Our guest in this episode is Peter Singer, one of the most influential moral philosophers of our time. Known for works like Animal Liberation, Practical Ethics, and The Life You Can Save, Singer has spent his career challenging us to rethink how we live and how we can reduce suffering for humans and animals alike. In his recent book The Buddhist and the Ethicist, co-authored with Venerable Shih Chao-Hwei, he explores what happens when Western utilitarian ethics meets the compassion and mindfulness of engaged Buddhism. In this conversation, we talk about living one’s philosophy, the role of compassion in ethical life, and what Buddhist thought can teach us about the ability to respond wisely to the challenges of our time.
00:00:53 – Living One’s Philosophy
00:02:52 – The Life You Can Save
00:06:40 – What’s Good About Utilitarianism?
00:09:14 – Ethics and Animal Welfare
00:12:58 – The Buddhist and the Ethicist: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue
00:17:00 – Why Dialogue?
00:18:32 – Insights from the Dialogue
00:21:30 – Spirituality Without Belief
00:25:29 – The Meeting of Compassion and Reason
00:25:32 – What Can Western Philosophy Learn from Buddhism?
00:27:40 – ResponsAbility and Ethical Dialogue
00:29:12 – The Responsibility of Philosophers Today
00:32:22 – Future Dialogues Between Philosophy and Contemplative Traditions
Literature:
In this episode, we talk with Tone Kvernbekk, Professor of Education at the University of Oslo, about how teachers think, reason, and act wisely in complex educational contexts. Drawing on her work on the nature of evidence, theory, and practical judgment, she discusses why educational practice cannot simply be based on evidence, but must be informed by it. We explore her reflections on causality, context, and the limits of instrumental thinking. Finally, Tone shares how pedagogical thought experiments can help cultivate the ability to respond thoughtfully and well to what each situation demands.
00:00:44 – Academic journey and philosophical beginnings
00:02:34 – Why theory and theory development matter in education
00:04:27 – “Nothing is as practical as a good theory”
00:06:00 – The meaning of “based” in evidence-based practice
00:08:02 – What counts as evidence?
00:11:58 – John Hattie and the limits of “what works best”
00:15:31 – Instrumentality and causality in education
00:20:02 – Four models for connecting research evidence and practice
00:22:35 – Grimen, phronesis, and Biesta – on wisdom, risk, and judgment
00:25:41 – Pedagogical thought experiments and the cultivation of ResponsAbility
00:30:06 – The responsibility of educational philosophers today
Literature:
In this episode of the ResponsAbility Podcast, we speak with philosopher Lou Marinoff, professor at City College of New York and founding president of the American Philosophical Practitioners Association. Marinoff shares his journey from physics to philosophy, and how he became a pioneer of philosophical practice. We talk about his well-known book Plato, Not Prozac and the P4/PEACE framework, his dialogue with Buddhist thinker Daisaku Ikeda in The Inner Philosopher, and his reflections on spirituality, Taoism, and Pierre Hadot’s idea of philosophy as a way of life. Marinoff also discusses his work on the root causes of conflict and argues for philosophy’s crucial role in higher education, professional practice, and in creating the conditions for peace.
00:00:50 - Personal and professional journey
00:03:38 - What philosophical practice can contribute to higher education
00:13:01 - On the relevance of philosophy when facing life’s challenges
00:15:52 - On the P4/PEACE framework and why it is not only about problem-solving
00:30:56 - On The Inner Philosopher with Japanese Buddhist thinker Daisaku Ikeda.
00:35:46 - On spirituality and philosophical practice
00:41:45 - What is Daoist philosophy about, and how might it be applied in life?
00:46:42 - What are the root causes of conflict?
00:55:14 - On understanding conflict and developing towards wisdom
Literature:
In this episode of the ResponsAbility Podcast, we speak with Nicola Ulibarri, Associate Professor at UC Irvine and first author of Creativity in Research. Drawing on her experience at Stanford’s d.school, Nicola shares how creativity can be cultivated as a deliberate practice in academia through mindfulness, emotional intuition, structured exercises, and supportive collaboration. We explore themes from her book, including the thirty-day creativity program, storytelling, energy management, and psychological safety in teams — and reflect on how these themes can become sources of creativity and inspiration for the researcher.
00:00:55 - Personal and professional background for writing Creativity in Research
00:03:38 - Mindfulness as foundational for creativity in research
00:05:06 - Emotional intuition as a guide in research decisions
00:09:11 - How can the inclusion of mindfulness and emotional intuition in research processes be justified?
00:12:38 - On the thirty-day-program
00:15:02 - Transformations observed with researchers who did the thirty-day-program
00:17:48 - On the importance of storytelling and language in shaping researchers’ identity
00:19:19 - On the role of energy management in research processes
00:24:09 - On the importance of collaboration and feedback in order for creativity to flourish in research
00:28:13 - Surprises in the reception of the book
00:31:10 - Is a researcher also a kind of artist?
Literature:
In this episode of the ResponsAbility Podcast, we are honored to welcome Professor Lars Løvlie—philosopher of education and long-time advocate for a reflective, humane, and relational approach to schooling and teacher education. Drawing on decades of experience and a deep engagement with thinkers like Hegel, Kant, Gadamer, and Dewey, Løvlie shares his reflections on concepts such as respect, recognition, and play—and how these shape both pedagogy and Bildung. We also explore his critique of standardized education reforms and his commitment to the essay as a philosophical form. This conversation is a thoughtful invitation to rethink what it means to teach, to learn, and to live together in a humane society.
00:01:12 - How Lars got interested in the German Bildung tradition
00:11:14 - On Hegel's concept of recognition and Kant's concept of respect
00:17:28 - On the notion of play
00:18:18 - On John Dewey's approach to education
00:20:29 - On the existential dimension of education
00:23:16 - What is the real question of education about?
00:24:31 - How to design a teacher education program that includes the promotion of Bildun and practical wisdom?
00:26:33 - On the test of practice
00:31:48 - On the importance of the academic essay in teacher education
Literature:
In this episode of the ResponsAbility Podcast, we speak with Professor Ambrogio Bongiovanni—director of the Center for Interreligious Studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University—about the transformative role of dialogue in education, peace-building, and global responsibility. Drawing from decades of work across religious, academic, and international institutions, Bongiovanni explores what it means to cultivate a pedagogy of dialogue that embraces difference without losing depth. From grassroots encounters in India to teaching future educators and theologians, he shares insights on nonviolence, spiritual formation, and the ethical challenges of our time. In summary, this conversation examines how dialogue in education can foster connection, reflection, and responsibility in an increasingly divided world.
00:01:00 – Background and path into interreligious work
00:04:16 – Pedagogy of dialogue in multi-religious education
00:08:19 – Dialogical training for peace and nonviolence
00:12:12 – Challenges in promoting interreligious dialogue
00:16:00 – Institutional influence on global dialogue and responsibility
00:19:44 – Ethics and moral development in education
00:22:52 – Spirituality and Bildung in education
Literature:
In this episode of the ResponsAbility Podcast, we are joined by Prof. Dr. Alfried Längle and Prof. Mag. Dr. Eva Maria Waibel—two leading voices in existential therapy and pedagogy. Alfried Längle, a close collaborator of Viktor Frankl and founder of the International Society for Logotherapy and Existential Analysis, shares his insights into the foundations of existential psychotherapy, focusing on meaning, freedom, and the four fundamental motivations that guide human life. Eva Maria Waibel, a seasoned educator and psychotherapist, brings these existential principles into the field of education, emphasizing the formation of the whole person through presence, relationship, and ethical responsibility.
Together, they explore how both therapy and education can support people in navigating suffering, disconnection, and the challenges of modern life—not by offering easy answers, but by cultivating the courage to face difficult questions and stay connected to oneself and others. This episode offers a hopeful reflection on what it means to teach, learn, and live with meaning and care.
00:01:24 - About the Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy
00:06:17 - What distinguishes Alried Längle's form of existential analysis from Viktor Frankl's?
00:08:38 - What is Existential Pedagogy and what does it look like in practice?
00:16:05 - How can you work to educate children and youth in ways that can give them meaning in their lives?
00:17:41 - How to understand spirituality in the context of Existential Analysis and Existential Pedagogy?
00:23:50 - How to work with not only spirituality but also with responsibility in educational settings?
00:33:47 - What does conscience mean in the context of Existential Analysis and Existential Pedagogy?
00:35:58 - What can Existential Pedagogy contribute to the development of so-called Life Skills?
Literature:
The Time Magazine listed our guest today among America’s 25 most influential people in 1996. And with that, we are truly honored to welcome Professor Carol Gilligan in this episode! Carol is one of the most influential psychologists and ethicists of our time. She is the author of the groundbreaking book In a Different Voice, which not only reshaped moral development theory but also introduced the now widely recognized ethics of care. Currently based at New York University, she has held distinguished positions at Harvard and Cambridge. Her work has had a lasting impact not only in psychology and philosophy but also in education, gender studies, and democratic theory. In this episode, we speak with Carol about the origins of In a Different Voice, the overlooked abortion study that inspired it, and the paradigm shift she helped initiate—from abstract principles of justice to an ethics rooted in care, relationship, and responsibility. We also explore the role of embodied knowledge, the resurgence of patriarchy, and why helping children—and societies—find their voices is more urgent than ever.
00:01:16 – A bit about Carol’s personal story
00:09:56 – About the abortion decision study which lead to In a Different Voice
00:16:57 – About the paradigm shift towards the ethics of care
00:21:47 – What does responsibility mean to Carol?
00:27:32 – What role does intuition have with regard to the human voice?
00:31:58 – What would it look like in practice if we were to teach teacher students or nursing students in a way that would enhance their intuition?
00:33:16 – What does the voice of resistance sound like?
00:41:50 – Why did Carol call her book Darkness Now Visible?
Literature:
Our guest in this episode is Dr. Helgard Mahrdt from the Center for Gender Research at the University of Oslo. She was also Associate Professor at the Department of Literature, Area Studies, and European Languages and Visiting Professor at the University of Ljubljana. Furthermore, she served as a Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities in Copenhagen and has been affiliated with the Humaniora study group at the University of Oslo. In this episode, we explore her long-standing engagement with the political thought of Hannah Arendt, focusing on Arendt’s insights into education, judgment, and responsibility. We discuss Arendt’s concept of the educator’s double responsibility—toward both the child and the world—and what it means to teach in an era marked by alienation, expropriation, and the breakdown of tradition. We also reflect on the role of thinking, remembering, and public discourse in shaping democratic life, and on how educators and universities must respond to rising authoritarian pressures.
00:01:25 – What brought Helgard to study the life and work of Hannah Arendt?
00:03:48 – On the double responsibility of the educator
00:04:09 – On Arendt’s concept of Being-in-the-world and its relevance for education
00:11:45 – On the difference between moral and political responsibility
00:15:52 – What lessons can we draw from Arendt regarding current radical political movements?
00:21:19 – Do universities have a political responsibility?
Literature:
The guest of our episode today is the internationally acclaimed wisdom researcher, Monika Ardelt. Monika is Professor of Sociology at the University of Florida and a Founding Faculty Member and serves on the Advisory Committee of the University of Florida’s Center for Spirituality and Health. She is widely recognized in the global wisdom research community for developing the influential Three-Dimensional Wisdom Scale (3D-WS), a pioneering tool that conceptualizes wisdom as a combination of cognitive, reflective, and compassionate dimensions. In this episode, we talk with Monika about how she came to study wisdom, what makes someone wise, and how wisdom can be cultivated across the lifespan. We explore the links between wisdom, well-being, resilience, meaning-making, spirituality, and responsibility—and whether wisdom can be taught in educational settings. Monika also reflects on the challenges of measuring wisdom across cultures and why she believes that wisdom is ultimately not something found in books, but embodied in the way we live our lives.
00:01:19 – How Monika became a wisdom researcher
00:07:00 – The story behind the 3D Wisdom Scale
00:11:32 – Is wisdom universal?
00:11:32 – Wisdom and meaning-making
00:11:32 – Can young people be wise?
00:22:30 – Can wisdom be taught?
00:25:10 – How do students respond to the university course on wisdom?
00:27:05 – On wisdom and spirituality
00:32:00 – On wisdom and responsibility
Further literature:
Our guest in this episode is Bernadette Flanagan, an internationally recognized researcher in the fields of spirituality, contemplative studies, and professional education. Bernadette was Director of Research at All Hallows College, Dublin City University, and is now Director of the Spirituality in Society and the Professions research group at South-East Technological University in Ireland. She is the co-editor of the Routledge International Handbook of Spirituality in Society and the Professions as well as the Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Spirituality and Contemplative Studies. In this episode, Bernadette shares insights into how spirituality and contemplative practices can foster reflection, resilience, and ethical responsibility among professionals working in fields like education, healthcare, and social care. She explains how contemplative and cooperative inquiry methods open new ways of doing research that connect personal development, professional practice, and social transformation. We also discuss how first-, second-, and third-person research approaches can deepen academic work in spirituality, and how spiritual and contemplative practices can serve as crucial resources for navigating today's global "polycrisis". Finally, Bernadette reflects on how her long career of supervising spirituality research has shaped her own understanding of life, learning, and responsibility.
00:00:59 – What is spirituality?
00:03:02 – What is the role of spirituality in professions and professional studies?
00:05:40 – Why do we need spirituality?
00:07:00 - What is the relationship between spirituality and contemplation?
00:08:17 – What can spirituality and contemplation add to more mainstream, competence-oriented approaches in professional studies?
00:09:46 – Do cooperative inquiry, contemplative inquiry and action research, do they share a common methodological orientation?
00:12:33 – On first-person, second-person and third-person research
00:15:35 - Lies the true potential of spiritual and contemplative practices in second-person research and not in third-person research?
00:18:34 – Was there a personal transformation due to all that research work in the field or spirituality and contemplative studies?
00:22:57 – What brought Bernadette into this field?
00:29:15 – How can spirituality and contemplation foster the responsibility of students of professional studies?
Further literature:
Our guest in this episode is Shaun Gallagher, a leading thinker and scholar in the fields of phenomenology, hermeneutics and the cognitive sciences, with several internationally acclaimed contributions. Shaun is the Lillian and Morrie Moss Professor of Excellence in Philosophy at the University of Memphis and he also has a secondary research appointment at the University of Wollongong in Australia. In this episode, he describes one of his neurophenomenological research projects based on astronauts’ experiences of awe and wonder. He also gives a brief account of phenomenology and why the first-person perspective in research can foster a deeper understanding of phenomena which conventional approaches cannot. In our conversation we also delve into the topic of self-knowledge and practical wisdom and Shaun explicates why spiritual experiences of awe and wonder, like the astronauts had, can contribute to the development of responsibility in professional practices.
00:01:10 – Phenomenological research on the spiritual experiences of astronauts
00:05:41– Why is phenomenology a suitable research approach to investigate experiences as such?
00:07:03 – On the practice of phenomenology in other research projects
00:08:39 – On the first-person perspective in phenomenological research
00:11:44 – How does the body shape the mind?
00:14:14 – On hermeneutics, education and human development
00:17:46 – On the role of self-knowledge in professional studies and practices
00:23:42 – On different concepts of the self
00:27:55 – On the role of philosophy in professional studies
00:31:32 – Can spiritual experiences of awe and wonder foster responsibility in professional practices?
Further literature:
In this episode we have one of the most distinguished and well-known thinkers of our times with us: Martha C. Nussbaum. She is currently Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, appointed in the Law School and the Philosophy Department. As a philosopher she published on a wide range of topics like ethics, feminism, political philosophy as well as ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. In our conversation with her, we delve into the Princeton Classics edition of her book Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, which has just been released. Among other topics, we discuss the vital role of liberal arts and explore why their significance is increasingly diminished and even endangered in higher education.
00:01:26 – Why does democracy need the humanities?
00:05:56 – Why is there a Silent Crisis in Higher Education and what is it about?
00:09:57 – Why is it bad that the humanities are eradicated in certain university programs?
00:11:47 – What is Socratic pedagogy and how can it be practiced with students?
00:18:13 – Do one need specific classes to promote the three abilities that foster citizenship?
00:19:42 – What is meant by the ability to cultivate imagination?
00:24:45 – Is our human capacity of transcendence the key to develop responsibility?
00:29:03 – About the educational approach of the philosopher and poet Tagore
00:34:12 – How can liberal education be integrated in professional studies?
00:37:45 – On academic essay writing
00:41:52 – On Greek tragedies and their relevance for today’s world
00:44:11 – Why do we need to think about anger and forgiveness?
00:49:34 – Why philosophers who only have one single message, have become dead
Further literature:
Hilary Bradbury is our guest in this episode. She is a key figure in the vast international movement of action research and editor of The Sage Handbook of Action Research, which is without doubt a cornerstone of action research. Furthermore, she is one of the founders and editors in chief of the Action Research Journal as well as curator of the ActionResearchPlus online platform. In our conversation with her, we investigate central epistemological features of action research and the role of dialogue in this form of research. Last but not least we discuss with Hilary how action research can contribute to change and transformation in face of the climate crises and how spirituality can be approached by this form of research.
00:00:52 – How Hilary got involved in action research
00:02:42 – A short introduction to action research
00:04:55 – What is actionable knowledge?
00:07:32 – Different epistemologies between action research and conventional research
00:09:36 – On the notion of evidence in action research
00:12:54 – On the role of action research in social science and in the humanities
00:15:09 – On reflective practice research as a form of philosophical action research and how to deal with critics of action research
00:20:14 – How to understand impact in action research?
00:26:24 – How can one approach spirituality through action research?
00:37:39 – On practical wisdom and responsibility
Further literature:
The guest of this episode is John Hattie, one of the world’s best-known and most widely read education experts. In our conversation with him, he explains the cornerstones and intentions of his Visible Learning approach. We also discuss several points of criticism that he received for his approach and how he developed it further based on the critique he faced. Furthermore, John also explicates the concept of intentional alignment and why the practice of this concept needs an ethical dimension in order not to be misused. Finally, he advocates a shift of perspective in education from autonomy towards responsibility.
00:01:12 – What is Visible Learning?
00:02:59 – On “Know thy impact”
00:05:55 – On the impact of Visible Learning
00:07:01 – The main critiques of the Visible Learning approach
00:10:23 – On interpreting and building a story around data
00:12:02 – On “What works best”
00:14:37 – The relevance of self-knowledge in the Visible Learning approach
00:16:38 – The Dodo Bird Verdict
00:21:22 – Intentional alignment
00:27:13 – How does a competent teacher become a good teacher?
00:32:48 – On phronesis, Bildung and ResponsAbility
00:36:32 – From autonomy towards responsiblity
Further literature:
The guest of this episode is professor James McGuirk, Director of the Center for Diaconia and Professional Practice at VID Specialized University and professor II at Nord University, both in Norway. As a philosopher, James gives account of what he means by the notion of “the wise practitioner” and how students of professional studies can develop towards becoming wise practitioners. In order to do so, he explicates the three forms of knowledge of Aristotle and brings forth arguments why using one’s own experiences is as legitimate as using others’ in practice research.
00:00:44 – What are characteristics of a wise practitioner?
00:02:06 – What is the role of habit in practical wisdom?
00:04:59 – What is the role of reason in practical wisdom?
00:06:42 – On the three knowledge forms of Aristotle
00:10:38 – What is phronesis?
00:14:03 – On values in institutions
00:18:54 – How can students of professional studies become wise practitioners?
00:24:28 – On the role of stories and experiences in practice research and developing practical knowledge
00:28:04 – Are there any differences in researching narratives phenomenologically or hermeneutically?
00:30:46 – Is using one’s own experiences as legitimate as using others’ in practice research?
00:36:17 – Is developing phronesis, or responsAbility, rather a matter of research than of teaching?
Further literature:
McGuirk, J. (2021): Den kloke praktikeren. In: Fuglseth, K.S. & Halås, C.T. (eds.): Innføring i Praktisk Kunnskap. Anerkjennende, kritisk og konstruktiv praksisforskning. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
McGuirk, J. 2017. Experience and the story. I: Catrine Thorbjørnsen Halås, Ingjerd Gåre Kymre and Kari Steinsvik: Humanistiske forskningstilnærminger til profesjonspraksis.
McGuirk, J. og Jan Selmer Methi. (2014); Praktisk kunnskap som profesjonsforskning: antologi over yrkeserfaringen som utgangspunkt for forståelse av kunnskapsutvikling i praksis. Fagbokforlaget.
McGuirk, J. 2016. Phenomenological considerations of habit: Reason, knowing and self-presence in habitual action. Phenomenology and Mind, (6), 112–121. https://doi.org/10.13128/Phe_Mi-19556
McGuirk, J. 2021. Embedded rationality and the contextualization of critical thinking. Journal of Philosophy of Education, (55), 606-20. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12563
McGuirk, J. 2023. Paying attention alone and together: The role of attention in the formation and cultivation of habits. Knowing our ways about in the world: Philosophical perspectives on Practical knowledge, eds. B. Molander, M. Solli, & T. Netland. Oslo. Scandinavian University Press.https://www.idunn.no/doi/10.18261/9788215069135-23-06
McGuirk, J. 2023. On the role of the ‘Call’ in professional work and practical knowledge. Exploring Practical Knowledge, eds. K. Fuglseth, C. Cederberg & E. van der Zande. Leiden. Brill
McGuirk, J. 2022.Perspectives on democracy, citizenship, and value education in the Norwegian school. Education in Europe: Contemporary approaches across the continent. New York. Routledge.
The guest of this episode is Cheryl Hunt, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter/UK, Director and Trustee of the International Network for the Study of Spirituality (INSS) and the founding editor of the Journal for the Study of Spirituality. Cheryl gives an in-depth account of Reflective Practice and how it developed historically in professional practices. Furthermore, she elaborates the relationship between Reflective Practice, spirituality and meaning-making. Finally, she explicates how spirituality can be studied and researched.
00:01:17 – On Reflective Practice and its history
00:14:29 – On the role of the question “Who am I?” in Reflective Practice
00:17:55 – What does it mean to act authentically in professional practices?
00:20:03 – On the relation between authenticity and spirituality
00:23:14 – Is there a relation between spirituality and meaning-making?
00:26:26 – What is the role of spirituality in professional practices?
00:28:19 – Is there a lack of spirituality in today’s world?
00:31:26 – Is Reflective Practice an approach to promote responsibility in professional practices
00:34:33 – How can spirituality be researched and studied?
00:36:10 – How to facilitate spirituality in terms of a reflective practice
Further literature:
- Hunt, C. (2024): Discovering Spirituality through Critical Reflection and Autoethnography. In: Flanagan, B. & Clough, K. (eds.): The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in Spirituality and Contemplative Studies. London & New York, NY: Routledge.
- Hunt, C. (2023): ‘Doing’ reflective practice and understanding spirituality as a way of being: Implications for professional and transformative practice, Journal for the Study of Spirituality, DOI: 10.1080/20440243.2023.2249823
- Hunt, C. (2021). Critical Reflection, Spirituality and Professional Practice 1st ed. 2021. Palgrave MacMillian
Hunt, C. (2016) ‘Why me? Reflections on using the self in and as research’ In J. McNiff (ed) Values and Virtues in Higher Education Research: Critical issues. (Abingdon: Routledge) pp.48-63
Hunt, C. (2016) 'Spiritual creatures? Exploring a possible interface between reflective practice and spirituality'. In Fook, J., Collington, V., Ross, F., Ruch, G. and West, L. (eds) Researching Critical Reflection: Multidisciplinary perspectives. (London: Routledge). pp.34-47
Hunt, C. (2010): A step too far? From a professional reflective practice to spirituality. In: Bradbury, H., Frost, N., Kilminster, S. & Zukas, M. (eds.): Beyond reflective practice. New approaches to professional lifelong learning. London & New York: Routledge.
Hunt, C. (2009) ‘Wyrdknowledge: towards an understanding of spirituality through reflective practice and mythopoesis’. In P.Willis, T.Leonard, A.Morrison and S.Hodge (eds), Spiritualty, Mythopoesis and Learning (Queensland: Post Pressed). pp.130-146.
Hunt, C. (2006) Travels with a turtle: metaphors and the making of a professional identity. Reflective Practice 7(3), 315-332.
In this episode we welcome Finn Thorbjørn Hansen, professor in applied philosophy at Aalborg University. Finn published extensively on the phenomenology of wonder and assumes it a key-dimension in higher education, professional studies and existential pedagogy in general. By means of the question “What would happen if we in the curriculum of higher education took seriously that we should learn our students ‘to stand in the open’, that is, really acknowledge that the future is unknown?” he delves into the concept of philosophical literacy and presents a wonder-based research approach that is strongly in line with the phenomenological-hermeneutical tradition as well as current eco-phenomenological thinking. Finally, he outlines how he conducts such wonder-based research in the form of his Wonder-Labs.
00:00:48 – What is applied philosophy?
00:02:08 – What is existential pedagogy?
00:09:18 – The philosophical life as an ideal of Bildung and learning to stand in the open
00:12:33 – Wonder in higher education and learning to deal with the unknown
00:17:10 – What is wonder-based research?
00:26:44 – What is philosophical literacy?
00:29:36 – The existential, the spiritual and the apophatic
00:32:43 – What is a Wonder-Lab?
00:37:38 – A summarizing view of Finn’s academic work and research
Further literature:
In this episode, prof. Catrine Torbjørnsen Halås, former head of the Center for Practical Knowledge at Nord University, reflects on the relevance of practice research for professional studies like teacher education, social work or nursing. By means of personal experiences, she gives an elaborated account of what practical knowledge is and outlines different methodological approaches, how to develop that kind of knowledge. Last but not least, she explains why it is legitimate to use one’s own practice experience as starting point when conducting practice research.
00:00:44 – Catrine's “personal journey” towards research on practical knowledge
00:02:20 – What is practice research?
00:04:09 – About research on practice, with practice or in practice?
00:05:59 - Differences between humanistic and social science research approaches in professional studies
00:08:39 – What is practical knowledge?
00:13:48 – Your own experience as valuable starting point for practice research
00:16:52 – What kind of methodologies can be used in order to develop practical knowledge?
00:21:03 – The role of unease in practice research
00:26:49 – To what extent is good practice, and with that practical knowledge, a question of the practitioner’s responsibility?
00:30:08 - How should we educate practitioners that are able to take responsibility?
Further literature:
- Halås, C.T. & Fuglseth, K.S. (2021): Fagområdet praktisk kunnskap. In: Fuglseth, K.S. & Halås, C.T. (eds.): Innføring i Praktisk Kunnskap. Anerkjennende, kritisk og konstruktiv praksisforskning. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
- Halås C.T, Kymre, I.G and Steinsvik, K. (eds) (2017): Humanistiske forskningstilnærminger til profesjonspraksis. Gyldendal Akademisk.
- Halås, C.T (2023) Jakob Meløe’s Praxeology – an ethnographic approach to research in practical knowledge . Antologikapittel i C. Cederberg, K. Fuglseth & E.vd Zande (eds) "Exploring practical knowledge. Life-World Studies of Professionals in Education and Research. Brill.
- Halås, C.T (2022) Kunnskapsreflektert praxis som tilnærming til å skape sammenheng mellom praktisk og teoretisk virksomhet i sosialt arbeid . i Ø. Henriksen, A. Solstad & G.W. Øydgaard. Sammenhenger i sosialt arbeid. Universitetsforlaget.
- Halås, C.T & McGuirk, J (2021) Det vitenskapelige essayet i profesjonsforskning: en kritisk utprøvende metode. Tidsskrift for psykisk helsearbeid: Volum 18, s. 5-14. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-3010-2021-01-02
- Halås, C.T & Lombholdt Herholdt, S.M Podcast about writing essays: https://nord.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=5dd3a0f6-39ef-4853-a8c2-b1370076f1d5
In this episode prof. emeritus Anders Lindseth talks about his work in the committee for Bildung in higher education (“Dannelsesutvalget - om dannelses perspektiver i høyere utdanning”, 2009) and the fundamental perspectives that this committee brought forward. Furthermore, he discusses the intention of The Research Council of Norway to have more practice-near research and how the Center for Practical Knowledge at Nord University, where Lindseth was professor, met this intention in terms of Reflective Practice Research. In the further conversation, Lindseth gives an in-depth account of why and how this research approach is deeply rooted phenomenology and hermeneutics and why it is legitimate for practitioners to conduct research on their on practice.
00:01:12 – What is the role of Bildung in professional studies and research?
00:02:51 – What are experiences of discrepancy and how to investigate them in terms of research?
00:05:08 – The “personal” in research
00:06:30 – What is Reflective Practice Research?
00:11:45 – Methodologies that can be used within the research approach of Reflective Practice Research
00:23:52 – What is “response-ability” (or “respondability” as Anders also calls it) and why is it important for professionals like nurses, teachers etc.?
00:25:10 – ResponsAbility (or “respondability”) and the practitioner’s search for meaning
00:26:59 – On the theoretical reflection- the third phase of the research process in Reflective Practice Research.
00:29:32 – On the relationship between reflection and meditation
Further literature:
- Lindseth, A. (2020). Dosenten i et FoU-perspektiv. Refleksiv praksisforskning som en vei mot dosentkompetanse. I C. C. Bachke & M. Hermansen (Red.), Å satse på dosenter. Et utviklingsarbeid (Kap. 4, s. 75–101). Oslo: Cappelen Damm Akademisk.
- Lindseth, A. (2021): Diskrepanserfaring og svarevne. In: Fuglseth, K. S. & Halås, C. T. (eds.): Innføring i praktisk kunnskap. Anerkjennende, kritisk og konstruktiv praksisforskning
- Lindseth, A (2009), Dannelsens plass i profesjonsutdanninger. Kunnskap og dannelse foran et nytt århundre. Innstilling fra Dannelsesutvalget for høyere utdanning
