Seo, Heewon;
(2025)
Algorithms and the Aesthetics of Wandering: Paradoxes of Perfectionism.
Studies in Philosophy and Education
10.1007/s11217-025-10016-5.
(In press).
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Abstract
This paper exposes how excessive reliance on either “efficiency-based algorithms,” which aim at rapid and accurate problem-solving, or highly addictive “randomized engagement-oriented algorithms,” which continuously distract individuals from being immersed in the present, induces a high level of conformity and thereby renders genuine wandering impossible, hindering human maturation. This paper names the current tendency that eliminates negativity—such as failure, pain, the capacity to resist uncertainty and stimulation—and enforces only positivity—such as achievement, pleasure, stability, and the immediate satisfaction of stimulation—as “achievement perfectionism.” On the basis of Byung-Chul Han’s critique, who diagnoses such a society as The Palliative Society, this paper reveals that wandering accompanied by negativity and resistance to conformity is indispensable for human maturation. As a counter-concept to The Palliative Society and “achievement perfectionism,” the paper turns to Stanley Cavell’s (Cities of words, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 2004) notion of “moral perfectionism,” which leads to “an unattained but attainable self” who can embrace negativity and explore the “rejected and undervalued” paths with conformity’s aversion and openness. Finally, this paper, on the basis of Jan Masschelein’s (2010) poor pedagogy, focuses on the “attentive wandering” in which “moral perfectionism” can be educationally realized. Furthermore, this paper proposes an “educating of the gaze” through which individuals in the digital age, as “digital flaneurs,” can internalize the practice of genuine wandering that pays attention—thinking about what to see and how to respond to it—not only through the experience of bodily wandering by walking, but also by breaking away from the “pseudo-wandering” within algorithms.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Algorithms and the Aesthetics of Wandering: Paradoxes of Perfectionism |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s11217-025-10016-5 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-025-10016-5 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Algorithms, Achievement perfectionism, Moral perfectionism, Stanley Cavell, Wandering, Educating the gaze, Poor pedagogy, Digital flaneurs |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Education, Practice and Society |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10216457 |
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