Unit - II

Chapter 3 - Philosophy and Functions of Educational Philosophy

Question- What is Philosophy?

Answer -

Philosophy ordinarily means a set of beliefs, religious or secular, in accordance with which one tries to live. The philosopher is a self-centred man, being so much with this ownself that at times he is considered to be lost in his own thoughts. Undoubtedly, philosophy is a view and a way of life. The term 'philosophy' has been derived from the Greek words 'Philos and Sophia' which respectively mean 'love' and of 'wisdom'. Thus philosophy means love of wisdom. That way any lover of wisdom could be called a philosopher. The simple reason being that philosophy is a search for knowledge and wisdom. The philosopher is thoughtful remains in a thoughtful mood, being in search of new ideas, new knowledge with the help of his growing wisdom. The philosopher looks at different things in his own peculiar ways. With him and through him, ordinary and routine type of things may not remain so, they may rather be philosophised. The subject matter of philosophical inquiry is the reality itself. Here the search of the philosopher is for understanding Man, Nature and the Universe. The different fields of philosophy are educational philosophy, Social philosophy, Moral philosophy, Economic Philosophy, Political Philosophy etc. And the different philosophical approaches are Idealism, Naturalism, Pragmatism, Marxism, Existentialism, Materialism and so on.

The values of studying philosophy in like are as follows :

1. Value of philosophy in personal life ; In our personal life we daily come across the problems when we have to decide between right and wrong. This decision requires criterion of right and wrong or good and ultimate good. To present such a criterion is the job of moral philosophy. Thus, it is clear that we are in need of philosophy at every step of our life. In the modern times, everywhere in urban areas one hears talk about art. Many want to refine their lives. Many want to live amidst beautiful things and beautify their surroundings. But how many persons think about the basic questions as to what is beauty? What is art? These questions are raised by an important branch of philosophy known as Aesthetics. Many people are prepared to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their values. What is this value? What are the ultimate values? These questions are Answer -ed by Axiology. Every man, some-time or the other, tries to know what will happen to him after death? Is there a world other than our own? What happens to the man when he dies? These questions are raised in Eschatology, an important branch of philosophy. Again, some thoughtful persons, when they reach at some crossing in life, think as to where they have to go? Why have they come to this world? What is the aim of life? Who am I? These questions are raised in philosophy of self. When the man looks at the towering tops of the mountains, murmuring sounds of the forests, pitch-dark nights, roaring oceans and ferocious earthquakes and other peculiar natural phenomena a question rises in his mind as to what is this world? What is its nature? How has it been made? Who made it? Why did he make it? All these questions are discussed in Cosmology and Cosmogony. Thus, numerous types of questions that are raised in our everyday life fall beyond the scope of common sense or science because they are basically philosophical questions. The value of philosophy in a man's life is, therefore, quite clear.

2. Value in behaviour towards others: Whereas philosophy influences personal life, it influences social life as well. Our behaviour towards others is determined by our philosophies. If a man considers others as ends in themselves, his behaviour will be different from that of those persons who consider others as mere instruments to achieve their own selfish ends. Every man has divine element in him, this is a philosophical attitude. Everybody is a thief, this is a different philosophical attitude. It can be easily understood that these different philosophical attitudes will lead to different types of behaviour towards others.

3. Value in political life: Philosophy also influences political life. Various types of political philosophies such as democratic socialism, communism, totalitarianism, anarchism, etc., lead to different types of government and state and to a lot of difference concerning human rights and the different aspects of political life.

4. Value in economic life: Everyone has to earn money in order to earn his livelihood. The question is as to what is the aim of life. Is money an end or merely a means to it? This is a philosophical question and on the Answer - to it, depend not only the economic activities of the individuals but also those of nations. The form of production, consumption and exchange very much depends on the Answer - to this philosophical question.

5. Value in social life: Society is a web of social relationship. These relationships are found in different institutions such as family, marriage, business, etc., and in thousands of associations. All these are influenced by philosophy. For example, whether the wedlock between male and female is a social contract or whether marriage is a religious sacrament, this is a philosophical question on the Answer - to which depends the form, stability and result of marriage in a particular society. Similarly, the relationships between parents and their children in a family do not depend on the biological and philosophical attachments alone but also on their philosophical attitude towards life. Whether the children should be brought up as ends in themselves or whether they are mere instruments for the progress of the family, this is a philosophical question the Answer - to which determines many important issues in a joint family.

6. Value in cultural life: The philosophy of a nation is the index of its cultural progress. Thus, philosophy influences each aspect of culture. The forms of dance, music, art, literature, etc., are very much influenced by philosophy. A healthy philosophy will lead to a healthy attitude towards all these. To illustrate, Indian philosophy is mainly spiritual, therefore, one finds the stamp of spirituality on Indian dance, music, art, literature, etc. On the other hand, Western philosophy is materialistic and, therefore, Western culture bears the stamp of materialism.

The philosophy of a nation represents the infancy, adolescence and maturity of a nation's culture. Philosophical progress manifests cultural progress. In a nation where there is no philosophical progress, its culture is dead. Cultural revolutions have also coincided with philosophical crises. In Greece when Socrates was made to drink hemlock it was not because of the enmity of people against him only but also because of his opposition to philosophy of the community of his time.

7. Value in educational field: Though now-a-days, the number of students of philosophy and departments of its teaching in Indian universities is gradually becoming less and less, no thoughtful person denies the value of philosophy in educational field.

The most fundamental question in the field of education is concerning its aim? This question raises another question as to what is man, because what he is not, he cannot become. He can become only that which is already implicit in him. Man’s nature is, therefore, a philosophical question on the Answer - to which have developed so many philosophies of education which are the foundations of different modern methods of teaching.

8. Value in the field of knowledge: In the modern times, many educated persons who swear by science, consider philosophy to be useless in the age of science because they are ignorant of the function of philosophy in the field of science. It can be said without exaggeration that without a philosophical basis, any knowledge is imperfect, because no total picture can be presented without the synthetic function of philosophy. Without this total picture there will always be tension in the field of knowledge which leads to philosophical activities. Besides its synthetic function, another important function of philosophy is the criticism of the postulates and conclusions of different sciences. Whenever a scientist delves deeper in his own particular field, he reaches a depth where the process of his thinking is not scientific but philosophical. This can be seen in the thinking of many a great scientists of the world. The importance of philosophy in the field of knowledge is, therefore, quite clear.

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