‘Plastic truth’ after Catherine Malabou. Truth, life, and education

What form might truth take in a theoretical frame which precludes notions of origin and telos? Catherine Malabou’s theory of ‘plasticity’ is such a frame, as it takes the accumulation of life and not the search for eternal truths to be a central premise of philosophy. I conduct a close reading of central texts of Malabou’s to conceptualise truth as a plastic phenomenon over three stages: conception, gestation, and nativity. The conception of truth involves its coming-into-shape; gestation its consolidation of shape; nativity the precariousness of being alive. ‘Plastic truth’ represents a meeting of negotiations, accidents, history, and morality, in constant motion; an epistemic modality with moral and political consequences for education.

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Publication Details

Journal
Educational Philosophy and Theory
Published
2024-08-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2024.2391863
Primary Topic
Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

‘Plastic truth’ after Catherine Malabou. Truth, life, and education

Kjetil Horn Hogstad
Educational Philosophy and Theory
Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism
article

‘Plastic truth’ after Catherine Malabou. Truth, life, and education

Kjetil Horn Hogstad
article en

Abstract

What form might truth take in a theoretical frame which precludes notions of origin and telos? Catherine Malabou’s theory of ‘plasticity’ is such a frame, as it takes the accumulation of life and not the search for eternal truths to be a central premise of philosophy. I conduct a close reading of central texts of Malabou’s to conceptualise truth as a plastic phenomenon over three stages: conception, gestation, and nativity. The conception of truth involves its coming-into-shape; gestation its consolidation of shape; nativity the precariousness of being alive. ‘Plastic truth’ represents a meeting of negotiations, accidents, history, and morality, in constant motion; an epistemic modality with moral and political consequences for education.

Educational Philosophy and TheoryVol. 56(13)
University of Oslo (NO)
Gender equality
Openalex Percentile: Top 78%
Philosophy, Ethics, and Existentialism
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