Kieran Egan (1942 – 12 May 2022) was an Irish educational philosopher and a student of the classics, anthropology, cognitive psychology, and cultural history.

He has questioned the work of Jean Piaget and progressive educators, notably Herbert Spencer and John Dewey.

After a brief period as a novice in a Franciscan monastery,[3] he graduated from the University of London with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1966.

He pointed to three major options: Egan argued that, when facing these three appealing goals, educational leaders often seek a compromise by combining them together.

In sharp distinction from Recapitulation theory (common in the late 19th and early 20th century), Egan suggested that these types of understanding are not "stages" that are moved through, but toolkits to be added on: the mythic toolkit modifies the somatic, the romantic modifies the mythic and somatic, and so on.