The Philosophy of

Education

Dr. Gopal Singh

Assistant Professor
Department of Education,
C.S.J.M. University, Kanpur
Email: [email protected]
What is Philosophy of
Education
All teachers have a personal
philosophy that colors the way
they teach
Engaging in philosophy helps
clarify what they do or intend to
do, justify or explain why they do
what they do in a logical,
systematic manner
Understanding two important
notions
Who they are or intend to be
Why they do or propose to do
what they do
Eric Berne’s three important
questions:
Who am I?
Why am I here?
Who are all these other people,
and what do they want of me?
The meaning of Philosophical
Inquiry
“Whatever people choose to embrace,
if their choices are made in a logical,
rational manner, they are engaged in
the process of ‘doing philosophy.’”
Three specific areas of philosophical
inquiry: metaphysics concerned with
questions about the nature of reality;
epistemology concerned with the
nature of knowledge; axiology
concerned with the nature of values
Particular Philosophies of
Education
Idealism, the first systematic
philosophy in Western thought…
Socrates and Plato, the Socratic
method was dialogue
Generic notions: Philosophers often
pose abstract questions that are not
easily answered but are concerned
with the search for truth
World of matter in constant state of
flux, senses are not to be trusted,
continually deceive us
Truth is perfect and eternal, but not
found in the world of matter, only
Idealism
The only constant for Plato was
mathematics, unchangeable and
eternal
Plato’s method of dialogue
engaged in systematic, logical
examination of all points of
view…ultimately leading to
agreement and a synthesis of
ideas…this approach known as
the dialectic.
Idealism
Plato believed education helped move
individuals collectively toward
achieving the good.
The State should be involved in
education, moving brighter students
toward abstract ideas and the less
able toward collecting data…a gender
free tracking system
Those who were brighter should rule,
others should assume roles to
maintain the state
The philosopher-king would lead the
State to the ultimate good
Idealism
Evilcomes through ignorance,
education will lead to the obliteration
of evil
More modern idealists: St. Augustine,
Descartes, Kant, Hegel
Goal of Education: interested in the
search for truth through ideas…with
truth comes responsibility to enlighten
others, “education is transformation:
Ideas can change lives.”
Idealism
Role of the Teacher: to analyze
and discuss ideas with students
so that students can move to new
levels of awareness so that they
can ultimately be transformed,
abstractions dealt with through
the dialectic, but should aim to
connect analysis with action
Role of the teacher is to bring out
what is already in student’s mind:
reminiscence
Methods of Instruction
Lecture from time to time, but
primary method of teaching is
the dialectic…discuss, analyze,
synthesize, and apply what they
have read to contemporary
society
Curriculum…importance of the
study of the classics…many
support a back to the basics
approach to education
Realism
Aristotle was the leading
proponent of realism, started the
Lyceum, the first philosopher to
develop a systematic theory of
logic
Generic Notions…only through
studying the material world is it
possible to clarify or develop
ideas…matter is real independent
of ideas
Aristotle’s Systematic
Theory of Logic
Begin with empirical research,
speculate or use dialectic
reasoning, and culminate in a
syllogism
A syllogism is a system of logic
that consists of three parts: (1) a
major premise, (2) a minor
premise, and (3) a conclusion
For a syllogism to work, all the
parts must be correct
Philosopher’s Concerns
What is the good life?
What is the importance of
reason?
Moderation in all things…balance
in leading one’s life: reason is the
instrument to help individuals
achieve balance and moderation
Realists
Neo-Thomism…Aquinas affected
a synthesis of pagan ideas and
Christian beliefs…reason is the
means of ascertaining or
understanding truth, God could
be understood through reasoning
based on the material world…no
conflict between science and
religion
The world of faith with the world
of reason, contemporary Catholic
schools
Modern Realism
From the Renaissance, Francis Bacon
developed induction, the scientific
method…based on Aristotle,
developed a method starting with
observations, culminating in
generalization, tested in specific
instances for the purpose of
verification
John Locke and tabula rasa, things
known from experience… ordered
sense data and then reflected on them
Contemporary Realists
Tend to focus on philosophy and
science…Alfred North Whitehead,
concerned with the search for
“universal patterns”
Bertrand Russell with Whitehead,
Principia Mathematica…universal
patterns could be verified and
classified through mathematics
Goal of Education for
Realists
Notions of the good life, truth,
beauty could be answered
through the study of ideas, using
the dialectical method…for
contemporary realists, the goal of
education is to help individuals
understand and apply the
principles of science to help solve
the problems plaguing the
modern world
Teachers should be steeped in
the basic academic disciplines
Pragmatism
An American philosophy from the 19th
century…Peirce, James, Dewey
“By their fruits, ye shall know them.”
Pragmatism encourages people to find
processes that work in order to
achieve their desired ends…action
oriented, experientially grounded
Rousseau… “back to nature”,
environment and experience…Emile,
little regard for the education of
women other than to be Emile’s
companion
John Dewey
Intellectualheir to Charles
Darwin, constant interaction
between organism and
environment, dynamic and
developing world…child centered
progressivism and social
reconstructionism
Instrumentalism and
experimentalism, pragmatic
relationship between school and
society and applying ideas of
education on an experimental
John Dewey’s Philosophy
Education starts with the needs and
interests of the child, allows the child
to participate in planning her course of
study, employ project method or
group learning, depend heavily or
experiential learning
Children are active, organic beings…
needing both freedom and
responsibility
Ideas are not separate from social
conditions, philosophy has a
responsibility to society
Dewey’s Role for the
Teacher
Not the authoritarian but the
facilitator…encourages, offers
suggestions, questions and helps
plan and implement courses of
study…has command of several
disciplines
Inquiry method, problem solving,
integrated curriculum
Existentialism and
Phenomenology
Kierkegaard, Buber, Jaspers,
Sartre, Maxine Greene…
existentialists
Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-
Ponty…phenomenologists
How do one’s concerns affect the
lives of an individual…the
phenomena of consciousness,
perception and meaning in an
individual’s experience
Existentialists and
Phenomenologists
Based on the earth alone, must
make sense of the chaos one
encounters
“Existence precedes essence.”
People must create themselves
and create their own meaning…
done through the choices people
make in their lives, in a state of
constant becoming…an individual
can make a difference in a
seemingly absurd world
Existentialists
Education should focus on the
needs of individuals, include the
nonrational as well as rational,
the notion of possibility
Teachers should understand their
own “lived world” and help
students to understand their
world
The need to be “wide awake”…
the role of the teacher is
Neo-Marxism
Radical critique of capitalism
The role of education should be
to give students the insight to
demystify capitalism and become
agents of radical change
Marx believed the history of
civilization was defined by class
struggle
General conflict theory…the
teacher is a “transformative
intellectual”