Theories of learning have historically operated to justify societal hierarchies through reification and ranking¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · theoreticalr2·q1
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2025: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
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q1 i? The article argues that theories of learning justify existing societal hierarchies via reification of abstract concepts and ranking of complex variation as an ascending scale. → Philip 2020
Evidence¶
Philip 2020¶
Philip, T., & Sengupta, P. (2020). Theories of Learning as Theories of Society: A Contrapuntal Approach to Expanding Disciplinary Authenticity in Computing. Journal of the Learning Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2020.1828089
q1 · i? · theoretical · r2
Theoretical argument in the article's framing section, drawing on Gould (1996), Lave (1996), and Martin (2009). The authors contend learning theories have operated through "reification" and ranking to justify hierarchies, and that the field fails to address intersecting histories of eugenics and Western learning theories.
"Theories of learning have a long legacy of operating to justify existing societal hierarchies through (a) reification, the "tendency to convert abstract concepts [like intelligence] into entities," and (b) the propensity to rank and order "complex variation as a gradual ascending scale""
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Behaviorism was explicitly a theory of society, articulated in opposition to eugenics — related
- Dewey rejects Kohlberg's fixed stage hierarchy: moral inquiry happens only in problematic situations where no single action seems morally justified, and must be repeated as concrete situations arise — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
learning-theories-justify-hierarchies-reification-ranking |
title |
Theories of learning have historically operated to justify societal hierarchies through reification and ranking |
description |
Theories of learning have historically operated to justify societal hierarchies through reification and ranking |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2020 |
recheck_by |
2025 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-18 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — philip-2020 |
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