Edcuation for the Threefold Emancipation?

On the Potential of Herbert Marcuse‘s Concept of Emancipation for Transformative Socio-Ecological Education

Abstract

In order to define the goals of political and religious educational processes, it is popular to refer to the concept of emancipation, which originated in the philosophy of the Enlightenment. This concept must be funda­mentally challenged, since it implies a 'spirit-nature-dualism', which plays a role in the reproduction of current social relations of crises and domination. In order to gain a concept of emancipation that is suitable to orient trans­formative socio-ecological educational processes, the article draws on the work of Herbert Marcuse. With Marcuse, a threefold concept of emancipation can be formulated, which aims equally at the liberation of man, nature and society. It provides propositions about the form of existing domination, the goal, subject, and mode of emancipation. According to Marcuse, the process of emancipation is to be understood as a simultaneous radical transformation of the senses and needs on the one hand and of consciousness on the other. From this, conceptual conclusions can be drawn for a transformative socio-ecological education regarding the planning of learning processes, the theoreti­cal mediation of the concept of emancipation and the intended impact on social relations. Based on Marcuse's three­fold concept of emancipation, a case can be made for a formation of sensitivity and consciousness through critical social engagement in contemporary social movements that aims to build new modes of living.