Module : Education studies

Module code : EDS37B0

Lecturer : Ms T. Mtiya
Task : Assignment 1
Topic : Philosophy of Education
Due Date : 26 September 2022

GROUP MEMBERS

NAMES STUDENT NUMBERS

1. Thuliswa Siqhola(leader) 220 148 198

2. Nkoyi Nolwazi 220 154 465

3. Xapile Alude 220 252 459

4. Mathambo Ongeziwe 220 268 991

5. Mtsamane Nontobeko 220 594 201

6. Tshehla Lulama 220 602 387

7. Limekhaya Nonelwa 220 532 184

8. Ntshokolo Luyolo 220 194 505

9. Shoba Mduduzi 220 593 523

10. Mahlanza Chumanande 220 607 761

11. Sebezela Achumile 220 539 103

12. Dabeyi Zizile 220 595 631

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction (Definition of the term philosophy using three authors)

2 The importance of philosophy
2.1 Philosophy forms a good foundation for variety of careers
2.2 Philosophy teaches critical thinking and reasoning
3. Two branches of philosophy that are epistemology and axiology
4. Conclusion
5. References
 1. DEFINITION OF THE TERM PHILOSOPHY USING THREE AUTHOURS

Aristotle defines philosophy as a science which discovers the real nature of

supernatural elements. He initially claimed that everything is made up of five
elements: earth, soil, fire, air and water (www.academia.edu). Aristotle believed that
the purpose of school was to develop and exercise students’ potential for reasoning,
form ethical character, and provide a skill and knowledge base. He thought the
purpose of schooling was to develop dispositions and habits that exercise reason and
forming a human’s ethos (educationalroots.weebly.com).

Aristotle agrees with the view that human nature, habits, and reason were important
elements that needed to be developed in the educational process. He believed that a
balance between a practical and theoretical subject was very important. His main
aim through education, was to produce virtuous citizens for the society. He believed
that the role of the teacher was very important in this aspect as they were the ones
who hold the knowledge and through systematic teaching, they would inculcate in
the child what is right and what is wrong. He believed that a child is not aware of
knowledge initially and it is through their teacher’s guidance that he/she eventually
becomes more aware of this. The main ideal of Aristotle was that through education
and learning, children become good and virtuous individuals in society
(edubirdie.com).

According to Socrates Philosophy is an academic subject that exercises reason and

logic in an attempt to understand reality and answer fundamental questions about
knowledge, life, morality, virtue and human nature. The original word for philosophy
comes from the ancient Greek word philosopha, which means love of wisdom.
Although Socrates himself never claimed to have any answers to the questions he
raised, his views and methods of philosophy became the foundations of what
philosophy is today. Socrates actually wrote nothing, because he felt like that
knowledge was something to be to be gained by living and interacting with the
world.
According to Plato, philosophy is a process of constant questioning, and
questioning.
Necessarily takes the form of dialogue. Near the end of the Phaedrus, Socrates
expresses his reservations about written texts, worrying that people will cease to
think for themselves when they have someone else’s thoughts written out in front of
them. Plato took it upon himself to write his thoughts down anyway, but he was
careful not to write them in such a way that we could easily assimilate his thoughts
rather than thinking for ourselves. Many of the dialogues reach no definite
conclusions, and those that do generally approach those conclusions by casting
doubts and examining possible counterarguments. Plato cannot be there in person
to share his thoughts with us, but he wants to make sure that we think through
them ourselves.

2. IMPORTANCE OF PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy provides us with valuable skills. It produces better critical thinkers, more
creative thinkers, and better communicators. Philosophy exposes us to different
ways of thinking about even very familiar concepts, in part by carefully engaging the
history of thought. Anyone curious about the fundamental questions that have
occupied the greatest minds needs to study philosophy.

Philosophy is challenging, which is part of the reason why it’s beneficial, but
philosophy is also fun. Philosophy is about working together to understand difficult
and important problems, and then striving to identify the strengths and weaknesses
of the various solutions that are proposed.

By improving critical thinking, and grappling with foundational questions in ethics,

science, religion, politics, and logic, philosophy also produces more responsible
thinkers, enabling us to better understand pressing social issues.

 Communication skills
Philosophy also contributes uniquely to the development of expressive and
communicative powers. It provides some of the basic tools of self-expression—for
instance, skills in presenting ideas through well-constructed, systematic arguments—
that other fields either do not use or use less extensively. It helps one to express
what is distinctive of one’s view; enhances one’s ability to explain difficult material;
and helps one to eliminate ambiguities and vagueness from one’s writing and
speech.

 Persuasive powers

Philosophy provides training in the construction of clear formulations, good

arguments, and apt examples. It thereby helps one develop the ability to be
convincing. One learns to build and defend one’s own views, to appreciate
competing positions, and to indicate forcefully why one considers one’s own views
preferable to alternatives

 Writing Skills
Writing is taught intensively in many philosophy courses, and many regularly
assigned philosophical texts are unexcelled as literary essays. Philosophy teaches
interpretive writing through its examination of challenging texts, comparative writing
through emphasis on fairness to alternative positions, argumentative writing through
developing students’ ability to establish their own views, and descriptive writing
through detailed portrayal of concrete examples: the anchors to which
generalizations must be tied.

2.1 Philosophy forms a good foundation for variety of careers

Philosophy isn’t just useful in classroom or learning setting, it is a crucial tool for
numerous professions particularly those in business. A person must be able to think
through frequently complicated problems, create strong arguments for a stance and
conduct research swiftly and efficiently if they are to succeed in business. Reasoning
and critical thinking are crucial, this is especially true for careers in law. Any career
in science related need an understanding of philosophical concepts and analytical
thinking and any profession can benefit from learning a little philosophy.
2.2 Philosophy teaches critical thinking and reasoning

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what
to believe. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independence thinking.
Someone with critical thinking can understand the logical connections between ideas
and solve problems systematically.

Philosophy teaches critical thinking by encouraging leaners to question everything

they are taught. Leaners are encouraged to develop their own beliefs and to think of
themselves. This is a valuable skill, particularly in a world where it is becoming
increasingly difficult to tell a fact from fiction. Philosophy also tells leaners how to
argue effectively. This is important, as it allows leaners to defend their beliefs
against opposing arguments and helps them to develop a better understanding of
other people’s views.

According to Prof.Stokes (2016)Philosophy is a discipline that rigorously investigates

some of the deepest and most fundamental questions of human existence ,questions
about being the nature of being, right or wrong ,and good and bad. Philosophy is
concerned with several really basic problems that other disciples might generate but
cannot answer. Prof Stokes says seminar teaching is one of the most important
modes of learning in philosophy because it is an opportunity for leaners to debate,
argue and workshop critical ideas.

Philosophical reasoning is not something foreign to young leaners that needs to be

forced on them from the outside. They naturally ask philosophical questions like:
“how can we be sure that everything is not a dream”, “why is time so slow
sometimes’ ’Young leaners think constantly and reflect on their thoughts. They
acquire knowledge and try to use what they know. And they want their experience
to be meaningful and interesting. Philosophy offers young leaners the chance to
improve their thinking ,to make more sense in the world and to discover for
themselves what is to be valued and cherished in that world.
 3. THE TWO BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY THAT ARE EPOSTEMOLOGY
AND AXIOLOGY

Epistemology is defined as a branch of philosophy that is defined as the study of

knowledge. An example of epistemology is a thesis paper on the source of
knowledge. Epistemology examines how people come to learn what they know.
Epistemology addresses philosophical questions about knowledge; it is the study of
and seeks to answer how we gain knowledge and establish concepts like truth. For
instance, can we ever know anything, or is knowledge relative? Is truth subjective or
objective? Do we decide what is true or is the truth, regardless of whether we
accept it or not? Epistemology examines whether we are born knowing certain
things or are we a blank slate, a "tabula rasa," according to the philosopher John
Locke, and progressively gain knowledge. The branch of philosophy dealing with the
study of knowledge; theory of knowledge, asking questions.

Epistemology is one of the most significant branches of philosophy because it

influences how researchers frame their research in their attempts to discover
knowledge. By looking at the relationship between a subject and an object we can
explore the idea of epistemology and how it influences research design. This
student’s branch can help educators be more intentional in their teaching by
reflecting on questions of epistemological nature, allowing perhaps themselves to
become aware of their own learning process and personal development. This one of
the reasons why Epistemology is included in our curriculum.

According to Hayward M.K. (2018), “Knowledge of empirical facts about the physical
world will necessarily involve perception, in other words, the use of the senses. But
all knowledge requires some amount of reasoning, the analysis of data and the
drawing of inferences. Intuition is often believed to be a sort of direct access to
knowledge of the a priori. Memory allows us to know something that we knew in the
past, even, perhaps, if we no longer remember the original justification. Knowledge
can also be transmitted from one individual to another via testimony (that is, my
justification for a particular belief could amount to the fact that some trusted source
has told me that it is true)”.
Axiology is the study of fundamental principles. It is the branch of philosophy that
deals with the nature and types of value such as in ethics and religion. Studying the
ethics of the Christian and Jewish religions is an example of a study in axiology. It is
the branch of philosophy that considers the study of principles and values. These
values are divided into two main kinds: ethics and aesthetics. Norman L.(2017)
explain that “axiology is the study of values and how those values come about in a
society .Axiology seeks to understand the nature of values and value judgements. It
is closely related to two other realms of philosophy: ethics and aesthetics” Ethics is
the questioning of morals and personal values. Aesthetics is the examination of what
is beautiful, enjoyable, or tasteful. In axiology, education is more than just about
knowledge but also the quality of life.

The study of ethics focuses on goodness and attempts to define what it means to be
good. Aesthetics seeks to comprehend beauty and what is means or how it is
defined. It is concerned with harmony and beauty. Because one must employ
conceptions of worth to define “goodness” or “beauty”, and one must comprehend
what is valuable and why, axiology is a crucial part of both ethics and aesthetics.
Knowing values helps in determining motivation.

The importance of axiology in education is that it helps increase the quality of

information given to students and helps in better understanding and learning. This is
because axiology concentrates mainly on finding more information about something
in all aspects.
4. CONCLUSION

Each of us has a philosophy, even though we may not be aware of it. We all have
some ideas concerning physical objects, our fellow persons, the meaning of life,
death, God, right and wrong, beauty and ugliness, and the like. Of course, these
ideas are acquired in a variety of ways, and they may be vague and confusing. We
are continuously engaged, especially during the early years of our lives, in acquiring
views and attitudes from our family, from friends, and from various other individuals
and groups. These attitudes also may be greatly influenced by movies, television,
music lyrics and books. They may result from some reflection on our part, or they
more likely may result from conventional or emotional bias.
5. REFERENCES

1. Hyward M.K.(2018).’Non naturalist moral realism and the limits of rational

reflection ‘Australasian Journal of Philosophy

2. Atria Admissions Team, 19 July 2022

3. Substantive revision Sat Apr 11, 2020

4. Stokes P, (2016).Why study Philosophy? Learn critical thinking skills for life

5. Emmaline Soken-Huberty, Reasons Why Philosophy is Important