.

PHILOSOPHY, EDUCATION AND THEIR INTERDEPENDENCE

DR V.K.MAHESHW Ph.D PALLAVI SING M.Ed DR SURAKSHA BANSAL Ph.D

PRINCIPAL LECTURER PRINCIPAL

College of Education College of Education College of Educatiion

D.I.M.S. MEERUT D.I.M.S. MEERUT M.I.T.MEERUT

INDIA INDIA INDIA

Since philosophy is the art which teaches us how to live, and since children
need to learn it as much as we do at other ages, why do we not instruct them
in it? .. But in truth I know nothing about the philosophy of education except
this: that the greatest and the most important difficulty known to human
learning seems to lie in that area which treats how to bring up children and
how to educate them.
(de Montaigne, On teaching Philosophy of Education)

-
The inter-dependence of philosophy and education is clearly seen from
the fact that the great philosophers of all times have also been great
educators and their philosophy is reflected in their educational systems.
This inter-dependence can be better understood by analyzing the
implications of philosophical principles in the field of education
.
Before analyzing the educational implications of general philosophy,
we should know the concept of "Philosophy" and "Education". Each one
of us has a personal philosophy which we apply consciously and
unconsciously in our daily life

. Each philosophy reflects a unique view of what is good and what is

important. In this sense, philosophy is the system of beliefs about life.
The literal meaning of philosophy is the love of wisdom which is
derived from the Greek word "Philos" (Love) and Sophia (Wisdom).
Wisdom does not merely mean knowledge. It is a
continuous seeking of insight into basic realities - the physical world,
life, mind, society ,knowledge and values.

When we speak of philosophy we use a term which may be viewed in

two senses.The first of these is that of the word itself which literally
means “ love of wisdom”.But to love wisdom does not necessarily make
one a philosopher.Today, we think of philosophy in a more limited sense
as man,s attempt to give meaning to his existence through the continued
search for a comprehensive and consistent answer to basic problems .It
is this second sense of the word which makes the philosopher an active
person; one who seeks answers, rather than one who simply sits around
engaging in idle and frivolous speculation. Today, most philosophers are
actively concerned with life.THEY SEEK ANSWERS TO BASIC
PROBLEMS.Thus we find that philosophers are doing as well as
thinking, and it is their thinking which guides their doing.What they do
is rooted in the search for answers to certain types of problems and the
tentative answers they have formulated.
The three great problems of philosophy are the problems of reality,
knowledge, and value-
(1) The problem of reality is this; What is the nature of the
universe in which we live? Or,in the last analysis, what is real ?
The branch of philosophy which deals with this problem is termed
as METAPHYSICS
(2) The problem of knowledge is this; How does a man know
what is real? That is to say, how do we come by our knowledge
and how can we be sure it is true, not error or illusion? The area of
philosophy which is devoted to solving this problem is termed as
EPISTOMOLOGY.
(3) The third great problem, the problem of value,is this;What
are the important values which are to be desired in living? Are
these values rooted in reality? And how can they be realized in our
experience? The branch of philosophy dealing with such questions
are these is named AXIOLOGY
(4) Most closely related to epistemology, is another branch of
philosophy which deals with the exact relating of ideas.This area
of philosophy is commonly referred to as the science of LOGIC.
The concept of Education
All human societies, past and present, have had a vested interest in
education; and some wits have claimed that teaching (at its best an
educational activity) is the second oldest profession. While not all
societies channel sufficient resources into support for educational
activities and institutions, all at the very least acknowledge their
centrality—and for good reasons. For one thing, it is obvious that
children are born illiterate and innumerate, and ignorant of the norms
and cultural achievements of the community or society into which they
have been thrust; but with the help of professional teachers and the
dedicated amateurs in their families and immediate environs (and with
the aid, too, of educational resources made available through the media
and nowadays the internet), within a few years they can read, write,
calculate, and act (at least often) in culturally-appropriate ways.
Education does not mean mere schooling.Education refers not only to a
process in and out of classroom. To become educated is to learn to
become a person.
Etymologically, 'educahon' is derived from "educare" which means 'to
lead out' or "to drawout'. In a broad sense, education refers to an act or
experience that has a formative effect onthe mind, character or physical
ability of an individual. %cation in this sense never ends,we truly learn
from experience throughout our lives.

Webster defines education as the process of educating or teaching (now

that's really useful, isn't it?) Educate is further defined as "to develop the
knowledge, skill, or character of..." Thus, from these definitions, we
might assume that the purpose of education is to develop the knowledge,
skill, or character of students. Unfortunately, this definition offers little
unless we further define words such as develop, knowledge,
and character. . 

This is hardly a new argument. In ancient Greece, Socrates argued that

education was about drawing out what was already within the student.
(As many of you know, the word education comes from the Latin e-
ducere meaning "to lead out.") At the same time, the Sophists, a group
of itinerant teachers, promised to give students the necessary knowledge
and skills to gain positions with the city-state.

The definition of education in common usage, that education is merely

the delivery of knowledge, skills and information from teachers to
students, is inadequate to capture what is really important about being
and becoming educated.

The proper definition of education is the process of becoming an

educated person.
Being an educated person means you have access to optimal states of
mind regardless of the situation you are in.

You are able to perceive accurately, think clearly and act effectively to
achieve self-selected goals and aspirations.

Education is a process of cognitive cartography, mapping your

experiences and finding a variety of reliable routes to optimal states
when you find yourself in non-optimal states.

The idea that the definition of education is the delivery of knowledge,

skills and information from teachers to students is misguided. .

A Proper Definition of Education

The common definition of education is simply wrong when you consider

how education actually occurs.

A proper definition of education will have to cover these four important

aspects of how we become educated:

1. The necessity of having and manipulating knowledge, skills and

information
2. The helpfulness of teachers, without requiring them
3. The constant need to see through the inherent illusions that arise
from our unconscious thought processes, and
4. Our ability to influence our states of mind

Based on these four criteria I define education as a process of cognitive

cartography.

Despite what the letter writer might have wished, there is no definition
of education that is agreed upon by all, or even most, educators. The
meanings they attach to the word are complex beliefs arising from their
own values and experiences. To the extent that those beliefs differ, the
experience of students in today's classrooms can never be the
same. Worse, many educators have never been asked to state their
beliefs—or even to reflect on what they believe. At the very least,
teachers owe it to their students to bring their definitions into
consciousness and examine them for validity

It is difficult to define education without implying an educational

philosophy, and evidence of the intimate relation between philosophy
and education. It is interesting to note in this connection that John
Dewey defines philosophy simply as a general theory of education. But
many other philosophers feel that it is more than this.
If described so generally as to make room for most varieties of
educational theory, education would have to be defined somewhat as
follows: and activity or endeavor in which the more mature of human
society deal wit the less mature, in order to achieve a greater maturity in
them and contribute thereby to the improvement of human life.
Interdependence of philosophy and education is an essentiality for
human development .both represents two side of a coin , both are
equally important .PHILOSOPHY DETEMINES THE VIEW OF LIFE
WHILE EDUCATION DETERMINES THE WAY OF LIFE.. They are
so interlocked that without the one the existence of the other is beyond
comprehension.
The close relationship between philosophy and education led to the
emergence of a new branch of knowledge ,philosophy of education
which “traditionally assumed the burden of formulating goals , norms ,of
standards by which to conduct the educative process”,. It assures the “
educator not only of the substance of the programmed of the schools but
of its formal validity”. In spite of variance amongst diverse philosophies
of education-empirical-non empirical, speculative-normative
.commonsense-critical ,and a host of other combinations-all seem to be
recognizing “ the importance of interest and individual differences”.
Philosophy is theoretical and speculative; education is practical.
Philosophy asks questions, examining factors of reality and experience,
many of which are involved in the educative process; whereas the actual
process of education is a matter of actively dealing with these factors,
i.e., teaching, organizing programs, administering organizations,
building curricula, etc.
The process of philosophizing about education requires an
understanding of education and its problems. Hence, we can say that
philosophy of education is the application of philosophical ideas to
educational problems. It is not only a way of looking at ideas but also of
how to use them in the best way. Therefore, it can be said that
philosophy is the theory while education is the practice. Practice
unguided by theory is aimless, inconsistent and inefficient just as theory
which is not ultimately translatable into practice is useless and
confusing. In the words of Ross "philosophy is the contemplative side
while education is the active side". Philosophy deals with the ends while
education deals with the means and techniques of achieving those
means. Educational philosophy depends on formal philosophy because
most of the major problems of education are in fact philosophical
problems. Like general philosophy, educational philosophy is
speculative, prescriptive critical or analytic.
There are two chief ways in which philosophy and education are relate.
(1) Philosophy yields a comprehensive understanding of reality, a world
view, which when applied to educational practice lends direction and
methodology which are likely to be lacking otherwise. By way of
reciprocation,
(2) the experience of the educator in nurturing the young places him in
touch with phases of reality which are considered in making philosophic
judgments. Because of this, those who are actively engaged in educating
can advise philosophers abut certain matters of facts. That is to say, that
while philosophy is a guide to educational practice, education as a field
of investigation yields certain data as a basis for philosophic judgments.
As an example of this relationship, what is one instance of fact which
the science of education yields to the philosopher for further use in the
building of a world view? Well, in the practice of education there is
intimate association with children, young people, and adults, as students.
This close association is an unusual opportunity for observing human
natures as it is. A teacher can scarcely avoid the formation of some
attitudes as to the nature of man, as he is beheld in the pupil. Is the
human individual a mechanism of nature, an organism, a segment of
society, or a spirit? The educator may not venture the answers, but he
can at least offer the philosopher some solid observations on which to
base his conception of man.
Returning to the first mentioned relation between philosophy and
education, what are some of the problems philosophy investigates which
have direct equivalents in educational policies?
. All philosophies are concerned with the nature of the self. As has been
inquired just above, they ask, Is the self a physical, social, or spiritual
unit? Whatever answer is given will go far in determining a person’s
attitude toward the pupil, in case education in one of his major interests.
If the self is a physical unit, then pupils are biological organisms. If the
self is a physical unit, then pupils are biological organisms. If it is a
social unit, then pupils are little pieces of society. If it is a spiritual unit,
then pupils are souls wit destinies which out reach both biological and
social processes.
. Philosophy is concerned, among other things, with value; education
also must necessarily deal with value, more than most other social
institutions. Some of the questions which value, more than most other
social institutions. Some of the questions which philosophy asks about
value are: What kind of existence do values have? Are there any values
which are ultimately real? How does man possess or realize value? Must
effort be put forward in the process? Or do values come to us without
effort, like an inheritance? Such questions as these are most relevant to
education. If, for example, it is true that effort is involved in the
possession of value, this is just another way of saying that experiences
which educate are fundamental to any progress in experiencing or
realizing value. A way of looking at value philosophically in the
instance necessarily looks to educative activates as a means in the
importance life-task of leaving off the old and entering into the new
which is more to be valued then the old. Value thinking in philosophy is
also related to education in another important way. Educations must
have objectives if it is to be effective; otherwise it descends to the level
of aimless activity which is the antithesis of educative experiences. But
how can education have valid objectives unless these are formulated
within the context of responsible thinking about value in general? There
is too little awareness of this connection between value theory and
educational objective, and much superficial talk about objectives does
not go far in perceiving this connection.
. Having acquired the philosopher’s interest to the extent of asking and
answering such questions as these, the education will scarcely stop
before determining what his philosophizing implies for the educational
process itself. It the pupil is a biological unit only, and the context
within which objectives are set is purely naturalistic, then the process of
educating will be a purely natural process, in no sense transcending the
natural order. But if the pupil is a spiritual being and the objectives of
education are anchored in immortality and an ultimate divine society,
then the process by which man is educated must be consistently and
care fully refined so that personality is always treated as personality,
never as mechanism or near-personality, and so that ceilings are not
placed above individuals or societies inhibiting them in reaching out
toward the ultimate.
Of course in all of the connections between philosophy and education
the certainty of transfer is by no means assured. One educator may enjoy
theorizing and be poor in performance of effective practice which grows
out of his theory. Another may be at home only in concrete practice,
confirmed in the practice. It is hoped that this book will show up both of
these attitudes as inadequate and make the student shun equally the
possibilities of becoming a theorist who cannot practice his theory or a
practitioner who assumes that he can practice without any theory. For
there can be no clear and sharp separation between theory and practice.
No teacher or administrator however effective in practice can avoid
assumptions, conscious or unconscious, as to what it is that he is about.
These assumptions, it should be pointed out, are the material of theory,
not of practice, and they need both to be examined critically and to be
related to other assumptions in the largest context of belief, in order to
be adequate as a basis for practice. Furthermore no theory is fully
expressed until it is expressed in practice. Not being an end in itself,
theory becomes the evident enjoyment of the dilettante when pursued
without responsible reference to practice. It might be said that there can
be no practice with out practice, for though merges into action and
action emerges out of thought.
Education and philosophy are inseparable because the ends of education
are the ends of philosophy i.e., wisdom; and the means of philosophy is
the means of education i.e. inquiry, which alone can lead to wisdom.
Any separation of philosophy and education inhibits inquiry and
frustrates wisdom.
Education involves both the world of ideas and the world of practical
activity; good ideas can lead to good practice and good practices
reinforce good ideas. In order ro behave intelligently in the educational
process, education needs direction and guidance which philosophy can
provide. Hence philosophy is not only a professional tool for the
educator but also a way of improving the quality of life because it helps
us to gain a wider and deeper perspective on human existence and the
world around us.

The chief task of philosophy is to determine what constitutes good life

whereas the main task of education is how to make life worth living. So
philosophy and education are mutually re-constructive. They give and
take from each other. Philosophy deals with the goals and essentials of
good life while education provides the means to achieve those goals of
good life. In this sense philosophy of education is a distinct but not a
separate discipline. It takes its contents from education and its methods
from philosophy.
.
Philosophy and Methodology of Instruction –How to teach, depends
quite directly upon the nature of knowledge, which depends quite
directly upon the nature of man. The aims of education. The Role of
teacher, The concept of student, the curriculum, the concept of
Discipline, importance and involvement of social agencies ete have
determining influence of Philosophy on their nature and involvement.

If different areas of education are are observed In relation to philosophy

we will conclude that philosophy is an essentiality for a productive and
progressive outlook on education Rusk had rightly commented’ from
every angle of educational problem comes thus the demand for a
philosophical basis of the subject….There is no escape from a
philosophy of life and of education.

As Philosophers, Scientists and Educators we have a responsibility

to maintain great knowledge from the past, for as Einstein
beautifully writes;
... knowledge must continually be renewed by ceaseless effort, if it is
not to be lost. It resembles a statue of marble which stands in the
desert and is continually threatened with burial by the shifting sand.
The hands of service must ever be at work, in order that the marble
continue to lastingly shine in the sun. To these serving hands mine
shall also belong. (Einstein, On Education, 1950)

REFERANCES

Brameld, Theodore-,Toward a Reconstructed Philosophy of

Education. Newyork; Dryden Press.

Breed, Frederick, “Education and the Realistic Outlook,”

Philosophies of Education. National Society for the Study of
Education, Forty-first Yearbook, Part 1. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1942.
Broundy, Harry S., Building a Philosophy of Education. Englewood
Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1961..
Butler, J. Donald, Four Philosophies and Their……… Education and
Religion. New York : Harper & Row.
Herbart, J.F., The Science of Education. Boston : D.C.Heath &
Company, 1902.
Locke, John Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Oxford :
Clarendon Press, 1902. The basic statement of Locke’s
epistemological position.
 Weber, Christian O., Basic Philosophies of Education. New York :
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1960. This book, especially in
chapters 11-14,.
Wild, John, “Education and human Society : A Realistic View,”
Modern Philosophies and Education. National Society for the study of
Education, Fifty-fourth Yearbook, Part I. Chicago : University of
Chicago Press, 1955.
Broudy, Harry S., Building a Philosophy of Education. Englewood
Cliffs, N.J. Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1961..
.
Frank Thilly, “A History of philosophy”, Central Publishing House,
Allahabad.

John Dewey, “Reconstruction in Philosophy,” p-38. London,

University of London Press Ltd. 1921.

Rusk, R.R., “Philosophical Basis of Education” p-68, footnote,

London, University of London Press, 1956..