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EDU 101 (Philosophy of Education aspect)

Meaning of philosophy
➢ Derived from two Greek words, philoa and Sophia meaning love and wisdom. Therefore, Philosophy
implies love of wisdom (etymological perspective)
➢ A way of life, attitude to life, proverbial statements, witty sayings, belief system, system of divination,
words of wisdoms etc (Layman perspective)
➢ Theoretical orientation to issues and problems; critical reflection; system of reflective questioning;
rational investigation/ analysis of issues; systematic and consistence use of logical thinking etc
(Professional perspective)

Meaning of philosophy of education

➢ Applied branch of philosophy that relates to education; application of philosophy to education; the use
of methods or tools of philosophy to investigate problems and issues in education; examination of
education according to philosophical outlook etc.

Importance of Philosophy of Education

• Develops ability to think rationally;
• Develops ability to influence educational policies and practice
• Develops and sustains capacity of inquiry and questioning
• Enhances ability to understand reasons behind policies of education
• Develop the ability to apply philosophical thoughts to current educational practice
• Cultivates attitude of open mindedness, tolerance and receptivity to opposing ideas
• Trains the teacher to give more weight to validity of argument

Modes of philosophy
➢ Speculative mode is a way of thinking systematically about everything that exists. It involves asking
reflective questions about anything that exists.
➢ Prescriptive mode seeks to discover and recommend principles that could be used to decide what
actions and qualities are most worthwhile. It sets standards by which values could be assed, conduct be
judged and arts appraised

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➢ Analytic mode examines the meaning of words and concepts employ in the activities of speculation and
prescription in order to achieve clarity.

Branches of Philosophy / Philosophy of Education

1. Metaphysics - Theory of ultimate reality, beyondness, nounmenon as opposed to phenomenon. It is
divided into ontology and cosmology
➢ Ontology is the metaphysical theory about the nature and origin of beings (God and man) e.g origin of
man/God; nature of man/God; issue of predestination, freewill, soul, spirit etc
➢ Cosmology is the metaphysical theory about the nature and structure of the universe.

➢ Metaphysical questions include What is man? Has man a soul? How do we come about things around
us? Does God exist? Is human behavior pre-determined or is man free/ why does man behave the way
he does? Are there angels? What is destiny/ predestination? Does man have a soul? Can man have the
knowledge of God?

2. Epistemology - Theory of knowledge, It is concerned with the origin, nature, types and validity of
human knowledge;
➢ Meaning of knowledge as ability to recognize what one has come across before; ability to recall an
event one has encountered before; encounter by a learner with an object of learning, and the
internalization of such an encounter; a repetition of cognitive awareness.
➢ Epistemological questions include What is knowledge / knowing? What is implied when we make
knowledge claims? How do we ascertain knowledge? Is there a limit to human knowledge? Is
knowledge the same as belief?

❖ Sources / Types of knowledge

• Revealed knowledge or Knowledge by revelation: through divine sources e.g dreams, vision, trance
etc ( subjective/personal, not open to validation, weak)
• Authoritative knowledge or knowledge by authority: through experts e.g books, parents etc (
conflict, error of information, weak)
• Intuitive knowledge or knowledge by Intuition: through insight (subjective/personal, not open to
validation, weak)

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• Rational or logical Knowledge: through reasoning or power of inference ( open to sentiment and
prejudice)
• Emperical/experimental knowledge: through experience, experiments or observation( could be
affected by state of health, and sight of the experimenter)
• Knowledge by tenacity: through repeated claims ( not based on evidence)
• Descriptive knowledge or knowledge by description: through a closer contact with the object of
knowledge ( deceptive appearance and state of vision/sight)
• Knowledge by acquaintance: through a casual contact with the object of knowledge (too casual, lacks
concrete evidence)

3. Axiology - Theory of values . Values implies what is desired, preferred, cherished, worth etc
• It is divided into ethics (moral values, concerns with human conduct) and aesthetics ( beauty)
o Axiological questions include Are values objective or subjective? Are values dynamic or constant? Can
values be ranked or put in hierarchy? What is value? Why do we prefer one thing to another? What is
good / bad? What is moral / Immoral? How do we determine what is moral? Are moral values objective
or personal? What is beauty? Is beauty objective or personal? How do we appreciate beauty?

4. Logic - Principle of correct reasoning

➢ Inductive logic as method of making general inference from particular situations
➢ Deductive logic as a method of making specific inference from general situations. E.g
1. All princess are women, Bola is a princess, therefore, she is a woman;
2. All animals with wings are birds, a butterfly has wings, therefore, a butterfly is a bird.
3. All Africans are black, Wole is black, so, he is an african
➢ Dialectic logic as a way of reconciling two contradictory factual statements.
• Logical questions: include What is correct reasoning / argument? How do we detect fallacy in an
argument? How can we validate logical argument? (2marks)