ABSTRACT
This chapter explores ways in which earlier key experiences have predisposed the author to particular ontological and epistemological ways of interpreting his lifeworld. It begins with the autobiographical account of a 'moment of being' which took place, in South London, UK, in the autumn/winter of 1970. Whether divinely inspired or otherwise, these 'moments of being', these 'shocks', afforded both Woolf and Eliot glimpses of a deeper unity beyond the realm of appearances. The chapter argues that the impact of socio-economic shifts throughout the seventies, eighties and nineties resulted in a narrowing of the discursive possibilities, within which to articulate educational provision; that commitments to fostering 'knowledge for life not livelihood' foundered on the Scylla and Charybdis of instrumentality and economic efficiency. The author's concerns what he regard as an increasingly destructive framing of so much of educational endeavours led to his search for wisdom, and for an appropriate methodology within which to articulate his endeavours.
