Can There Be a Recourse to a Philosophy of Love? A Confronting Question at the Heart of a Poor Pedagogy

Oct 22, 2026

The question of love and its role in pedagogy generates conflicting positions and persistent disagreement, often treating love either as extraneous to being or as absent from shared human experience, especially during suffering. The work argues that both routes lead to division between those affirming love’s place in education and those denying it. It proposes an alternative approach centered on willing the good of the other, using a “poor pedagogy” and a Socratic-philosophical lens to ground love as existentially integral to teaching and learning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time29 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Love, suffering, and the human condition

Critique of dualistic academic approaches

Toward a nondual pedagogy of love

Can There Be a Recourse to a Philosophy of Love? A Confronting Question at the Heart of a Poor Pedagogy Dominic Orih1,2,3 Received: 11 January 2022 / Accepted: 16 August 2022 / Published online: 25 August 2022 © The Author(s) 2022 Abstract The question of love and its place in pedagogy has brought diverging views and disagreement. It would appear to be creating more problems than it solves. On one hand, the contention lies on the discussion of love as something extraneous to our being by using an either-or approach. On the other hand, it lies on the understanding of love as something bereft in our shared human experience especially in moments of suffering. These problematic approaches have led to disagreements among those who subscribe to the place of love in pedagogy and those who propose that love does not have any place in education. I hereby propose an alternative approach; one that encourages willing the good of the other for the other. If all educational endeav‑ ours and all the opposing positions on love and its place in pedagogy is done based on promoting the good of the other, then love is essentially and existentially integral in education because love is for the good of the other. This became apparent to me through a ‘poor pedagogy’ that opened the door for a transformative learning curve. I explored this insight philosophically through a discussion of the Socratic way that shaped the ancient Greeks’ understanding of love and education. I relate this under‑ standing to my personal teaching experience and then examine the implication of love for education as something that influences positively the educational experience of both teachers and students in their pursuit of the highest good, manifesting in the reward of love as love. Keywords Philosophy of love · Poor pedagogy · Love and education · Socratic way · The good of the other · Pedagogy What, do you wish to know…? Know it well, love was [its] meaning. * Dominic Orih [dom.orih@my.jcu.edu.au](dom.orih@my.jcu.edu.au) 1 College of Arts Society and Education, The Cairns Institute, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia 2 PO Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia 3 14‑88 McGregor Road, Smithfield, Cairns, QLD 4878, Australia Who reveals [this] to you? Love. What [was revealed] to you? Love. Why [was] it [revealed] to you? For Love. Remain in this, and you will know more of the same. Julian of Norwich, Showings,(1978, p. 342). Introduction If Julian of Norwich was right about the centrality of love and the reward of love as love, then the very existence of humanity is characterised by love. As a woman who survived the Black Death and had witnessed its horror, she understood the kind of love that is borne out of suffering (Fulloon, 2021) . This love is part of the very defi‑ nition of our being, notwithstanding our best efforts to deny it. No wonder Teilhard de Chardin (1962) understood love as the very structure of our universe. He knew that everything about the universe and our place in it, is characterised by the very existence of love. Now, this is not the kind of love that gives you a warm cosy feel‑ ing, this is the love that is steeped in the very nature of all humanity. We feel it, we breathe it, and we recognize it whenever we encounter it. As human beings living ina human world, we have been plunged into moments of suffering and difficulty in our lives, and yet somehow, we find ourselves pulled by the attraction of love even in those moments. Love has the capacity to enable us to grow in every moment of our lives, even in those moments of suffering and uncertainty. Over the years, the radically privileged academics, in their quibbles and rhetoric about love, especially regarding its place in education, seem to negate and separate love from the core of our existence. Steeped in their academic hubris, they treat love as though it were something extraneous to our being (see Aldridge & Lewin, 2019) .1 This dualist way of understan

FAQs

What central conflict about love and pedagogy does the text describe?

It describes divergent views: some treat love as extraneous to being, while others see it as missing from shared human experience, especially in suffering. These disagreements shape opposing stances on whether love belongs in education.

What alternative approach does the author propose?

The author proposes encouraging willing the good of the other for the other. Under this premise, love becomes integral to education because it is oriented toward the good of the other.

How does the author connect the argument to philosophical tradition and teaching experience?

The insight is explored philosophically through a discussion of the Socratic way, linked to the ancient Greeks’ understanding of love and education. The author then relates this to personal teaching experience and considers implications for teachers and students.

Oct 22, 2026

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