BETWEEN LÉVY AND RANCIÈRE:

THE VIRTUALIZATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND THE EMANCIPATION OF SUBJECTS

Abstract

This study aims to reflect on the articulation between the concepts of Virtualization and Emancipation in the context of Philosophy teaching in secondary education. It begins with the observation that digital technologies, more than mere mediating tools, have profoundly transformed the ways in which knowledge is accessed, produced, and circulated, consequently altering the modes of learning and teaching. In this scenario, Virtualization—understood as a continuous process of updating the potentialities of knowledge in digital environments—emerges as a possibility for expanding learning spaces and reconfiguring the educational experience. This qualitative, theoretical-methodological study engages in dialogue with authors such as Pierre Lévy, Jacques Rancière, and Paulo Freire. For Lévy, philosophical education mediated by digital technologies overcomes the transmissive logic of teaching, opening space for more interactive and emancipatory formative experiences. Rancière, in turn, emphasizes the equality of intelligences as a fundamental principle of any educational practice aimed at Emancipation. Finally, Paulo Freire understands education as a practice of freedom, guided by conscientization and transformative dialogue. In light of this, the guiding question of this investigation is: in what ways can the virtualization of knowledge, promoted by digital technologies, foster or hinder processes of emancipation in the teaching of philosophy? Our hypothesis is that virtualization, by enhancing new forms of access, production, and sharing of knowledge, can constitute a means of students’ intellectual Emancipation, provided that it is integrated into a critical pedagogical practice that avoids the mere reproduction of content and encourages autonomous and creative thinking.