Philosophical Concerns of Education

Comparing Education with Teaching, Training, Tutoring and Mentoring

Worksheet for Exam SEM 4

Knowledge, Information and Skill B.Ed. SEM II

Education and Philosophy: Their Relationship

Relationship between Education and Philosophy

“Education without Philosophy is blind and Philosophy without Education is invalid.”

—  Education is an application of philosophy.  It is the application of philosophy to study the problems of education.

— According to Dewey, “Philosophy may be defined as the theory of education in its most general phase.”

— According to Ross, “Philosophy and education are like two sides of a coin, presenting different views of the same thing.”

—  Philosophy answers all the ultimate questions of education.

— Education and philosophy are two sides of the same coin. Actually, Education is the dynamic side of philosophy.

— The basic relationship between philosophy and education can be analyzed as follows. It is philosophy, that provides the purpose or the aim and it is education which makes it practical.

— Philosophy shows the way and education moves on in that direction. When we define education as the modification or behaviour, the direction in which, modification to be carried out is determined by philosophy.

—  Philosophy deals with the end and education with the means. In fact, we can observe that the great philosophers of all times have been also great educators. For example, Socretes and Plato, the great philosophers, were also famous educators.

— Education is a laboratory where philosophic theories and speculations are tested and made concrete. Education may, therefore, be rightly called applied philosophy.

— Philosophy is wisdom; education transmits that wisdom from one generation to the other.

— Philosophy is in reality the theory of education. In other words, education is the dynamic side of philosophy, or application of the fundamental principles of philosophy.

— Philosophy formulates the method, education its process. Philosophy gives ideals, values and principles, those ideals, values and principles.

Branches of Philosophy

Branches of Philosophy

1. Metaphysics

2. Epistemology

3. Ethics

4. Aesthetics

Metaphysics

v The word Metaphysics  comes from Aristotle

v Greek word – Meta = beyond or after

v Study of Existence of human being

v It answers the question = What is?

v Encompasses everything existing

v Whether the world is real or an illusion

v Concerned with answering the questions about identity and the world

v Ontology as a part of Metaphysics. It studies concepts directly related to being, e.g. four elements – Earth, Air, Water and Fire

v Ideas of Metaphysics

v Reality is absolute

v The world around us is real

v Understanding reality is the main aim of human

v Everything which is physical has a specific nature

v Metaphysical Questions:

v What is the origin of the universe?

v What are the ultimate material components of the universe?

v What is its first cause?

v What is the ultimate reason for the existence of the universe?

v Does it have a purpose?

v How is existence possible?

v What is space? What is time?

Epistemology

v An Explanation of How we think

v Philosophers called it the original philosophy

v Study of Knowledge - How to acquire knowledge

v Deals with production of knowledge as well as Skepticism

v Which are the means of knowledge/information

v It includes concepts, logical reasoning, thoughts, ideas, memories, emotions and all mental things.

v It is concerned with how our mind is related to reality and whether this relationship is valid or invalid.

v Without Epistemology, we cannot think. By determining a proper method of evaluation we determine the truth from false

v Our senses are valid and it is the only way to gain information about the world. Reason is our only method of gaining knowledge and acquiring understanding

v Logic is our method of maintaining consistency within our set of knowledge.

v Objectivity is our means of associating knowledge with reality to determine its validity.

v Questions in Epistemology: What is knowledge? How is knowledge acquired? What do people know? What is the structure of knowledge and what are its limits?

Ethics

v Greed word : ethikos means character (moral nature)

v Study of Right and Wrong; good and evil; virtue and vice; justice and crime – What I do?

v It deals with what is the proper course of action for man

v Ethics is a requirement for human life. It is our means of deciding a course of action. Without it, our actions would be random and aimless.

v Questions: Is an action moral or immoral? What are human rights and how do we determine them? How should people act? What do people think is right? How do we take moral knowledge and put it into practice?

Aesthetics

v Greek word – aisthetikos = a sense of perception

v Study of Art. It includes what art consists of, as well as the purpose behind it.

v It deals with the nature and appreciation of Art, Beauty and Good Taste.

v In very general terms, it examines what makes something beautiful, sublime, disgusting, fun, cute, silly, entertaining, pretentious, discordant, harmonious, boring, humorous or tragic.

v Questions: What is a work of art? What makes a work of art successful? Why do we find certain things beautiful? 

Plato on Education

John Dewey on Education