Abstract

CARVALHO, Alonso Bezerra de. Disenchantment of the world and ethics in pedagogical action: reflections upon Max Weber. Educ. Pesqui. [online]. 2010, vol.36, n.2, pp. 585-598. ISSN 1517-9702.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1517-97022010000200011.

This article has a theoretical character and presents some of Weber's ideas, with emphasis on those that can supply elements to reflect on the current state of education, more particularly based on his understanding of modernity. Disenchantment of the world is the key concept in his sociology, and is taken as the basis for a reflection about the meaning that science and the teacher can have today. A classic author, Weber's interpretation of the modern world brings to our consideration a variety of themes that influence markedly the thinking and practice of contemporary culture by its concern with understanding human actions and values. By studying the Western process of rationalization, he initiates debates in science, in ethics and, correspondingly, in education, allowing us to expand our comprehension of the meaning, significance, and role of our actions towards knowledge and teaching. The main object of education is to offer students contents that stimulate the freedom of thought. For that, the teacher needs to adopt a non-partisan ethics in the classroom, presenting contents unbiased by her/his political opinions and, if failing to do so, having the honesty to explain what she/he is doing. It is therefore of the utmost importance that the teacher should keep a "neutral" position, so that in and out of the classroom the students may reflect and question what they see, experiment and decide upon. Only then the conduct of the teacher will be consistent with the process of rationalization of our culture.

Keywords : Modernity; Disenchantment of the world; Pedagogical action; Polytheism of values; Ethics.