ED 101: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION

Lecturette 1. Introduction to Philosophy of Education

A. Etymology, Meaning, and Nature of Philosophy

Philosophy begins with wonder - Socrates

Philosophy means "love of wisdom." It is made up of two Greek words, philo, which means love, and sophia,
meaning wisdom. Literally, then, philosophy means “love of wisdom” or “pursuit of knowledge.”

Hence any branch of study was formerly called philosophy. As men were in the lowest stage of their intellectual
development they could not differentiate the different departments of the universe and consequently the different
branches of knowledge.

But with the advance of knowledge they came to distinguish different sciences from one another, and philosophy
from sciences, and regarded philosophy as the knowledge of the eternal and essential nature of things. Thus at first,
philosophy was not distinguished from special sciences; then it was altogether divorced from them.

But now philosophy, in its restricted sense, means neither the study of any particular department of the universe, nor
the knowledge of the eternal and essential nature of things and alone, but that highest branch of knowledge which
aims at harmonizing and systematizing all truths and arriving at a rational conception of the reality as a whole, both
in its eternal and temporal aspects. Philosophy is the criticism of life and experience.

Any intellectual pursuit may be called philosophy when it aims at attaining wisdom or knowledge of some kind. But
within the area of philosophy, all knowledge has never been counted as philosophic. The knowledge sought by a
philosopher is concerned with the nature of life and the universe.

Each individual has an attitude toward life, children, politics, learning, and previous personal experiences that
informs and shapes their set of beliefs. Although you may not be conscious of it, this set of beliefs, or personal
philosophy, informs how you live, work, and interact with others. What you believe is directly reflected in both your
teaching and learning processes.

Below are some meanings (definitions) of philosophy as found in Prisciliano T. Bauzon’s Fundamental
Philosophies of Education (2012).
 Philosophy is the science of all things studied from the viewpoint of their ultimate causes, reasons, or
principles by the light of human reason alone.”
 Philosophy is a reflective technique applied to lived experience.
 Philosophy is a science which verifies all things in one weltanschauung (world-view).

B. Philosophy in Relation to Education

1. Education and philosophy, the two disciplines, are very closely related and in some areas they overlap
each other. It is quite often said that, 'Philosophy and Education are two sides of the same coin'.
'Education is the dynamic side of philosophy'. Education is practical in nature and philosophy is theory.

Principles and values of life learned through education and experience gives birth to philosophy in one's
life. Philosophy lays the foundation of leading one's life based on our principles. Education is the source of
learning and philosophy it's applications in our daily life.

Education is practical in nature and philosophy is theory. It is not vague to say that theory and practical are
identical. The educator, who has to deal with the real facts of life, is different from the arm chair theorist
who is busy in speculation.

Philosophy is a way of life. In a wider sense philosophy is a way of looking at life, nature and truth. It sets
up the ideals for an individual to achieve them in his life time.
Education on the other hand is the dynamic side of philosophy. It is the active aspect and the practical
means of realizing the ideals of life. Education is a sacred necessity of life, both from the biological and
sociological point of view.

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2. Philosophy and education are two different fields of studies but they are closely linked together,
because without any rational thinking prior to education, the whole educational process is
directionless. The relationship between philosophy and education is explained as follows:
a. Aims & Objectives
Education in every society is directed for specific aims and objectives. Those aims and objectives are
set by a philosophical approach. For example, the aims of Pakistani education are to develop socially

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 and morally sound person on the principles of Islam. So our whole educational set up aim is the
creation of that kind of person and that aim is set by Islamic Philosophy.
If Plato wants an ideal state so he uses education as an instrument and set aims and objectives to be
achieved by his ideal educational plan.

b. Methods & Curriculum

Every educational system is based upon specific teaching methodologies and the curriculum.
What should be the teaching methodology? And what kind of teacher should there be? And what kind
of curriculum should be taught to the students? All the answers are given by philosophy. So education
is dependent on philosophy for guidance in various areas.

c. Philosophy of Education
There is a separate branch of philosophy which is called philosophy of education. The branch
investigates what should be the nature of education. Should the educational aims be based on specific
religion, social, moral, scientific basis? And how can these aims be achieved?

d. Education is the dynamic side of Philosophy

Here the great scholars like Plato and Aristotle wanted that their philosophies should be given practical
shape. The shape can be given only through well planned education system.

e. Sound mind in Sound Body or Virtuous Man

The main purpose of education is to have sound mind in a sound body, and virtuous person.
Philosophy gives answers and discuss that what is sound mind, sound body, and what virtuous person
is. We can say that philosophy is the contemplative aspect of education and education is the dynamic
aspect philosophy.

f. Change in Education, Culture and Society

In order to bring the desire change in society or in the existing education set up, a very pre-planned
philosophy should be behind that kind of reformation. Like the western nations want reforms in our
education system especially through induction of computer and other subjects.

Relationship between education and philosophy is very close. They are called the two sides of the
same coin. That’s why educationists and teachers must have basic information about various
educational philosophies in order to know the whole nature of a specific educational ends.

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philosophy-and-education

3. Philosophy helps teachers to reflect on key issues and concepts in education, usually through such
questions as: What is being educated? What is the good life? What is knowledge? What is the nature of
learning? And what is teaching? Philosophers think about the meaning of things and interpretation of that
meaning. Even simple statements, such as "What should be learned? Or what is adolescence?" set up raging
debates that can have major implications. For example, what happens if an adolescent commits a serious
crime? One interpretation may hide another. If such a young person is treated as an adult criminal, what
does it say about justice, childhood, and the like? Or if the adolescent is treated as a child, what does it say
about society's views on crime?

4. Your educational philosophy is your beliefs about why, what and how you teach, whom you teach, and
about the nature of learning. It is a set of principles that guides professional action through the events and
issues teachers face daily. Sources for your educational philosophy are your life experiences, your values,
the environment in which you live, interactions with others and awareness of philosophical approaches.
Learning about the branches of philosophy, philosophical world views, and different educational
philosophies and theories will help you to determine and shape your own educational philosophy,
combined with these other aspects.

5. When you examine a philosophy different from your own, it helps you to "wrestle" with your own thinking.
Sometimes this means you may change your mind. Other times, it may strengthen your viewpoint; or, you
may be eclectic, selecting what seems best from different philosophies. But in eclecticism, there is a danger
of sloppy and inconsistent thinking, especially if you borrow a bit of one philosophy and stir in some of
another. If serious thought has gone into selection of strategies, theories, or philosophies, this is less
problematic. For example, you may determine that you have to vary your approach depending on the
particular learning needs and styles of a given student. At various time periods, one philosophical
framework may become favored over another. For example, the Progressive movement led to quite
different approaches in education in the 1930s. But there is always danger in one "best or only" philosophy.
In a pluralistic society, a variety of views are needed.

C. Branches of Philosophy
1. Major Branches that are Central to Teaching
 Metaphysics (What is the nature of reality?)
 Epistemology (What is the nature of knowledge? How do we come to know?)

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  Axiology (What values should one live by?)

Branch Metaphysics: What is the nature of Epistemology: What is the nature of Axiology: What

reality? knowledge? How do we come to know? values should one
live by?
Educational –Do you think human beings are –How would an anthropologist look at –Is morality defined
Examples basically good or evil? this classroom? A political scientist? A by our actions, or by
–What are conservative or liberal biologist? what is in our
beliefs? –How do we know what a child knows? hearts?
–What values should
be taught in
character education?
Sub- –Ontology Knowing based on: –Ethics
branches What issues are related to nature, –Scientific Inquiry What is good and
existence, or being? Is a child –Senses and Feelings evil, right and
inherently evil or good? How might –From authority or divinity wrong?
your view determine your –Empiricism (experience) Is it ever right to take
classroom management? –Intuition  something that does
–Cosmology –Reasoning or Logic not belong to you?
What is the nature and origin of the        What reasoning processes yield –Aesthetics
cosmos or universe? Is the world valid conclusions? What is beautiful?
and universe orderly or is it        –Deductive:  reasoning from the      How do we
marked by chaos? What would one general to the particular All children can recognize a great
or the other mean for a classroom? learn. Bret is a fifth grader. He has a piece of music? Art?
learning disability. Can Bret learn?      Can there be
       –Inductive:  reasoning from the beauty in
specific to the general. After destruction?
experimenting with plant growth under
varied conditions, stu-dents conclude
plants need water and light
2. General or World Philosophies
 Idealism
 Realism
 Pragmatism
 Existentialism
3. Major Educational Philosophies
 Perennialism
 Essentialism
 Progressivism
 Reconstructionism / Critical Theory
4. Related Theories of Learning (with Psychological Orientation)
 Information Processing
 Behaviorism
 Cognitivism Constructivism
 Humanism

ASSIGNMENT 1. Questions for Reaction and/or Reflection.

1. Why might the study of philosophy be particularly important to educators?

2. Which branch or branches of philosophy (particularly those that are central to teaching) would
you want to emphasize in your classroom? Why?

3. Do you learn better deductively or inductively? Why do you think?

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