Badiou, Freire, and the Pedagogy of Concentration
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Badiou, Freire, and the Pedagogy of Concentration by Michael Christopher Primrose A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Masters in Curriculum and Pedagogy Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Michael Christopher Primrose 2020 Badiou, Freire, and the Pedagogy of Concentration Michael Christopher Primrose Masters of Curriculum and Pedagogy Department of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto 2020 Abstract The renowned pedagogical theorist Paulo Freire made political subjectivity one of his core concerns, and he opposed approaches to subjectivity which considered the latter in terms of classical transparency and approaches which understand subjectivity in a deterministic fashion. I argue that Freire’s approach is an example of “concentration”, a concept I borrow from Alain Badiou’s Theory of the Subject. I use Badiou’s dialectical concepts in order to argue that Freire’s famous Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a Marxist text, but one that engages in constructing an anti-deterministic approach to subjectivity. I make this argument via a consideration of the problems of subjectivity and objectivity in the classical Marxist canon in order to show how Freire and Badiou depart from this canon while building upon it. This analysis is intended to pose in new terms the relationship between Freire and Marxism, and between Badiou and education. !ii Acknowledgments First I would like to thank Peter Trifonas. I came to him with a strange proposal and he took a risk by giving me the independence to grow into my ideas. I will always cherish his belief in me, and his support. Next I must acknowledge Lauren Bialystok. It quickly became clear — just after or even during my first day in her philosophy of education course — that I would accrue tremendous benefit if she were to be one of my supervisors. I am honoured that she accepted my request to fill this role, and I am pleased to say that my expectations for the support she would provide were met and exceeded. I must also thank Abigail Bakan, who was so quick to step in to fill a supervisory role without knowing much about me. It is to her immense credit (and to my immense benefit) that she is so quick to lend a helping hand, and to do this so thoughtfully Without my friend Nadine Violette this thesis would be a poor simulacra of what it has turned out to be. I could not count the number of times that she has been there to support me in times of crisis, both minor and major. Her curiosity and commitment have been a continuous source of inspiration, both with regard to my work and to my life in general. To say that my time at OISE would have been impoverished if we had not met would be to say the most obvious thing. Next I must thank my friend Eryn Charlton. Our semi-regular chats about the world have helped me through this strange year. When these chats have touched upon politics or upon my thesis I have often been struck by her astuteness, and how quick she is to grasp the ideas with which I have struggled. !iii Finally, I must thank the Boys — Trevor, Cam, Duncan, and Jacob — with whom I play video games on a regular basis. Creating a thesis can put you in a bad mood sometimes, and this past year has produced many other sources of such moods. Their friendship and our messing around online has shaken me out of so many of them. Without their influence this thesis would be significantly worse off, and so would I. !iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................................................iii Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................v List of Figures ................................................................................................................................vii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 On Education and Philosophy ........................................................................................1 Freire's Radicalism .........................................................................................................6 Badiou and Theory of the Subject ................................................................................13 Why Badiou and Freire Together? ...............................................................................17 Outline Of This Work ...................................................................................................24 Chapter 1: The Theory of the Subject ............................................................................................29 Introduction ..................................................................................................................29 Marx, Objectivity, and Subjectivity ..............................................................................30 The Axioms of Practice and Partisanship .....................................................................35 Dialectics, Idealism, and Objective Subjectivity ..........................................................40 Quantity/Quality Reconsidered ....................................................................................48 Lacan, Materialism, and the Real .................................................................................53 Outplace, Force, Concentration ....................................................................................57 The Algorithm ...............................................................................................................66 The Problem of Circularity and the Primacy of Practice ..............................................76 Pedagogy Against Stalinism .........................................................................................83 Conclusion: What Kind of Subject? .............................................................................89 Chapter 2: Spiralling Education .....................................................................................................94 !v Introduction ..................................................................................................................94 Badiou's Pedagogy and The Mass Line ........................................................................95 Circles, Lines, and Spirals ..........................................................................................103 The Mass Line and Problematizing Demands ............................................................110 In What Sense Are The Ideas Right? ..........................................................................115 A Sketch of the Process ..............................................................................................125 The Problem of Circular Education ............................................................................136 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................141 Chapter 3: Problems of Spiralling Education ..............................................................................143 Introduction ................................................................................................................143 Deviations, Enemies, and the "Compact Group" ....................................................... 144 Banking and Spontaneity ............................................................................................150 Example: Lenin and What is to be Done? .................................................................158 Of What Does Concentration Consist? .......................................................................166 Hope as The Problem Of The "Compact Group" .......................................................174 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................187 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................189 References ....................................................................................................................................197 !vi List of Figures Problem-Posing Model of Education ..........................................................................................134 Banking Model of Education .......................................................................................................152 Spontaneous Model of Education ................................................................................................153 !vii Introduction On Education and Philosophy Philosophers have long identified the possibility of social change with education. A famous example of this is the “noble lie” of Plato’s Republic, the tale of the “metals” by which the perfect city’s order would be justified (414d-415a). In The Crisis in Education Hannah Arendt suggests that “[t]he role played by education in all political utopias from ancient times onwards shows how natural it seems to start a new world with those who are by birth and nature new” (173). Of