DIFFERENT SCHOOLS OF PHILOSOPHY

Reported by:

LILIBETH A. ROLDANPh.D. student

Dr. Teresita BulandanProfessor Fundamental of Philosophy

1. the philosophy of idealism--one of the oldest systems of human

thought.(According to this concept, knowledge is independent of sense experience.)

Some idealist assert that the true ideas exist innately in

the soul of man—man as part of the universe is a purposive

being.

Some of the important concepts and generalizations in

the philosophy of idealism are:a. metaphysics—all of reality is reducible to

one fundamental substance (spirit).The nature of the spirit in negative terms is non

materiality and it is describe as idea in positive terms.

b. epistemology—there are two divisions of idealism: (1)Objective idealism –affirms that man is able to know only what he perceives. His only knowledge is of his mental states. It is said

that the stimuli which is perceived by the soul comes from

the infinite spirit-(GOD)(2) Subjective idealism– idealists affirm the existence of eternal values.These absolute value exist in GOD.

(Idealism applies to any theory which sees the universe as being made of mind or reason. Some believers of idealism recognize both mind and matter in the universe. Others insist that consciousness or reason form the basis of reality.)

“Types of idealistic philosophy”A. Objectivism—emphasizes the objective

and real independence of ideas.B. Subjectivism—emphasizes the subjective

mental state of human mind.C. Organic—emphasizes the holistic state of

mind.D. Personalism—rejects the impersonal

description of infinite mind and emphasizes the individual phenomena of the personal mind.

In education, idealism is against the philosophy of progressive education. Idealism has high regard for individuality and freedom in education. The idealistic pattern of modern education is Platonic—it can be said that modern education has given a different turn to educational philosophy. (Idealism has more to do with the ideas as mental state.) Education cannot be complete unless it is directed toward man’s eternal destiny.

The philosophy of idealism has general implication in teaching and in learning.To the idealists, the purpose of education is to assist in the development of the spirit and self of the pupil.

In education, it must emphasizes the development of the ff. areas of life:a. Intellectual activitiesb. Moral judgmentc. Aesthetic appreciationd. Self-realizatione. Individual freedomf. Individual responsibilityg. Self-discipline or control

The school curriculum must be based upon the spiritual nature of man. The school must be compose of subjects which liberate the mind of the learner. (this concept is based on the principle of creativity or individual freedom)

Education must preserve the subject-matter content which is essential.

The content of the curriculum are arranged from simple to more complex, concrete to the more abstract aspects of the subjects. This concepts is based on the “Law of Gradual Reaction Change” of Thorndike.

2. The philosophy of realism--it is an attempt to portray life as it is.

The realist believes that the world is made of real, substantial material entities. In other words, the realist starts with a thing and end up with the idea. In short, thing is more important than idea. According to the philosophy, knowledge is derived through sense experience, however, sense experience alone cannot account for knowledge. To the realist, whatever is consistent with nature is deemed good. The standard of this value is human reason.

The philosophy of realism has implications to education—it recognizes the right of every individual to an education based upon his nature.(limited only by his capacity to learn). This philosophy recognizes the importance of individual differences in education. Pupils differ in the level of their abilities to think in abstractions which call for different methods and techniques in teaching to meet them among individuals.

to the realists, education exists for the ff. reasons:A. To transmit cultureB. To develop thinking and reasoningC. To develop the ability to live a life of reasonD. To learn to live a life in a higher place

To the realists, the purpose of education is to provide man with the essential knowledge he needs to survive in nature.—(this knowledge provides the individual with the skills necessary for a happy and abundant life.

The School curriculum is selected and organized logically and psychology.

Logical arrangement means the subjects should be arranged from simple to the more complex.( the law of Gradual reaction change-Thorndike)

Psychological arrangement means that the nature of the learner must be taken into consideration, such as : ability, interests, and needs of the learner.

3. The philosophy of humanism--it is a way of looking at our world which

emphasizes the importance of man—his nature and importance in the universe.Humanism teaches that all persons have dignity and worth. They objected to the simple nature of man.

Humanism is a way of thought and life, which takes its central concern in the realization of the fullest human career.

Humanism seeks to enrich and innoble the man’s earthly life by liberating the latent potentialities of human nature.

Many educators and philosophers believe that the greatest challenge to humanism, and indeed a threat to the safety of society comes from emphasis on science and technology.

The modern humanistic ideal of education is the development of a well balanced person, who had:-- knowledge--knew how to live with his fellowmen--appreciated beauty--high standards of human judgment

Humanism is clearly related to international as an aim of education.

Modern education should seek to promote the spirit of internationalism everywhere and be ever guided by that spirit in its great task

Proper internationalism means intellectual charity toward universal progressive educational thought and practice. It recognizes the interdependence among nations necessitates the contribution of all nations to the common task of advancing civilization.

In the applied sciences—human relations still bears the primitive practices/ancient practices.

In human relation—where wisdom, tolerance, moral sense and social spirit are required. In the school of philosophy, humanism, the

objective of teaching and learning is to discover the emotional order of subject-matter and the order of learning. According to this educational philosophy, “learning starts with the child’s experience.”—(based on the law of Apperception of Herbart), that learning is easier if it starts with the past learning of the child which is related to what is to be learned.

In other words, the learner must start with the concrete and particular rather than the abstract and universal.

4. Experimentalism & pragmatism--in general, the philosophy of

pragmatism is grouped under the general term of experimentalism.(experimentalism and pragmatism is closely related.) To both schools of philosophy, reality is determined by individual experience. Dr. John Dewey (believer of pragmatism) might properly be called experimentalist, he insist that ideas must always be tested by experiment. he also believed that no knowledge is ever so certain that it is not subject to new evidence which might result to experimentation and experience.

he applied these basic concepts to nearly every aspect of philosophy and education.

his notion that ideas are plans of action determine his theory of truth. (for him, if an idea does what it intends as a plan of action, it is true. If it fails, it is false.)

The pragmatist does not believe that anything is “self-evident”.

Pragmatism has been called particularly “American Philosophy”.

Pragmatism is also considered as the logic that idea lies behind scientific method.

According to the philosophy of experimentation and pragmatism, education must be problem centered. This problem must be felt by the learner and should be centered upon his abilities, needs and interests.

The fact that man learns through experience, the experimentalist and the pragmatist suggest an education which stresses learning by doing and living. “An individual learns through self activity or learning by doing or reacting.”

They also suggest that teaching must stimulate thinking and reasoning.

--It can be said that to the

experimentalists and the pragmatists, the aim of education is “the development of the total child through experiencing or through the use of the theory of self-activity.”

To accomplish this aim of education, the school curriculum must be selected and organized in terms of activities and projects which are relevant to the needs, abilities and interests of the learner.

Their education concepts are based on the educational philosophy of John Dewey : “ education is life, education is growth, education is a social process, and education is the construction of human experience.”

Likewise, the experimentalism school of philosophy is concerned with the world of human experience.

“truth is verified through the use of experience or through the use of scientific method.”

5. Philosophy of scholasticism--stresses the idea that man is a

national being possessing a body and soul. “each human being has an immortal destiny”

This school of philosophy believes that not all the truth can be known by reason because of the restrictions present in sense of knowledge.—”some truths can be achieved through the gift of faith”. This school of philosophy believes in the use of reason in accomplishing truth. In other words, “reason dominates Scholastic philosophy”.

The aim of education, must be directed to the development of the whole man—that a person must be develop mentally, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. This school of philosophy believes that

education must aim at the development of the whole child by including both the preparation for this life and the life to come.

It also believes that religion must be apart of the education.

Likewise, this school believes that general education must be a part of the college curriculum to provide for the development of the virtue of wisdom

6. Philosophy of progressivism--closely related to pragmatic philosophy

of education. According to this educational philosophy, the child grows and develops as a whole through his own experience or through self-activity.The outstanding leaders of this school are:

Horace Mann Francis ParkerStanley HallJohn DeweyWilliam Kilpatrick

Progressivism is a protest against formalism. Emphasis in this concept is placed upon interests, desires of the individual, upon freedom, and upon the learner rather than the subject-matter.

From the progressivists, “learning is an active process”, (in which the learner himself is definitely involved). (this point of view states that the learning

process is essentially experiencing, doing and understanding)—this concept calls for active doing which involves the mind, the body, and the emotion of the individual.

Characteristics of progressivism:a. The child is male the center of the

educative process and not the subject-matter. (child-centered concept of education)

b. Learning by doing and experiencing are emphasized in the educative process. (teaching is good when it utilizes the principle of self-activity)

c. Thinking and reasoning are well emphasized. (analysis and synthesis are utilized to stimulate thinking and reasoning.)

d. The school curriculum is based on activities and projects that are in line with the pupils’ needs and abilities.

e. Individual differences are recognized by this school of philosophy.

f. Emphasis is in group planning, discussion, self expression, creativeness, and responsibility.(planning of activities is done by the teacher and the pupils done cooperatively to the teacher.)g. Evaluation is based on flexible standards

or that grading must be based on the normal-probability-curve.

(higher standard for the bright, lower standard for the slow pupils.)

h. Guidance is made an integral part of teaching and learning.

(self expression, initiative, and creativeness are encourage among the pupils.)

7. Philosophy of existentialism--the most recent to appear upon the

intellectual sense.--some philosophers classify this as

extreme individualism. To this school of philosophy, reality is a matter of individual existence—that each human being exists in a world that is without purpose and is fundamentally absurd. The only significance found in life is the meaning that each individual gives to his life---”each person is free to make whatever choices he wishes.”

Some existentialists assert that GOD exist. (they admit the impossibility of proving this by reason)

They believe the existence of GOD through faith, on the basis that this act of faith yields a significant life which may or may not be rewarded at its termination. To the existentialists, the purpose of education is to serve. The individual human being by guiding him into awareness of his condition and promoting his successful commitment to a significance existence. Likewise, complete individual freedom in the classroom is recommended by this school of philosophy, and that individual child must choose himself those activities which he believes are significant, and the teacher serves as a guide and a resource person.(based on democratic principle of John Dewey)

8. Analytic philosophy--This school of philosophy asserts that

the function of philosophy is basically a type of logical and linguistic analysis.

--This philosophy is otherwise known as logical analysis.

According to this school of philosophy, “reality is consists of what is knowable,-that is verified by experience.

--This also asserts that man is different from other animals to the extent that he has the capacity to engage in reflection.

--also asserts that the method of philosophy must be the method of science for things are knowable only through experience—which verifies the truth that is apprehended.

It is known that man is a rational being and that his reason is most important distinction. In Analytic philosophy, the aim of education is to promote the intellectual and social development of the individual.(this concept is based on the principle that an individual is a social being.) This aim of education can be accomplished by developing the scientific attitude of open-mindedness and objectivity in each pupil/student. To the believers of this philosophy, the education must be based on the experiences of the learner.

Thank You for Listening!!!