Meaning of Philosophical Basis of Education
Meaning of Philosophy
The literal meaning of the English word Philosophy is affection for knowledge. Indian interpretation penetrates more deeply, because according to the Indian concept, the field of philosophy is not limited to knowledge but encompasses the whole personality in itself. Philosophy is not a matter of contemplation but a matter of feeling. The overall personality changes due to the sense of intellectual fulfillment through philosophy. If it is said in the language of self-realistic Indian philosophy, then it is true that only self-knowledge through philosophy leads to self-realization.
Philosophical Basis of Education
Philosophy is the mainstay of education. It is through philosophy that a definite form is given to the purpose of education, curriculum, method of teaching, discipline, school system, etc. Butler said that "philosophy is a guide for the experiments of education". Gentile says that "without the help of philosophy the process of education cannot progress on the right path".
Rusk is of the view that "every approach to educational problems demands a philosophical basis for education". Philosophy is very necessary for education because education is necessary for life and philosophy is also necessary. Therefore, the need for philosophy is natural for education, philosophy cannot be separated from education because philosophy itself relates education to life and provides a definite direction and goal to the process of education.
Relation between Philosophy and Education
There is an interdependent and inseparable relationship between philosophy and education. The famous educationist Ross has said that "Philosophy and education are two sides of the same coin which present different perspectives of the same thing and they are embedded in each other. Philosophy is the reflective side of life and education is functional side".
Philosophy and education complement each other. To understand the purpose of education, system and organization of education and development of teaching methods etc., it is necessary to acquire knowledge of philosophical thought streams. That is why Fichte has said that, "Education cannot achieve perfection and clarity without the help of philosophy".
Education is the means of development of human life. Education has a special hand in creating the conditions. Philosophy creates the goal and education acts as a means of achieving this goal. Therefore there is a close relationship between philosophy and education. Adams has said that, "Education is the active side of philosophy. It is the active side of philosophical thought and the experimental means of achieving the ideals of life".
In relation to philosophy and education, Rusk wrote that, "from every angle of the education problem thus demands a philosophical basis of the subject". There is no escape from the philosophy of life and education. Those who show pride in neglecting philosophy also have a philosophy, albeit a completely inadequate one, as Schopenhauer puts it, "every person is a philosopher by birth".
The relation of philosophy and education has been expressed by Butler in these words, "Philosophy serves as a guide for the educational process, whereas education being a field of research presents some kind of provided material which is the basis of philosophical judgments".
Thus it becomes clear that there is a close relationship between philosophy and education. Expressing his views in this regard, the famous educationist Dewey has said, "Philosophy can be called the general principle of education". Gentle says, "Those who believe that the process of education can go well without a connection to philosophy, show an inability to understand the pure nature of education".
The relationship between philosophy and education can be explained in the following two ways-
(1). Impact of philosophy on education
(2). Impact of education on philosophy
Impact of Philosophy on Education
Philosophy affects education due to written reasons-
- Education is the practical side of philosophy.
- Great educationists have been great philosophers.
- Education is based on philosophy.
- Philosophy has a profound effect on various aspects of education.
Impact of Education on Philosophy
Education influences philosophy due to the following reasons-
- Education is the cornerstone of philosophy
- Education is a means of building philosophy
- Education gives birth to philosophy.
- Education develops philosophy.
- Education keeps philosophy alive.
- Education keeps philosophy dynamic.
- Education provides reflective material to philosophy.
Indian Concept of Philosophy
In ancient India, any type of thinking was called philosophy, but as the field of knowledge developed, we started dividing it into different disciplines; Such as anthropology, theology, economics and medicine etc. That branch of knowledge in which the ultimate truth of this universe is discovered, we have given it the name of philosophy. In the Upanishad period, philosophy was accepted in this form. Then the definition of philosophy was- "that which is to be seen, that is, to see the truth, is philosophy".
In the search for the ultimate truth, we had to ponder over the nature of the universe and its doer and non-existent cause. Philosophers thought the most on the real nature of man himself and in that context there was a lot of thought on the soul-Parmatma, the living-world, knowledge-knowledge, means of acquiring knowledge and the causal and non-actionable actions of man. Later on, all this became the subject matter of philosophy. Philosophy in our country is still accepted as the ultimate truth-searching scripture. In the words of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan- "Philosophy is a logical interpretation of the nature of truth".
Western Concept of Philosophy
The first development of philosophy in the western world took place in the country of Greece. Initially, the field of philosophy was very wide there too, but as the field of knowledge developed, philosophy became limited as an independent discipline. The word Philosophy is used in English for philosophy, which is made up of two Greek words Philos and Sophia, Philos means love and Sophia means knowledge, hence Philosophy means love of knowledge. This is the broad meaning of philosophy. The Greek philosopher Pluto accepted philosophy in this sense. In his words- a person who aspires to acquire knowledge in the right way and is always eager to learn and never stops contentedly, is indeed a philosopher.
Real Concept of Philosophy
It is clear from the above discussion that there is a slight difference between the Indian approach and the western view of philosophy and that even today in most of the Indian philosophy, the first is the creation-creator, soul-Parmatma, life-world, knowledge-ignorance and human life. The ultimate objective of the mind and the means to achieve it are considered and then taking this knowledge as the basis of reason, all the knowledge-science of man and all his material and spiritual achievements are logically discussed. Whereas in most of the western philosophies, there is a tendency to reason without considering the creation-creator, soul-parmatma, soul-world etc.
Without understanding the mystery of human life, how can one be sure of what is useful to him! We Indians should not blindly imitate western philosophers. Our sages have given us true philosophy, on the basis of which we can give a true explanation of any object or action. From our point of view there is no existence of philosophy without metaphysics, knowledge and logic and philosophy of values and ethics. Even today, we have our attitude towards this universe, making it the basis of logic, we discuss all the objects, actions and knowledge-science of the world. From our point of view, philosophy should be defined as:
"Philosophy is that branch of knowledge which deals with the ultimate truth of the entire universe and the real nature of human being, the creation-creator, the soul-Parmatma, the soul-world, knowledge-ignorance, methods of acquiring knowledge and the ultimate aim of human life and achieving it. The means are logically discussed".
Scope of Philosophy
Indian thinkers mainly divide the study area of philosophy into three parts- Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Ethics. Second and Western thinkers mainly divide the study area of philosophy into five parts. Expresses- Metaphysics, Epistemology, Axiology, Logic and Aesthetics. Here the description of the study material of these three is presented in brief.
(1). Metaphysics:- The field of metaphysics in philosophy is very wide. In this, the elements related to creation i.e. the science of creation, the science of creation and the science of existence come and the element related to the soul and the elemental knowledge related to God come. In this, along with the creation-creator, soul-Parmatma and the living-world, the explanation of human life and the real beauty are also discussed. The interpretation of real beauty is now called aesthetics. Whatever has been thought and thought in this area so far, its logical analysis is its subject matter.
(2). Epistemology and Logic:- Human intelligence in the field of epistemology, nature of knowledge, limits of knowledge, authenticity of knowledge, means of acquiring knowledge, methods of acquiring knowledge, relationship between the knower and the known, Methods of reasoning, truth-false proofs and explanations of illusions. Whatever has been thought and thought in this area so far, its logical analysis is its subject matter.
(3). Values and Ethics:- In the field of values and ethics, there is a discussion of the ideals and values of human life, the means to achieve the ultimate purpose of human life, and the causal and non-actionable actions of human beings. Discussion ensues. The discussion of causal and non-actionable actions is called ethics. We know that any ideal assumes the form of value only when it is reflected in our conduct, becomes part of our conduct. In this, along with the explanation of this word, the methods of attaining the real beauty of life also come. Whatever has been thought and thought in this area so far, its logical analysis is its subject matter.
Historical Background of Philosophical Basis of Education
The history of the world tells that the development of the educational institution was first done in our country India and in the Vedic period (2500-500 BC) a rich education system had developed here. At that time the education was based on Vedic religion philosophy. After Vedic religion, 500 BC to 1200 BC in this country. Until then Buddhism dominated. This is called the Buddhist period.
In the Buddhist period, a new education system developed here which was based on Buddhist philosophy and was much richer and stronger than the Vedic education system. But on the basis of philosophical thought, the Greek philosopher Plato first presented the idea of education in a holistic manner and also founded the Academy on the basis of his ideas. After Plato, his disciple Aristotle also considered the system of his adaptation education with his philosophical thought. After this, the era of educational thought started in western countries along with philosophical thinking.
Impact of Philosophical Basis on Indian Education
Today there is hardly any country in the world which does not put forth its philosophy of life in determining the nature of its education. In our country, from the very beginning, education has been based on religion and philosophy. But before the arrival of the British, it was based only on a particular religion and philosophy of India. The British introduced us to western philosophies- Idealism, Realism, Naturalism and Pragmatism during their reign and introduced them to their philosophical thought along with their educational thought and also the beginning of their application.
The present era is the era of globalization. Today, any country does not hesitate in adopting the ideas of educational thinkers of the country and abroad and useful elements from the education systems of the country and abroad in determining the nature of its education, it takes full advantage of them. Our country India is at the forefront in this field.
Meanwhile, there has been a drastic change in the nature of discipline in the education of our country. Once in our country, following the orders of teachers was considered as discipline and there was a provision of atonement in case of mistake. After this, the legislation of strict penal system for the establishment of discipline started and this legislation continued till the beginning of the twentieth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the American philosopher Dewey defined discipline as an internal force of man that leads man to think and behave socially. According to Dewey, the development of power in man occurs automatically by participating in social activities. According to Dewey, for the development of this discipline, there should be a loving, sympathetic and supportive environment in the schools.
Overall, it can be said that at present there is a role of philosophical, sociological, psychological and political reforms in the formation of education of any country and in these the role of philosophical base is as the foundation stone, especially of our country India. in education.