Philosophical pedagogies are typically based on abstract discussion of texts, and have remained largely unchanged throughout the history of the subject. However, there is a considerable body of research which suggests that this is unsuited to some learning styles and may discourage some students from prolonged study (AEL, 2003; Pashler et al, 2008). Many prefer to learn through visual cues and models alongside engaging with literature resources. Students with learning needs like dyslexia might find the emphasis on the written word to be a considerable barrier to philosophical study. Simultaneously, there are ever greater numbers of websites, apps and mashups dedicated to the study of philosophy which sometimes do little more than recreate printed materials in a digital environment. This presentation explores the potential for introducing and integrating visual pedagogies into teaching and learning philosophy by reviewing a number of different styles of visualization and their possible use in educational scenarios with a particular focus on education and the appropriate use of digital technologies.

1. Visual and Philosophical Pedagogies
Robert Farrow
Visual Learning: Communication-Cognition-Curriculum
Budapest, December 7-8th 2012
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

2. Background & Method
• My background as philosopher and educational technologist
• Exploring possibilities to support access to philosophical
education through technology
• Methodology: approximately 1 year spent searching for
relevant images which were archived to a Pinterest gallery;
PHILOS-L query; researching data visualization techniques,
accessibility software and pedagogical research
• http://pinterest.com/philosopher1978/philosophy-visualizations/
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

3. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

4. ci.olnet.org / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo3xPyoiwYg

5. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

6. Philosophical Pedagogy
• Obviously there is no single pedagogy for philosophy
• Typically based on collective, discussion of texts & ideas
• May be synchronous or asynchronous
• Some research suggests that traditional approaches may not
suit some learning styles (AEL, 2003; Pashler et al, 2008)
• Massively Open Online Courses (MOOC) and the pedagogies
of the future
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

7. Digital Philosophy
• Explosion in visual and media literacy in the computer age
• More sites, databases and repositories dedicated to
philosophy than ever before
• These tend to replicate rather than replace traditional model
• E.g. Library database -> Philosophers Index
• Archiving of journal paper proofs
• Lecture hall -> Video lectures, podcasts
• Need for new pedagogies which reflect the new ways in
which we share and communicate through technology
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

8. Rationale
• Many students find the emphasis on the written word to be a
barrier to learning philosophy
• Most online resources supporting philosophy simply digitize
and scale up offline resources
• Prospect of new pedagogies in philosophy:
•New techniques for recording & visualizing information
•New technologies allow novel ways to access data
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

9. Visualizing Philosophy
• Some examples in print…

10. • … and videos on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/QualiaSoup
http://www.youtube.com/user/clmps2011 /
http://www.youtube.com/user/CollegeBinary?feature=watch

11. Visualizing Philosophy
• Such examples are often accessible but typically thought
reductive – and perhaps even unhelpful – by professional
philosophers
• Conversely, the allegorical tradition in art uses rich visual
metaphors to convey complex philosophical ideas but can
often be hard to decipher
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paolo_uccello,_annunciazione,_ashmolean.jpg
Paolo Uccello,
Annunciazione
(c.1425)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

13. http://www.casasantapia.com/art/ambrogiolorenzetti/goodandbadovernment.htm
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Allegoria ed effetti del Buono e del Cattivo Governo (1338-9)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

14. Holbein The Younger, Double Portrait of Jean de Dinteville
and Georges de Selve (‘The Ambassadors’) (1533)
http://www.casasantapia.com/art/ambrogiolorenzetti/goodandbadovernment.htm
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

15. Visualization
• “A visualization method is a systematic, rule-based,
external, permanent, and graphic representation that
depicts information in a way that is conducive to
acquiring insights, developing an elaborate
understanding, or communicating experiences.”
(Lenger & Eppler, 2007:83)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

16. Visualizing Philosophy: Issues
• Accessibility without excessive dilution
• Inertia within academic culture
• What is to be visualized? Abstract concepts/ideas rather than
empirical ‘data’
• How to be non-reductive?
•Visualization to support insight
•Visualization as ‘distraction’
• The need to support & foster critical thinking
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

17. Visualizations

18. Visualizations: Timeline
• Timelines can show the history of an idea, or the way in
which different philosophers have influenced each other
• Some might argue that this information is not really relevant
to philosophical reflection(n.b. Heidegger’s remarks on
Aristotle)
• However, many secondary philosophy books take a broadly
historical approach and contextualise philosophical ideas
• Augmentation of existing resources

19. Visualizations: Timeline
400 BC
• Timeline
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/50102614575124563_QbO4RpiM.jpg

20. 1635
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/scharp1/Sociology%20of%20Philosophy%20(Western)%203.1%20%20(part%202).jpg

21. Visualizations: Mnemonics
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

22. http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/rhetological-fallacies/
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

23. http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/rhetological-fallacies/
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

24. http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/rhetological-fallacies/
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

25. Visualizations: Representation
• Graphical depiction of complex or abstract ideas
• ‘Invisibility’ (analogy with HCI)
• Can we explain philosophical theories simply through shape
and colour?
• The possibility of an ‘iconic language’ (Neurath; 1936; Yadani
& Barker, 2000; Nyiri, 2003)
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

26. http://www.geniscarreras.com/philosophy.html

27. http://www.geniscarreras.com/philosophy.html

28. http://www.geniscarreras.com/philosophy.html

29. Visualizations: Network Diagrams
• Network Diagrams depict connections between nodes (as in a
communication network)
• Used to represent levels of granularity within a network
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

30. http://drunksandlampposts.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/philprettyv4.png

31. Frege’s Begriffsschrift
http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/scharp1/Begriffsschrift.html
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

32. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/scharp1/Hofstadter.html

33. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
http://ollieglass.com/tumblr/img/phil_exp_2_1.jpg

34. Visualizations: Organizational
Framework
• Hierarchical arrangement of information
• Shows categorization, systematic dependencies and relations
of influence
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

35. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

36. Alfred H. Barr Jr. (1936)
designed the original
version of this
organizational chart
which shows the
historical developments
and fashions within
modern art by hand.
He reworked it several
times and never
produced a final version
(although the cover
image of the catalogue
for Cubism and Abstract
Art remains iconic).

37. http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/scharp1/Davidson%20Diagram.jpg
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

38. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology
http://www.academia.edu/189874/A_Diagram_of_Kants_Critique_of_Pure_Reason

39. The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

40. http://www.hegel.net/en/e-poster.htm
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

41. Visualizations: Mindmaps
• Used to outline information visually
• Major categories radiate from a central node, and lesser
categories are sub-branches of larger branches
• Long history in brainstorming & problem solving
• Non-linear
• Can be connected to make concept maps
• Well supported in terms of software
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

42. Comparative diagrams of selected bibliographies of philosophy from 1498 to 1905
http://jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/philosophy-through-the-macroscope-technologies-representations-and-the-history-of-the-profession/
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

43. Visualizations: Flow Charts
• Diagrammatic reasoning
• Pathways into ideas (logic gates)
• Reduced possibilities for criticism, reflection or asking
questions? Maybe not more so than a lecture…
• Again, well supported by software intended for dyslexic
students
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

45. http://visual.ly/find-out-what-you-are

46. Possibilities for Innovation
• New forms of pedagogical support
• New ways to navigate data: bibliographies, databases, etc.
• Curriculum & Learning Design
• Access:
– Accommodating learning styles
– Delivery through ubiquitous technologies
– Pathways into the subject
– Connectivity & ‘Openness’
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

47. New (?) Pedagogies
• Collective creation of new kinds of digital artefacts
• New forms of collective activity in curriculum design
• Student work which is not based in writing or discussion
• Iconic languages for facilitating philosophical
reflection/understanding
• Opening the subject up to non-specialists/interdisciplinarity
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

48. Critique
• Philosophy is simply not about retaining information
• Philosophy, reflection and ‘facts’
• Reification and the need for participatory culture
• None of this is particularly unique to philosophy… though
perhaps this indicates a breadth of opportunity
• Should the visual approach be limited to introductory
materials? If not, we need to build new tools and digital
artifacts
The Open University's Institute of Educational Technology

49. philosopher1978
r.j.farrow@open.ac.uk
Institute of Educational Technology
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
www.open.ac.uk/iet