PHILOSOPHY PERSPECTIVE OF EDUCATION solved paper M.Ed ist sem
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Punjabi University, Patiala - Punjab
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BHUSHAN CHANDRA BARLA
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Swami Vivekanand College of Education
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PHILOSOPHY PERSPECTIVE OF EDUCATION
1. Concept of Philosophy of Education
A philosophy of education is a statement (or set of statements) that identifies and clarifies the beliefs, values and understandings of an individual or group with respect to education.
The art of education can never be completed without Philosophy and Philosophy can’t convert others to its aims and values without education.
What is Philosophy?
The word ‘Philosophy’ is made up of two Greek words – ‘Philo’ and ‘Sophia’. Philo means ‘love’ and Sophia means ‘wisdom.’ Philosophy is the ‘love of wisdom.’ In Greek, “Philosophy is a philosophical process of solving some characteristic problems through characteristic methods from a characteristic attitude and arriving at characteristic conclusion and result.
What is Education?
Education is the best means for the propagation of a Philosophy. Sir John Adams, therefore says, “Education is the dynamic side of Philosophy. It is the active aspect of philosophical belief, a practical means of realizing the ideals of life.”
Scope of Philosophy of Education:
The subject Philosophy is divided into many different areas including four data particularly important in the educative process. They are:
The Metaphysics, in brief, deals with reality in man, world, and hereafter. The most important Metaphysical theories which have influenced education are Naturalism, Idealism, Pragmatism and Realism.
Epistemology is concerned with the theory of knowledge. The instruments of knowledge are Revelation, Authority, Intuition, Reasons, Senses, and Experimentation.
Thus, all the schools of Epistemology supply the necessary foundation for all knowledge, scientific and otherwise.
The term Logic is derived from the Greek word ‘Logos’ which means ‘reason’ or ‘expression of Reason’ in words i.e., ‘Discourse’. Etymologically, therefore, logic is the science of reasoning or argument. According to Dewey reasoning is reflective thinking. The reasoning can be either deductive or inductive. The teacher must know logic in order to have successful communication.
The word Ethics is derived from the Latin word ‘Ethos’, which means ‘Character.’ In this way, Ethics is the science of character, habits of activity or behaviour of human beings. According to Mackenzie, “Ethics can be defined as the study of what is right and good in conduct.”
Aesthetics is the science of beauty as logic is the science of truth and ethics is the science of good. Education seeks to realize the truth, the good and the beautiful.
Aims of Education from the Philosophical Point of View:
There are many philosophies of education, which advocate aims of education, according to their own philosophical point of view. For e.g., Education for spiritual growth is the aim of Idealism.
A naturalist like Darwin advocates the aim of education as, “Struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest.”
The philosophy of Pragmatism advocates the view of self-expression as the aim of education.
The aims of education advocated by Realism are “establishment of tradition, education for character building, education for intellectual discipline and preserving and transmitting a society’s culture.”
Relationship between Philosophy and Education:
Philosophy and education are closely related in the following ways:
At the early stages of philosophical thinking, Plato (Republic) and Aristotle influenced the western thought profoundly. Other great western philosophers like St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, Locke, Rousseau, and Kant etc are examples of philosophers who have much to say about the nature, aims and methods of education.
The ancient Indian Sages who were the great philosophers of the past converted their forest – home into ‘Gurukula’ schools. The ideas of Sankara, Buddha, are still preached in India.
The modern Indian philosophers like Gandhi, Gopabandhu, Tagore and Aurobindo are also great educators.
Thus, the history of education proves that all the philosophers have been great educationists.
Philosophy determines the aims of education, curriculum, methods of teaching, nature of text books, evaluation, role of the teacher, school organization and school discipline etc. it is the philosophy of time which determines whether the aim of education should be moral, vocational, intellectual, spiritual or liberal.
Conclusion:
All modern educationists hold the view that not only should the educator be equipped with knowledge of a variety of subjects, but also that he should have his philosophy of education, without which he can’t efficiently solve the problems that he faces while teaching from day to day.
Fichte correctly pointed out that the art of education will never attain complete clearness in itself without philosophy.
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2. Relationship of Education and Metaphysics
These two branches of philosophy dwell on core matters in educational thoughts. Metaphysics provides a base for educational thought by establishing knowledge, truths and values, as ontological realities whose nature must be understood to understand its place in educational matters.
Metaphysics: Aristotle developed the study of Metaphysics. The Metaphysical problems of Philosophy are whether ultimate is spiritual or material or physical. Although teachers may not actually be physicians, they do take stand on Metaphysical questions like, what is the nature of existence? What is reality? What is truth? What are its different forms? Is the world one or many? etc.
The Metaphysics, in brief, deals with reality in man, world, and hereafter. The most important Metaphysical theories which have influenced education are Naturalism, Idealism, Pragmatism and Realism. The term metaphysics literally means "beyond the physical." This area of philosophy focuses on the nature of reality. Metaphysics attempts to find unity across the domains of experience and thought.
At the metaphysical level, there are four broad philosophical schools of thought that apply to education today. They are: 1. Idealism 2. Realism 3. Pragmatism (sometimes called experientialism), and 4. Existentialism.
These four general frameworks provide the root or base from which the various educational philosophies are derived.
Idealism
Idealism is a philosophical approach that has as its central tenet that ideas are the only true reality, the only thing worth knowing. In a search for truth, beauty, and justice that is enduring and everlasting, the focus is on conscious reasoning in the mind. Plato, father of Idealism, espoused this view about 400 years BC, in his famous book, The Republic. Plato believed that there are two worlds. The first is the spiritual or mental world, which is eternal, permanent, orderly, regular, and universal. There is also the world of appearance, the world experienced through sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound, that is changing, imperfect, and disorderly.
In idealism, the aim of education is to discover and develop each individual's abilities and full moral excellence in order to better serve society. The curricular emphasis is subject matter of mind: literature, history, philosophy, and religion. Teaching methods focus on handling ideas through lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a method of teaching that uses questioning to help students discover and clarify knowledge). Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-part logic are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent in the mind. Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes.
Realism
Realists believe that reality exists independent of the human mind. The ultimate reality is the world of physical objects. The focus is on the body/objects. Truth is objective-what can be observed. Aristotle, a student of Plato who broke with his mentor's idealist philosophy, is called the father of both Realism and the scientific method. In this metaphysical view, the aim is to understand objective reality through "the diligent and unsparing scrutiny of all observable data." Aristotle believed that to understand an object, its ultimate form had to be understood, which does not change. For example, a rose exists whether or not a person is aware of it. A rose can exist in the mind without being physically present, but ultimately, the rose shares properties with all other roses and flowers (its form), although one rose may be red and another peach coloured.
The Realist curriculum emphasizes the subject matter of the physical world, particularly science and mathematics. The teacher organizes and presents content systematically within a discipline, demonstrating use of criteria in making decisions. Teaching methods focus on mastery of facts and basic skills through demonstration and recitation. Students must also demonstrate the ability to think critically and scientifically, using observation and experimentation. Curriculum should be scientifically approached, standardized, and distinct disciplinebased. Character is developed through training in the rules of conduct.
Pragmatism (Experientialism)
For pragmatists, only those things that are experienced or observed are real. In this late 19th century American philosophy, the focus is on the reality of experience. Unlike the Realists and Rationalists, Pragmatists believe that reality is constantly changing and that we learn best through applying our experiences and thoughts to problems, as they arise. The universe is dynamic and evolving, a "becoming" view of the world. There is no absolute and unchanging truth, but rather, truth is what works.
John Dewey (1859-1952) applied pragmatist philosophy in his progressive approaches. He believed that learners must adapt to each other and to their environment. Schools should emphasize the subject matter of social experience. All learning is dependent on the context of place, time, and circumstance. Different cultural and ethnic groups learn to work cooperatively and contribute to a democratic society. The ultimate purpose is the creation of a new social order. Character development is based on making group decisions in light of consequences.
For Pragmatists, teaching methods focus on hands-on problem solving, experimenting, and projects, often having students work in groups. Curriculum should bring the disciplines together to focus on solving problems in an interdisciplinary way. Rather than passing down organized bodies of knowledge to new learners, Pragmatists believe that learners should apply their knowledge to real situations through experimental inquiry. This prepares students for citizenship, daily living, and future careers.
Existentialism
The nature of reality for Existentialists is subjective and lies within the individual. The physical world has no inherent meaning outside of human existence. Individual choice and individual standards rather than external standards are central. Existence comes before any definition of what we are. We define ourselves in relationship to that existence by the choices we make. We should not accept anyone else's predetermined philosophical system; rather, we must take responsibility for deciding who we are. The focus is on freedom, the development of authentic individuals, as we make meaning of our lives.
Related to education, the subject matter of existentialist classrooms should be a matter of personal choice. Teachers view the individual as an entity within a social context in which the learner must confront others' views to clarify his or her own. Character development emphasizes individual responsibility for decisions. Real answers come from within the individual, not from outside authority. Examining life through authentic thinking involves students in genuine learning experiences. Existentialists are opposed to thinking about students as objects to be measured, tracked, or standardized. Such educators want the educational experience to focus on creating opportunities for self-direction and self-actualization. They start with the student, rather than on curriculum content.
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3. What do you mean by logical empiricism?
Logical empiricism is a philosophic movement rather than a set of doctrines, and it flourished in the 1920s and 30s in several centers in Europe and in the 40s and 50s in the United States. It had several different leaders whose views changed considerably over time. Moreover, these thinkers differed from one another, often sharply. Because logical empiricism is here construed as a movement rather than as doctrine, there is probably no important position that all logical empiricists shared—including, surprisingly enough, empiricism. And while most participants in the movement were empiricists of one form or another, they disagreed on what the best form of empiricism was and on the cognitive status of empiricism. What held the group together was a common concern for scientific methodology and the important role that science could play in reshaping society. Within that scientific methodology the logical empiricists wanted to find a natural and important role for logic and mathematics and to find an understanding of philosophy according to which it was part of the scientific enterprise.
The following discussion of logical empiricism is organized under five headings:
4. Define Values
Value education has become a challenging concern in the modern contexts. Its scope becomes all the more critical when viewed in terms of the roles and role perceptions of a teacher.
The word ‘value’ is derived from the Latin root ‘valeric’ meaning to be strong and vigorous. Hence, value is preferred belief on which we choose to act.
Meaning of Values:
Value signifies that quality of an individual or thing which makes that individual or thing important, respectable and useful.
It is difficult to define values in a specific way because it is vast topic. We can talk of values in two ways. Etymological meaning of value signifies that quality of an individual or thing important respectable and useful. This quality may be internal or external or both.
The philosophical meaning of value is a thought or a point of view as such may things which are useful to an individual become valuable to him. The very same thing may be quite useless to another individual and as such it is of no value to that individual. Thus, from the philosophical standard a value is directly related to a view point or thought.
Definition of Values:
According to Elizabeth B Hurlock, “Values are concepts heavily weighted with emotions…they are stronger predispositions of behaviours that concepts with less heavy emotional weighting are.”
According to Hindzay (1966), “By values we mean a person’s idea of what is desirable, what he actually wants.”
According to Perry (1968), “Value means the relation of an object to a valuing subject.”
Educational Values as Internal and External:
There are two types of educational values: Internal Values and External values. Internal Values are those values depend upon the personal ideas and experiences of an individual while External Values are connected not with the individual but with social environment.
Need of Value Education:
Education enables peoples to know meaning, reason and values. In order to preserve, maintain and advance the position of our country, a comprehensive programme of value education is imperative.
In the words of Prof. D.S. Kothari, distinguishes physical scientist and chairman of Education Commission (1964-66). “Science and technology are exploding but wisdom is imploding. It is shrinking. The knowledge is expanding
and human personality is shrinking. Because of the explosion if knowledge and implosion of wisdom we find various kinds of grave, imbalance and calamities. There is explosion of violence in diverse form. Greed, hearted and delusion from a rapidly rising spiral; the GHD spiral. So on the one hand, we have exponentially rising, growing spiral of science, technology and productivity; the STP spiral, and on the other hand we have the GHD spiral.” In order to have a perfect balance the knowledge and practice of values are very essential.
Importance of Value Education:
Classification of Values:
The concept of value has different dimensions; therefore, it is understood differently by different people. The following are the important types of values:
Educational values are related to those activities which are good, useful and valuable form the point of view of education. An educational value signifies the modification of the behavior of the child or students under the guidance of the teacher.
How to Impart Values?
Values can be imparted through various ways to the students. The best places to impart values are:
Role of the Teacher in Value-Oriented Education:
The teacher of a modern day’s school has to play a very important role in value-oriented education. The teacher should possess and display qualities of leadership and accepted norms of behavior. A teacher of modern day-school should remember the following principles.
Conclusion:
The present day system of education had rejected the essential values of human aspirations. The history of India has given values like ahimsa, satya and prema etc but unfortunately our children don’t get an opportunity to acquire these values through education.
Hence, it is the need of the hour to make all possible attempts to inculcate value-oriented education in the centers of learning.
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5. Aims of Pragmatism
Pragmatism originated in the writings of Charles Pierce. The word ‘pragmatism means ‘action’.
Pragmatists are people believing in finishing the book here, solving the problem now and striking the business at once. According to Prof. Arnaud Raid, Pragmatism means activity, engagement; commitment and encounter are its central themes.
The emphasis of Pragmatism is on action rather than on thought. Since Pragmatism advocates the experimental method of science, it is also called “Experimentalism”. Other equivalent means for Pragmatism are Instrumentalism and Consequentialism,
The term “Pragmatism” is also sometimes called Progressivism or Progressive Education. It is considered as mid-way between Naturalism and Idealism.
Pragmatism and Aims of Education:
The main aim of the Pragmatists is that education should bring about certain changes in the behavior of the individuals. These changes relate to the physical, intellectual and moral development of the human beings. As stated by Ross, “the main task of education is to put the educand into a position to develop values for himself.”
The major aims of Pragmatic education are:
Main Features of Pragmatism:
The salient features of Pragmatism are discussed below:
Three Forms of Pragmatism
1. Humanistic: According to Humanistic Pragmatism, whatever that fulfills man’s desires and purposes are true.
2. Experimental: According to Experimental Pragmatism, the truth is that which can be verified by experiment.
3. Biological: According to Biological pragmatism, a man has got ability of adaptation to the environment and vice versa.
Conclusion:
The Pragmatists believe that education is not to impart knowledge to the students for knowledge’s sake but to help them to meet their needs in a biological and social environment.
Pragmatists believe that education is necessary for man for two specific reasons – 1. It is a natural necessity, 2. It is a social necessity.
There is no doubt that Pragmatism is a very practical Philosophy has given a new direction and a new purpose to all educational activities and programmes. In short, Pragmatism is an attitude and a way of living. Its opposition to formalization and artificiality and its emphasis on practical utility and its questioning spirit etc. have revolutionized education. Its humanistic and social approach in education ensures better citizen.
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6. What do you know about Islamic Tradition?
The beginning of the 8th century A.D marked the event of Muhammadean invasions in India. After the defeat of Prithviraj Chauhan, Muhammad Ghori laid the foundation of Muslim rule in northern India. Many Muslim kings ruled over India during the Muslim period. The sultans of slave dynasty were the first Muslim rulers in northern India. The education of the Muslim period was much inferior to that of the Hindu period. No Muslim rulers except Akbar did the commendable work in the field of education.
Aims and Objectives.
The main aim of education during the Muslim period was the extension of knowledge and the propagation of Islamic principles, laws, and social conventions. Education was based on religion. Its aim was to make persons – religious minded. The Muslim education also aimed at the achievement of material prosperity.
Organization of Education:
Education in medieval India was imparted in different types of educational institutions based on the needs and potentials of each pupil. The types of educational institutions included Maktabs, Madarashs, Khangahs, Durgahs, Kharkana but most of the time education was organized in Maktabs, Madrasahs.
The Maktab was a primary or elementary school often attached to a Mosque. In Maktab, children were made to remember the ‘A Yats’ of Quran in order to perform this devotion in other religious functions. They were also impartedthe education of 3 R’s (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic). Primary education was also carried on in private houses.
Madarashs were schools of higher learning. After completing the primary education, the children were sent to Madarashs to receive higher education. Madarashs were generally attached to Mosques. There were different teachers for different subjects. The courses included in Madarashs were grammar, rhetoric, logic, Theology, Arabic, literature, Science, Philosophy, Mathematics, politics, economics, and agriculture etc. Special emphases were given to education of religious as well as secular subjects.
Initiation ceremony: The child was taken to Maktab on the first day in new clothes. At first, he was required to repeat some verses of the Quran. If he was not able to do this, his education was started by pronouncing the words ‘Bismillah’ i.e. his education was began on the name of ‘Allah’ (God). After this Bismillah ceremony, the child was required to write something after a few days. On this occasion his close relatives were also invited. Then the child was required to go to the Maktab for receiving education.
Method of Teaching: The method of teaching in the medieval period was mainly oral and the memorization of assigned lessons. The students were to memorize certain portions of the Holy Quran and prayers. Akbar, the emperor realized that for effective teaching every school boy should learn to write the letters of the Alphabet. As the method of teaching was oral the main work of the teacher was to give lectures and students have to listen to them possibly. The students were advised to read relevant books and required to prepare lessons individually which made the students to remain active.
Vocational Education: During the Muslim period there was a provision for vocational, technical, and professional education.
Examination: There was no formal examination, promotion to higher learning were based only by the teachers themselves. The teacher has to assess the capacity of the students and to advise him for receiving higher education. At that time the purpose of education was to develop the students’ personality but not to earn his living.
The abler students were given recognition by awarding stipends and prizes.
Teacher – Pupil Relationships:
The medieval education in India emphasized personal relationship between the teacher and the taught as in the ancient Hindu and Buddhist education. The people believed that no knowledge was possible without the teacher. Hence the teacher was respected by the students and by the society. There were hostels attached to many Madarashs. The teachers also resided there with their students. Thus, the pupil-teacher relationship was very close and intimate. There were no hostels in Maktab and so no personal relationship existed between the teacher and the student.
Medium of Instruction:
Persian was the popular medium of instruction. The study of Arabic was compulsory for Muslims. The instruction method emphasized rote memory and writing skills mostly practiced on oblong boards with red pens.
Female Education:
Women’s education was almost totally neglected in the Muslim period. Muhammadean women used to observe ‘Purdah’ system. Therefore girls couldn’t attend Madarashsfor the higher education like male students regularly. Howeverthey were allowed to go to a Maktab for primary education but they could learn only reading, writing and arithmetic, but the rich people arranged for education of their girls in their own houses. Music was taught to princesses in the palace by carefully selected ‘Ustads’ (teachers). Thus only the royal princesses, ladies and daughters of very rich people could receive education during the Muslim period. Thus education of women as such was completely ignored.
Indiscipline and Punishment:
During the Muslim period, guilty students were given severe corporal punishment. The teacher was the sole judge of the undisciplined behaviour and the nature of punishment to be given for the same.
Rewards: Brilliant and industrious students were greatly respected. They were given prize and rewards. Sometimes they were given good government service also. Students were rewarded ‘sanads’ (certificates) and ‘tangals’ (medals) at the end of their academic career at some specific stage.
Military Education:During the Muslim period military education was made compulsory for the students because they wanted to establish their supremacy over the Hindu kings. They thought that they could hold up their empires only through superior forces.
Merits and Advantages of Muslim Education:
Disadvantages:
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7. Concept of reality in Sankhya Philosophy
Samkhya philosophy regards the universe as consisting of two independent realities: puruṣa ('consciousness') and prakṛti('matter'). These two realities exist parallel without affecting each other. Jiva ('a living being') is that state in which purusha is bonded to prakriti in some form.
The Questions Who is an individual human being? What is the nature of an individual human being? Where do human beings come from and what is their ultimate destination? What is the relationship of an individual with other individuals? What is the purpose of an individual's life? Why do we want to do good and avoid evil? What is good? What is evil? Samkhya philosophy answers such basic questions in a coherent manner and thus provides humanity with a perspective that is necessary for living integrated and full lives.
Samkhya as a very satisfactory explanation of the totality of human experience. Historical Provenance of the Samkhya School The earliest known references to the Samkhya school of thought appear in the Upanishads, Indian scriptural literature, which represent the earliest efforts of humankind to give a philosophical explanation of the universe and beyond. According to western historians, the early Upanishads were historically prior to Buddhism. Indian historians agree and claim that the date of their composition is much before the birth of Buddha. Samkhya thinking existed much before Kapila systematically enunciated it. Some historians place Kapila in the century preceding Buddha. Samkhya PravachanSutram and Tattva Samasa, both attributed to the sage Kapila, are two methodical enunciations of this school of thought.
The word Samkhya literally means number. It is a compound word comprised of the prefix sam (short form of samyak, balanced) and khya (knowledge, declaration); it also means balanced knowledge or knowledge based on philosophical reflection.
Samkhya sees the whole universe as an effect of an underlying ultimate cause. The reality of the universe is undeniable. Something must come out of something. Nothing can come out of nothing. The universe comes out of its ultimate cause. According to Samkhya, since the reality of the universe is undeniable, the reality of its cause is undeniable as well.
Kapila's Samkhya explains the entire reality of the universe and beyond on the basis of twenty-five tattvas. The most basic and fundamental manifestation of the one and only Universal Principle is its presentation as two principles - purusha and prakriti, roughly translated as pure consciousness and primordial nature, or spirit and energy. The word purusha means an attractive force that holds infinitesimally minute particles together. It also means awareness, or pure consciousness. It does not evolve from anything and nothing evolves from it.
The eight-fold nature encompasses a class of eight tattvas. The eight tattvas (elements) of this class are - bhumi (earth), jala (water), agni (fire), vayu (wind), akasha (sound, or vibration energy in general), mana (mind stuff), ahamkara(material stuff of personality), and budhhi (stuff of intellect). These eight tattvas are listed in order of increasing subtlety, the first being the least subtle and the last the most subtle. Budhhi is the subtlest product of evolution of prakriti from which all other elements evolve. The subtle realities have the capacity to permeate and impregnate the less subtle ones and the gross ones as well, but not vice versa.
With this realization, one sees unity underlying all diversity. One's behavior is then guided by the underlying oneness of all. Narrow selfish concerns, perception of limitations, individuation, and finitude that are the hallmarks of identification with prakriti alone, totally disappear.
Samkhya claims that only the achievement of this supreme goal is the final release of one's will from all limitations that cause misery. It is only with will that is totally free that one can avoid that which should be avoided and accept that which should be accepted.
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8. Explain Aims of Buddhism.
The most important system of education in medieval India was the Buddhist system of education and the Muslim system under Muslim rulers. The movement started by Gautama Buddha gave the greatest shock to traditional Hinduism. Buddha and his followers went from village to village and preached his message of salvation. However, the doctrine of Buddhism was a product of the Brahmanical system.
Buddhist education was also a product of the prevailing Brahmanical educational system, but it was not based on the Vedic studies and his teaches were not Brahmans except those who had become converted to Buddhism.
Aims of Buddhism.
Nirvana is the term used to describe the end of suffering, the ultimate goal of Buddhism. It is a state of complete bliss, liberation from the limitations and desires of the physical world, and the end of the cycle of rebirth and suffering.
The main aim of Buddhist Education is to make a free man, an intelligent man, a wise, moral, talented, non-violent, and secular man. Buddhist Education makes man judicious, humanist, logical and free from superstitions.
Main aims of Buddhism can be grouped under following headings.
“Dharma practice” is an “actual practice” for one to “learn how to handle one’s life, so that one can ultimately take control of one’s life with ease”.
Buddhist System of Education:
The Monasteries or Viharas were the centre of education during the Buddhist period besides there were no other organizations for imparting education. Educational opportunities were given to those Bhikshus who were in Monasteries. They were imparted with both religious and secular type of education. The Buddhist monasteries were opened to all corners who accepted Buddhist order. The rules and regulations of Buddhist monastery or Viharas resembled the Vedic system because they had been taken from Hinduism and various sects of Sadhus and nuns.
Rules of Admission: Like the students of Vedic period the student had to present himself before the teacher and ask for admission. The teacher was fully responsible for the education of his pupils. Pabbajja (first ordination) was performed in monasteries before a student could get in to the formal education. The students must have attained the age of 8 years to perform the ceremony. After admissions in to Sangh they remained as a monk. They had to change their former caste, dress, character etc. after staying for 12 years the disciple had to perform the 2nd ceremony i.e., Upasampada for which he must have obtained the age of 20 yrs. After this he became a full-fledged member of the Sangh.
Role of the Teacher: In Buddhist period like Vedic period, the relations of the teachers and the taught was close, affectionate, pure, and good. Their duties were fixed and they used to fulfill them well.
The teachers used to lead a very simple life. He was responsible to education, clothes, food and residence of the student monk. He also had the responsibility for any treatment of the student whenever he fell ill. It was the highest and most sacred duty of the teacher to impart intellectual and spiritual education of high order to his disciples.
Like Vedic education, Buddhist education was mainly religion. The curriculum was chiefly spiritual in nature. Its main aim was to attain a “Nirvana” (Salvation). Sutta, Vinaya, Dharma were the main subjects prescribed for studies. They also educated pupils in spinning, weaving, painting, tailoring, writing, arithmetic, printing, medicines, surgery etc.
Women Education: Though Buddha refused admission to women in Sanghas but later on at the request of his disciple ‘Anand,’ he agreed to give admission to women in the Sanghas. Even then, women were kept under strict rules and their places were lower than that of male monks in the Sanghas. Two years of probation was fixed for women monks before their permanent membership. They were not allowed to meet any male monk in the lowliness and had to live separately. They were given a religious instruction only twice in a month.
Vocational Education: Vocational education was not ignored during the Buddhist system of education. The monks of the Viharas were taught spinning, weaving, swing, architecture. The householders were given training in different types of practical arts in order to make them meet their requirements and also to earn their livelihood.
Buddhist education was influenced by Brahmanic education and so their basic principles were similar in many respects. The daily life if Bhikshus were more or less improved form of Brahmacharis. Their mode of living, food arrangements and clothing etc were almost similar. Most of the BrahmanicRishis and Buddhist Bhikshus spent their lives in similar manner in isolated cottages, in the forests, on the hills away from the populated places and tried to live their soul high and practiced self-realization devoting the rest of their lives in higher studies.
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9. Existentialism
At the metaphysical level, there are four broad philosophical schools of thought that apply to education today. They are: 1. Idealism 2. Realism 3. Pragmatism (sometimes called experientialism), and 4. Existentialism.
The nature of reality for Existentialists is subjective and lies within the individual. The physical world has no inherent meaning outside of human existence. Individual choice and individual standards rather than external standards are central. Existence comes before any definition of what we are. We define ourselves in relationship to that existence by the choices we make. We should not accept anyone else's predetermined philosophical system; rather, we must take responsibility for deciding who we are. The focus is on freedom, the development of authentic individuals, as we make meaning of our lives.
Related to education, the subject matter of existentialist classrooms should be a matter of personal choice. Teachers view the individual as an entity within a social context in which the learner must confront others' views to clarify his or her own. Character development emphasizes individual responsibility for decisions. Real answers come from within the individual, not from outside authority. Examining life through authentic thinking involves students in genuine learning experiences. Existentialists are opposed to thinking about students as objects to be measured, tracked, or standardized. Such educators want the educational experience to focus on creating opportunities for self-direction and self-actualization. They start with the student, rather than on curriculum content.
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10. Logical Analysis
Logic is the branch of philosophy that seeks to organize reasoning. Students of logic learn how to think in a structurally sound manner. Logic has two types: deductive and inductive reasoning. ... Inductive reasoning involves taking specific examples and considering the general principles, rules, or cases that caused them.
It has often been noted that philosophy and science express two very different types of attitude of the human mind. The scientific mind searches for knowledge, i.e., for propositions which are true, which agree with reality. On a high level, it rises to the construction of a theory which connects the scattered and, in their isolation, unintelligible facts and in this way explains them. But the philosopher cannot be satisfied with this. The very nature of knowledge and truth becomes problematic to him; he would like to get down to the deeper meaning of what the scientist does. Now what can be gained through philosophy is an increase in inner clarity. The results of philosophical reflection are not propositions but the clarification of propositions. Philosophy can be called the logical analysis of our thoughts.
But what does this logical analysis consist in? It seems to me that the correct philosophical attitude depends to a large extent on clarity at this point, and it is therefore in our interest to become more familiar with this concept. Analysis means dissection, dismemberment. Thus, logical analysis seems to mean, dissection of a thought into its ultimate logical elements.
Propositions can be tied together and assembled into higher units, and this can be done in various ways. Language employs different conjunctions for this purpose, like 'and', ‘or’'if, 'because', 'although', 'after', etc. These can be put into two sharply separated categories, which will be illustrated by the following examples:
'it has been getting warm and the sun is shining'
'it has been getting warm because the sun is shining'
The characteristic difference between the two kinds of conjunctions is this: In the first case we only need to establish the truth of the individual propositions to be certain of the truth of the whole; but not in the second case: even if it has been getting warm and the sun is shining, there need be no causal connection between the two processes. The truth of the complex proposition is not yet guaranteed by the truth of its parts.
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