Dr. Seamus Mulryan publishes work in The Cambridge Handbook of Ethics and Education

Dr. Seamus Mulryan recently published a contribution in The Cambridge Handbook of Ethics and Education titled “The Ethics of Bildung and Liberal Education”. The chapter traces the history of the educational concept of Bildung from its philosophical roots in ancient liberal education, to its emergence in the Weimer period of Germany, and finally to its influence on contemporary educational theory. Mulryan’s analysis shows that Bildung and classical liberal education are not archaic educational philosophies but rather living elements across the whole of the contemporary American educational tradition.

Mulryan writes, “Bildung has served as an influential concept in European and American educational theory. While not always known as Bildung, the idea is central in educational transcendentalism (Emerson) and progressivism (Dewey), critical pedagogy (Marx), and hermeneutic education (Gadamer), to say the least. The traditions considered herein all have in common the importance of liberal education, with varying emphasis on subject matter and the role of that subject matter in one’s education, without making liberal education the exclusive criterion for Bildung; and they all emphasize the interdependent and inextricable relationship between the flourishing of the individual and that of humanity.“

The Cambridge Handbook Series, published by Cambridge University Press, “provides a complete state-of-the-field overview of a major sub-discipline within language study, law, education and psychological science research.”