The Emotional Components of Education in Wittgenstein‘s and Dewey‘s Approaches to Education

What is the role of language for education? How do emotions help one to understand one’s experience of language or experience of education? These are the questions that guide this inquiry. In this presentation I explore the similarities between Wittgenstein’s and Dewey’s approaches to education, in order to make a contribution towards the philosophy of education. Concerning Wittgenstein’s ideas of language and Dewey’s treatment of experience, relatively little has been said about the language of learning. While their critique of knowledge is similar, their rejection of the spectator’s view of knowledge, can be utilised to present a comprehensive system or approach for educational practice, built on the language of learning and the (internal and external) experience of education. In light of the above, education is about helping students understand the whole web of concerns and considerations relevant to moral functioning in the world.