Lawson (1998) has somewhat softened his view about what is included within the objectives of adult education. However, he is still reluctant to call prescription, indoctrination or the development of employable skills and competencies adult education, preferring to see it as a process of enquiry and criticism. He recognizes that there is a legitimate debate on this issue, and there can be no premature closures to the debate. In his implied rejection of postmodernist thought, he maintains that there must be some points that are fixed and these include explanations of truth, meaning and rationality. For him these concepts cannot be dispensed with “if we are to retain social institutions of some kind, including adult education” (16).