The Art of Prompting
A Collaborative Manifesto for Inquiry in the Age of AI
This manifesto proposes a radical reconceptualisation of prompting – not as a technical skill alone, but as a living epistemic practice grounded in centuries of philosophical inquiry. Drawing from ontological, ethical and pedagogical traditions, we situate prompting within a lineage of dialogic reasoning, extending from Socrates to synthetic minds. We advocate for a collaborative and […]
Peters, M. A., & Besley, T. (2025). The Art of Prompting: A Collaborative Manifesto for Inquiry in the Age of AI. PESA Agora. https://pesaagora.com/columns/the-art-of-prompting/
Michael A. Peters
Michael A. Peters (FRSNZ, FHSNZ, FPESA) is a globally recognised scholar whose interdisciplinary work spans philosophy of education, political economy and ecological civilisation. He holds the distinction of Emeritus Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U.S.A.), Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University (P.R. China), and Research Associate in the Philosophy Program at Waikato University (New Zealand).
Previously, he served as Distinguished Professor of Education at Beijing Normal University (2018–2024) and held prestigious appointments including Personal Chair at the University of Auckland (2000), Research Chair at the University of Glasgow (2000–2006), Excellence Hire Professor at the University of Illinois (2005–2011), and Professor of Education at the University of Waikato (2011–2018).
A prolific author, Professor Peters has written over 120 books and 500 articles, shaping discourse in educational theory, philosophy, and critical policy studies. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Educational Philosophy and Theory for 25 years and founded multiple international journals, cementing his role as a leader in academic publishing.
His contributions have been honoured with fellowships in the Royal Society of New Zealand (FRSNZ, 2008) and the Humanities Society of New Zealand (FHSNZ, 2006), alongside honorary doctorates from State University of New York (SUNY, 2012) and the University of Aalborg (2015).
His latest research explores post-apocalyptic philosophy and ecological futures, including the forthcoming Civilisational Collapse and the Philosophy of Post-Apocalyptic Survival (Peter Lang, 2025). He is currently editing the Handbook of Ecological Civilization (Springer, 2025), advancing critical dialogues on sustainability and global transformation.
For more on his work, visit: https://michaeladrianpeters.com/
Michael.Peters@waikato.ac.nz
Tina Besley
Tina Besley is Visiting Professor in School of Education, Tsinghua University, Beijing. From 2018-2024, she was Distinguished Professor, Beijing Normal University. Prior positions include: Professor and Associate Dean International, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, New Zealand; Research Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Full Professor, California State University, San Bernardino.
Tina began her academic career at the University of Glasgow in late 2000. She spent 16 years as a secondary school teacher, Head of Guidance and Counsellor in New Zealand. She is the Past President of the Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia, and founding president of the Association for Visual Pedagogies, and honoured as a Fellow of both. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, UK.
Tina uses the later work of Michel Foucault on subjectivity, free speech, governmentality. In global studies in education, she explores policy, identities and cultures and interculturalism. Tina works closely with Prof. Michael A. Peters and with a wide international network of scholars in many journal articles and books, publishing over 30 books and monographs and numerous journal articles. She has been on the editorial board of several journals including deputy editor of Educational Philosophy and Theory; associate editor of the Beijing International Review of Education, founding editor of PESA Agora; founding co-editor E-Learning & Digital Media and of Knowledge Cultures.