Reclaiming Goodness: Education and the Spiritual Quest - Hardcover

Alexander, Hanan A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0268040036 ISBN 13: 9780268040031

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press, 2001

Synopsis

Reclaiming Goodness: Education and the Spiritual Quest begins with the premise that sound models for achieving both spiritual fulfillment and the "good life" are lacking in contemporary culture. Arguing that contemporary education is responsible for having abandoned spirituality and the cultivation of goodness in people, Hanan A. Alexander advances a definition of spirituality which acknowledges an integral connection to education. Reclaiming Goodness charts a way to reintegrate ethical and spiritual values with the values of critical thought and reason. Written in accessible and non-technical prose, it will be of interest to professional educators as well as to a wider audience.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

“Reclaiming Goodness invites profound reflection on the relationship between education and spirituality. Hanan Alexander complements his clarity of analysis with a passion for the educative potential of religious traditions. His outstanding book deserves a wide readership." —Mary C. Boys, Skinner & McAlpin Professor of Practical Theology, Union Theological Seminary

“Reclaiming Goodness is a powerful and important book. It will be noticed not only because it goes against the grain—spirituality, liberal education, education for the good life—but also because the book is so clearly the narrative expression of someone who has passionately lived a life of spirituality, education, and scholarship. The book is profoundly marked by Alexander’s biography.” —Michael Connelly, director, Center for Teacher Development, University of Toronto

“This is an insightful and compassionate book that seeks to connect philosophy with religion; rationality with spirituality; and the cosmic with the secular.  I recommend it highly to those in quest of an education that seeks to continue our responsibility to create a society rooted in a consciousness of loving-kindness.” —David E. Purpel, ECL Department, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

“Hanan A. Alexander’s fascinating and hugely enjoyable book is deeply rooted in his own tradition of liberal Judaism. The task he sets himself is to describe a vision of education that is neither instrumental nor utilitarian but promotes a vision of ‘the good life’. This is a tremendously rich book and will be of interest to any reader concerned with spiritual education, religious pluralism and, perhaps especially, the topical debate about Faith Schools.” —Journal of Beliefs and Values

Hanan A. Alexander is Head of the Ethics and Education Project and the Center for Jewish Education and is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Haifa.

About the Author:

Hanan A. Alexander is Head of the Ethics and Education Project and the Center for Jewish Education, and is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Haifa. He is also Visiting Associate Professor in the School of Education, Bar Ilan University, and was editor-in-chief of Religious Education: An Interfaith Journal of Spirituality, Growth, and Transformation from 1991–2000.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0268040036
• ISBN 13: 9780268040031
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 290