MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS
EDF 211: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
COURSE NOTES
COURSE
OBJECTIVES
The
objectives of the course are to:
i)
Enable students
to understand the nature and purpose of philosophy as an intellectual
discipline.
ii) Introduce students to philosophy of education as an
educational discipline .
iii) Enable students to understand the implications of
philosophy to education.
In order to appreciate the importance of philosophy
for an educator, students will be guided to critically examine the
philosophical foundations of life in general and the philosophical foundations
of education in particular. Thus various dimensions (aspects) of education will
be examined.
GENERAL
OUTLINE
Philosophy of Education is both philosophical and
educational in character. That it is to say, while the method used in the
course is that of philosophy, the problem/issues discussed are within the field
of Education. Accordingly, the main dimensions of education will be analyzed
and discussed in conjunction with appropriate branches of philosophy. Hence, we
shall discuss Epistemology and Education, logic and Education, Axiology and
Education, Metaphysics and education.
DETAILED
OUTLINE NOTES
Part One: Introduction
1.1. An
introduction to philosophy
1.1.1. Etymological Definition of Philosophy
a. Etymology Table
Φιλια (Greek)
Love
(Striving after,
Search for)
Σοφις(Greek)
Wise
( Learned,
System of lifeStrife
for Wisdom
Search for Wisdom
Seeking Knowledge
Σοφια(Greek)
Wisdom
(Knowledge)
Φιλοσοϕια(Greek)
Love of Wisdom
Philosophia (Love of Wisdom)(Latin)
Philosophie(Love
of Wisdom)(French)
Philosophy(Love of Wisdom)(English)
b.
Inference
The term philosophy is derived from two Greek words Philia-meaning love(loving), striving
after, searching for; and Sophia meaning
wisdom or knowledge. Philosophy can therefore
mean the love of knowledge, pursuit of wisdom; systematic investigation.
c. Pertinent
Questions
What is Love? i). Love is the affectionate Feeling/
attraction towards someone/ something/or an activity ii). A commitment, An act
of pursuing that which is ultimately good (Not bound by time, place, feelings,
or other variables- It is a constant).
What is Wisdom? i). Ability to subsequently distinguish between what is ultimately
good/right, to avoid what is ultimately bad/wrong wrong and to choose
what is ultimately right/good so as to live a meaningful life. ii. Committed pursuit of Truth .
Who is a Philosopher? (Part 1) i) General
Definition: Any person who is able to distinguish
between what is ultimately good/right, avoid what is ultimately[1]
bad/wrong wrong and to choose what is ultimately right/good so as to live a meaningful life.
ii) Strict
definition: Any person who is committed
to the pursuit of Truth through a systematic investigation
1.1.2. Operational definition of Philosophy
Working definition of Philosophy can take various
dimensions
a. Material
Definition: The Systematic study of
the general and fundamental nature of
Reality, knowledge and values.[2]
Who is a Philosopher? (Part 2)
Philosophers are persons who ponder such concepts as
existence or being, morality or goodness, knowledge, truth and beauty.
b. Formal
Definition: Philosophy can mean the
academic exploration or Analytical , Creative
and/or Critical way of thinking about
assumptions, beliefs or fundamental problems of life[3]
Who is a Philosopher? (Part 3)[4]
A philosopher is a person who has biased, critical and reflective thinking that
can generate principles and theories.
1.1.3. General vs Technological Definition
Sapientia/
Sapiens/ Homo(Wisdom/ Wise/ Man): The beginning of philosophy coincides with
the beginnings of man /homo sapiens ( meaning Wise man or Philosopher man).
ü Philosophy is
therefore universal(but also Particular)
Universality of philosophy means that philosophy as a human/ homo sapiential
response can be found in every period of history in every culture/society on
earth.
ü Philosophy is
not a preoccupation of scholars only but all humanity because they all question
their humanity, human condition and experiences of life.
ü Africans
expressing their traditional thought through stories, riddles and proverbs is
as much part of philosophy as books by renown philosophers like Plato in The
Republic
ü One’s philosophy
of life e.g. to be a farmer, teacher, carpenter etc is as much philosophy as
national philosophies like Kenya’s Nyayo
Philosophy, Tanzania’s Ujamaa.
ü Philosophy in
general sense also refers principles that govern an institution
ü Particularity of
General Philosophy implies its variance from time to time (traditional or
modern), from place to place (European, African, Asian etc). Particular
means that, a human being facing different situations in different places at
different times is likely to respond differently to these situations because of
authenticity of thought[5].
Who is a Philosopher? (Part 5)[6]: A
thinker who is independent, genuine, original, critical and sincere, giving a
personal answer to a personal questions through a personal struggle.[7]
1.1.4. Technical Philosophy
Also referred to as formal/academic philosophy.
An academic discipline comprising of specialized content, methods and specialists known
as Technical/academic/Formal philosophers.
It is both a
process (activity of vigorous thinking concerning perplexing questions/issues
of life )and a product( the outcome of the process thinking i.e. established
systems of thought, views and ideas).
Meant for few people; individuals who are committed to
scrutinizing issues, problems going beyond the surface common sense aspects to
their logical composition.
Chracteristics of Technical Philosophy
(i) Formalization
ü It is a process
whereby a definite form is given to a variety of human activities; form refers
to the presence of a structure, pattern or system. Formalization in our context
in philosophy refers to formalization of thought.
ü Initially,
philosophy consisted of the general amorphous sense. With the advent of
writing, the various philosophical thought began to be expressed in a more
definite, systematic and lasting form.
ü Today the world
of technical philosophy is a world of books, scholarly writings, formal
language and systematic thought because it is an exclusive domain for academic
scholars leaving no room for oral traditions of the past and common
philosophies of life.
ü Writing also
allowed for debate and as long as debate continued, philosophy continued to
thrive.
(ii) Westernization
ü Western
civilization has greatly influenced the field of learning to an extent that
philosophy is attributed to Western philosophers.
ü It is believed
that philosophy originated from ancient Greece and was further developed in
Europe and America. Philosophy is closely associated with Western civilization
to an extend that anyone interested in it must be familiar with the various
systems like realism (emphasizes that there is a world of real existence which
exists independently of human mind), idealism (stresses the idea that
reality is an expression of the mind: knowledge is based on
recognition/remembrance of latent/inborn ideas already present in the
mind), pragmatism (views reality as a changing phenomenon: man sees reality
differently as he interacts with it), as well as the philosophical language
that is associated with it.
ü As a result of
this, Western philosophy is assumed to be the standard of technical philosophy.
For instance, ancient Egypt played a very big role in the field of learning
such as medicine and philosophy. Ancient Greece and anyone who had studied in
Egypt was highly regarded as an authority.
iii. Specialization
ü Refers to the
acquisition of exceptional knowledge of, or skills in a given
discipline/subject as a result of constant and intensive study.
ü In ancient
Greece, a philosopher was a scholar who specialized in the exploration of the
nature of man and the world. The knowledge was not dichotomized into rational
and empirical domains. A philosopher was thus a Master of Arts and Science.
ü Due to
westernization, western specialists started at one time to dominate the field
of formal philosophy and subsequently imposed their language, interests and
methods upon others making formal philosophy highly technical and a matter for
experts; always within the Western context.
ü Aristotle, an
ancient Greek philosopher wrote widely on ethics, politics, fine art, logic,
biology and physics.
ü Philosophy was
referred to as the mother of all sciences, the most distinguished science
‘scientia eminentia’. With the advent of scientific evolution, the empirical
sciences were detached from philosophy. Later on, other disciplines like sociology,
psychology and anthropology developed as independent disciplines from
philosophy. These developments led to a situation where philosophy
acquired its own methods, content and terminologies.[8]
1.15. Brief History of Philosophy
in the West
1. PRE-PHILOSOPHICAL
TIMES.
ü Dominated by
poets and mythologies
ü Myths and poems
were like the modern bible
ü gods were
immoral but people followed them due to dogmatism
ü Reasoning was
non-rational and no room for divergent thinking
ü People were
captive in thinking
ü Key figures
include Homer and Hesiod
