Internationalizing Philosophy of Education: The Vexing (Liberating) Problem of Language

Abstract: As the philosophy of music education further internationalizes with Asian philosophies in recent years, the problem of language is a crucial issue that can no longer be ignored. When mining ideas originally written in non-English languages, is it possible to truly know what was said or written? Is knowledge of the original language necessary? When interpreting and quoting non-English philosophical texts, what does it mean to do philosophy with integrity and in a philosophically responsible manner? These questions resist simple answers. To this end, I delimit this paper to three central themes: doubt, rigor, and humility, which offer implications for publications, leadership, and gatekeeping in our field as it continues to internationalize. While I draw examples primarily from the vexing problem of interpreting and presenting Chinese philosophical texts to English readers, the ideas offered may also be applied to work involving texts in other non-English languages. I conclude by arguing that while vexing, the problem of language is simultaneously liberating—one that expands the limits of our worlds for the melioration of music education.