Normativity or the Genesis of Values: On Critique/Post-critique and Educational Pragmatism

In this paper, we will explore a possible dialogue between educational pragmatism and post-critical pedagogy (PCP) and we will ‘test’ it in reference to the question of inclusion, which is arguably one of the chief notions in contemporary educational debate. To start with, we will object to the possibly unfortunate adoption of the “normativity” vocabulary within the Manifesto for a Post-Critical Pedagogy and we will suggest the need for a shift from the language of norms to that of values, by building on Hans Joas’ distinction between norms and values. While norms have to do with obligation and the limitation of possibilities of action, values are characterized by an ideal and inspirational function. In keeping with Joas’ distinction, we will argue that the notion of normativity may risk being accomplice with the excessive role of normative critique decried by postcritical approaches. Against this backdrop, we will zoom in on the question of inclusion. We will indicate two possible outlooks: a critical pragmatist view of inclusion, as exemplified in some insights of José Medina, and a post-critical understanding, which we will outline in reference to Joas but also ‒ via him ‒ to the classics of educational pragmatism. We will finally suggest that the relationships between critique and post-critique should be construed in terms of a quasi-Bohrian complementarity and that pragmatism qua a “corridor theory,” as Papini famously put it, can help us to orchestrate this complex regime of relationships.