Pursuing an Educational Philosophy Chapter 8

My philosophy is 1.Live for today, tomorrow we die. 2.Reach for the stars. 3.Expect little and you won’t be disappointed. 4.It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.

Branches of Philosophy Metaphysics…what is the nature of reality Epistemology…what can be known Axiology…ethics and aesthetics: the good, the true and the beautiful Logic…principles of right reasoning: induction and deduction

The value of philosophy 1.Brings new interpretation and syntheses as well as analyzing, refining, modifying existing concepts and procedures 2.Acts as a clearinghouse for analyzing and clarifying ideas and problems 3.Offers a source of ethical guidance 4.Induces habits of mind like tolerance, impartiality, and suspension of judgment

Philosophy Love of wisdom, the quest for knowledge Philosophers often concerned with such things as power, provocation, personality offering ideas to people caught up in the whirlwinds of social crisis, ideological arguments Philosophers of education concerned with questions of schools and society

Western philosophy Thales, 6 th century B.C.E., founder of western philosophy…searching for the unity of things in the world…not satisfied with religious and mythical answers, but sought “scientific” answers Themistoclea, a priestess of Delphi significant in Pythagoras’ development of ideas of deductive ethical doctrines

Socrates, Plato, Aristotle Socrates ( B.C.E.) philosophy was a way of life to Socrates Socratic dialogue, dialectic method of questions and answers…what makes humans sin is the lack of knowledge Plato ( B.C.E.) founder of the Academy The Republic outlines a plan for a perfect society ruled by the philosopher king, knowledge consistent with temperance and justice…for women as well as men Aristotle ( B.C.E.) founded the Lyceum, the first person to classify knowledge by dividing and subdividing, developed syllogistic, deductive logic

All fish can swim. This is a fish. Therefore… This is a Platonic dialectic 2.This is Socratic questioning 3.This is Aristotelian logic

Far Eastern Philosophy 21 st century technology, global commerce, and population demographics demand that we know something of Eastern philosophy Confucianism…concerned with ethics and morality (foundation of Chinese civilization) five key relationships: ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, elder brother and younger brother, friend and friend Confucius (Kung Fu-tzu, B.C.E.)those most capable, should govern…moral and ethical men make the best rulers, principle of li…courtesy and ceremony Confucianism…a language of morals and laws Taoism…oneness with nature, noninterference

Indian Philosophy Karma…what a person does influences what will happen to that person in the future Study, meditation, yoga can lead one to transcend cares and suffering Buddha…Siddhartha Gautama (6 th century B.C.E.)…all suffering is based on an inability to discern what is real and what is fictitious Gandhi ( ) nonviolence toward living things Satyagraha…holding fast to the truth

Educational Philosophies Perennialism…there are absolute truths and standards…related to idealism, experiences are a mental representation rather than a representation of the world, classical humanism refers to the Greek philosophers dedicated to discovering reason and truth for humankind Essentialism…preserve the basic elements of human culture and transmit them to the young

Educational Philosophies Experimentalism…the primary purpose of school is to teach children to think effectively…analyze, criticize, select between alternatives, propose solutions Experimentalism…progressivism…pragm atism Dewey, Peirce, William James Social Reconstructionism…change society through education…George Counts, Theodore Brameld, Paulo Freire

Existentialism What is it like to be an individual living in the world Passionate encounter with the problems of life and the inevitability of death Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Camus, Buber, Simone de Beauvoir Important decisions with limited knowledge

Postmodernism Roots in 1950s world of art Themes including truth, language and its relation to thought, human nature and the self, the Other “What kind of power is embedded in educational issues, problems, and traditions?” Michel Foucault, Cleo Cherryholmes

Philosophy of Education The nature of the learner The nature of the subject matter The nature of the learning process

Philosophies of Education Perennialism…stresses intellectual attainment and the search for truth Idealism…all material things are explainable Realism…propositions are true only if they correspond with known facts Pragmatism…search for things that work Reconstructionism…seeks to reconstruct society through education

Philosophies of Education Existentialism…importance of the individual, subjectivity, inner nature Postmodernism…de-centers the subject