15315-wolbert

Chapter 3 48 refers to philosophy as explication, based on conceptual analysis. Examples are only used to further explicate, they are add-ons, not central to the theory. E.g. philosophy on the other hand, sees philosophy as exemplifying, based on real-life examples. The example of theorising autonomy could have the form of starting with a real-life example of the choices one has (had) to make, to derive from that the characteristics of ideal (in this world) autonomy. As such it would be logically constrained by our experiences, because it would start from the actual as opposed to from the ideal. This style would have the additional advantage of ‘populating’ the theory, as suggested by Cigman. 80 3.6 C ONCLUSION We have shown that the arguments against exclusive reliance on ideal theory from literature on theories of justice also apply to educational theory on flourishing. We have also given arguments why ideal theory can be worthwhile. The function of simplification and abstraction of idealisations, and the direction-giving function of idealisations and (regulative) ideals all show that it can be beneficial to make an ideal ‘blueprint’ of the flourishing life before equipping children to be able to live one. There are two conclusions we wish to draw from our discussion. First, we have found that often in theory on education for flourishing it is not made explicit whether flourishing – and education for flourishing – is to be seen as an ideal and, more importantly, whether the theory is regarded as ideal theory or nonideal theory. We think it would be good if both would be specified more often, because this creates room to also address the limitations of the theories. If theories on education for flourishing aspire to go beyond an inspirational role, the limitations of ideal theory should be recognised, and more thought should go to whether the idealisations that are put forward can be justified. Secondly, we think that nonideal theory on education flourishing should be encouraged, because it can address issues in the actual educational practices that current theories seem to overlook. 80 Cigman 2018.