bearing in mind remarks of R.S. Peters to the affect that the singling out of aims can ‘fall into the hands of rationalistically minded curriculum planners’, it begins by considering the views of Roland Reichenbach regarding Bildung and his account of this in ateleological terms. The particular place of freedom is examined in the light of the writings of Martin Heidegger and Jean-Luc Nancy. The meaning of education in terms of ‘the leap of freedom’ is discussed. This opens the way to an account of education that is different from classical notion of educational aims. Finally, in the leap of freedom, educational practices are considered as a form of translation