“EDUCATION WITHOUT PHILOSOPHY IS BLIND AND PHILOSOPHY WITHOUT EDUCATION IS INVALID”

 

The word philosophy is derived from the Greek words philia (love) and Sophia (wisdom) and means “the love of wisdom.” Pythagoras was said to have been the first man to call himself a philosopher; in fact, the world is indebted to him for the word philosopher. It is said that when Leon, the tyrant of  Philius, asked him who he was, he said, “a Philosopher” and he likened the Philosopher to spectators at ancient games. Before that time the wise men had called themselves a sage, which was interpreted to mean those who know. Pythagoras was more modest. He coined the word philosopher, which he defined as one who is attempting to find out. 

Philosophy of education may be defined as the application of the fundamental principles of a philosophy of life to the work of education. Philosophy and education are closely interrelated. Education is the application of philosophy or the philosophy of education is applied philosophy. It is the application of philosophy to the study of the problems of education that is known as the philosophy of education.   Philosophy answers all the ultimate questions of education.

Science or Philosophy?

Science is concerned with natural phenomena, while philosophy attempts to understand the nature of man, existence, and the relationship that exists between the two concepts. Science also takes answers and proves them as objectively right or wrong.

Branches of philosophy

Historically, philosophical concerns have been treated under these broad categories: Logic, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Aesthetics, Ethics

Logic is the systematic study of the rules for the correct use of these supporting reasons, rules we can use to distinguish good arguments from bad ones. Most of the great philosophers from Aristotle to the present has been convinced that logic permeates all other branches of philosophy. Another traditional branch of Philosophy is traditionally known as metaphysics. For Aristotle, the term metaphysics meant “first philosophy,” discussion of the most universal principles; later the term came to mean “comprehensive thinking about the nature of things.” It means, usually, the study or theory of reality.  The technical term for the theory of knowledge is epistemology, which comes from the Greek word episteme, meaning “knowledge.” In general, epistemology is the branch of philosophy that studies the sources, nature, and validity of knowledge. Descriptive ethics consider the conduct of individuals or personal morality; the conduct of groups, or social morality; and the cultural patterns of national and racial groups. Esthetics concerns the theory of art and beauty. Questions of art and beauty are considered to be part of the realm of values because many philosophical problems in aesthetics involve critical judgments.

Why Everybody needs a Life Philosophy?

What do you want out of life? Do you know? A lot of people have trouble answering this question.We all need personal philosophy in life or we risk wandering and responding to random stimuli and information with little or no impact on our long-term goals. A philosophy of life is an overall vision or attitude toward life and its purpose. Human activities are limited by time and death. But we forget this. We fill up our time with distractions, never asking whether they are important, whether we really find them of value. Without a personal philosophy, we end up living without direction.

The purpose is Life-Changing

Robert Bryne once observed, “The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”In order to get somewhere, you need to define your end goal. That is essential. And the sooner you define it, the clearer everything else will become. A life without a purpose is a life without a destination. Finding the right direction in life is an existential problem for all of us.

What do you look forward to in life? Living without purpose is dangerous.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said, “The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.”Your purpose in life is to find and do the things that make you smile, laugh, and forget time. Even if you aren’t sure yet, move into the exploration and experimentation phase of your life and enjoy the journey.