Prolegomena for a Philosophy of Education in Inter- and Eco-Dependence. The Case of the Free Institution of Education

This article's aim is to clear the way with respect to thinking philosophically about pedagogical experiences which are, in themselves, a reflection on the foundations of education. In order to do so, taking as a starting point the eco-social crisis in which we find ourselves (summarized, in our text, as a double attack on the social floor and the environmental ceiling), we will attempt to specify what is meant by both "philosophy" and "education" in the proposition regarded as "philosophy of education." Thus, we will defend the dual character of education (insofar as it both transforms and preserves), as opposed to a certain Marxist tradition that would have denied it any kind of role in social transformation. Likewise, we will endeavor to justify the importance of a naturalistic philosophy, far from what Rabossi denominated "Canon". Once we have specified the meaning of this concept, we will test it on a Spanish case study: namely, the Institucion Libre de Ensenanza (ILE). After a brief sketch of the concepts of "interdependence" and "eco-dependence," we will argue that the ILE, besides being valuable in order to think philosophically about education in Spain, it is also valuable for narrowing down what is meant by an eco-social education.