Philosophical Foundations of Education

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Philosophical Foundations of Education
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Philosophy is

• A search for meaning and truth

• the general beliefs and attitudes of an
  individual or group

• the body of principles underlying a branch of
  learning or major discipline

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Original Definition

• Love of Wisdom
• Definition was developed by Socrates

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Of What Value is theStudy of Philosophy

• Provide clarification for what is or has been
  done by others
• Provides a framework for life and our action
• Can be useful in solving educational problems
• A good mental activity

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Three Major Areas of Philosophy

• Metaphysics - the nature of reality
• Axiology - the nature of values
• Epistemology - the nature of knowledge

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Metaphysics

• Concerned with theories of the nature of reality.
  
• Why does the earth exist?
• How did it come into being?
• Is mankind free?
• Is there a God?
• What is real?

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Metaphysics

• Common terms used in metaphysics are
• theology
• creationism
• evolution
• spirit
• free will
• atheism
• Metaphysics is the area many people think of when
  they hear the term philosophy.

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Axiology

• concerned with theories of value
• Two major divisions of axiology
• ethics
• What is right and wrong?
• What is evil and good?
• aesthetics
• What is beautiful and ugly?
• Some common terms used that relate to axiology
  are pessimism, optimism, hedonism, egoism, and
  altruism.

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Epistemology

• Concerned with theories of the nature of
  knowledge
• Epistemological questions
• How do people learn?
• What knowledge is of utmost value?
• What are the different types of knowledge?

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Philosophical Schools of Thought

• Idealism
• Realism
• Pragmatism
• Existentialism
• Reconstructionism

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Socrates

• Regarded as the father of philosophy
• Believed we learned through questioning (the
  Socratic method)
• Wrote nothing, what we know of his views were
  written by his followers, most notably Plato

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