An inheritance to be read: educational reflections based on Hannah Arendt and Paul Ricoeur

Abstract

Education offers the younger ones an inheritance of knowledge and experiences, however, with the crisis of tradition, the relationship of the new generations with this legacy becomes problematic, either because it has lost its legibility or because it is seen as outdated. This paper argues that, despite this, it is up to the heirs to read, interpret and re-signify this imperfect inheritance. In this perspective it is questioned, on the one hand, if the attempt to appropriate this legacy can cause transformations in the supposedly ended past, and, on the other hand, to what extent this inheritance affects those who are involved with it. The starting point for this reflection is Hannah Arendt’s thought on education, in particular, the essay “The crisis in education” and Paul Ricoeur’s work Time and narrative, in particular his approach to reading in the context of mimesis III. The act of reading, according to the philosopher, is characterized by a dialectic that causes transformations in the narrative and in the reader. Does this transforming mimetic movement between reader and text also occur in the dynamics between heirs and inheritance, which is at the heart of the formation of young people and children? Based on this question, the paper seeks to establish a dialogue between Ricoeur‘s analysis of reading and the reflection on the task of education, according to Arendt, of inviting the youngest “to read” the inheritance of a world that precedes them.