Studying with a teacher: education beyond the logic of progress.

The article explores the possibility of rethinking education beyond the entrenched modern "logic of progress," which links education to continual betterment and emancipation through mastery over nature and social conditions. It traces this logic back to early modern thinkers Francis Bacon and Comenius, who framed education as a means to use reason obediently to uncover natural laws and thereby conquer nature, leading to human emancipation and societal advancement. The article critiques contemporary educational models—technical, progressivist, and critical pedagogy—for all operating within this progress-oriented framework, which is increasingly questioned due to climate change and ecological crises. As an alternative, it presents a phenomenological analysis of studying with a teacher, emphasizing collective attention to a shared subject matter that fosters humble equality, care, and respect for being itself, rather than measurable progress or outcomes. This approach suggests education can be experienced as a relational, attentive practice that values the unfolding of knowledge and transformation without the imperative of instrumental progress, though the article acknowledges the complexity and open questions in fully disentangling education from the logic of progress.