MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY KAIMOSI FRIENDS UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS EDF 211: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION PART ONE: INTRODUCTION TO PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION PHILOSOPHY ‘The term [Philos phy is etymologically derived from two Greek words phileint meaning love, to stri veafter, to search for; and sophia! meaning wisdom. Thus nominal definition of Philosophy is ‘to lo ve wisdom It means to strive after or to search for wisdom, in other words, itis the search for knowledge and et emal truth Philosophy is a study that seeks to understand themysteries of existerice and realty. It tries to disc over thenature of truth and knowledge and find what is basic value and importance of life Philosophy thus involves a search for wisdom by a philosopher. Philosophers take nothing for grant ed: not even themselves or their wisdom as such they are constantly searching for answers and are concerned with the meaning and significance of Ife. This search can make them a nuisanceto every’ oneeg. Socrates spent most of his time in the streets of Athens going round discussing with peopl taking nothing for granted and question ing everything e.g. what is good, what is true, what is bea Utiful, what is courage, justice democracy. He considered his task similar to that of a midwife and a sculptor:to bring to birth a new idea, and to create new things, new knowledge respectively. Eventu ally people in the state of Athens grew tired of him and put him to death Doing philosophy (in the wider sense) includes any serious attempt by people to artiveat an answer or response to the basic questions of human life. A philosopher is anyone who shows concern and t akes nothing for granted: instead, he searches and searches hoping thereby to arrive at a tentative (unsure/provisional) answer, a typical human response. The term philosophy’ when used in its sin gular form refers to process or activity involving philosophical thinking. in its plural form, {Philosophi es! points to a product Le. the outcome of the philosophical process. Philosophical thinking produce a philosophical thought. The philosopher's world is very curious and odd because it consists of tw worlds: the wide world of general philosophy and the smaller world of philosophers. General Philosophy: A Wide World “The beginning of phiiosophy coincides with the beginnings of man; Homo sapiens (sapiens means w ise, a word often used to refer to a philosopher. Philosophy is both particular and universal i. i vari es ftom timeto time (traditional or modem), from place to place (European, African, Asian etc.). Part “d rT_ L icular means that, a human being facing different situations in different places at different times isl kely to respond differently to these situations. Universality of philosophy means that philosophy as a human response can be found in every period of history in every cukure/ society on earth. Doing p hilosophy is not a preoccupation of scholars only but all humanity b ecause they all question their hu manity, human condition and experiences of life. Africans expressing their traditional thought throu ah stories, riddles and proverbs is as much part of philosophy as books by renown philosophers e.g Plato in_The Republic Ona’ philosophy of life e.g. to bea farmer, teacher, carpenter etc is as much philosophy as national philosophies e.g, Kenyalis Nyayo Philosophy, Tanzanial’s ama. All these belong to the wide word of general philosophy because they express man’s response to life though quite varied and with limi tations. A thought is considered philosophical in character because of its authenticity of thought. Th ete1m authenticity comes from Greekauthentes! meaning one whe does things himself (autos). t thus imples thinking that is independent, genuine, original, critical and sincere giving a personal ans ‘wer to a personal question through a personal struggle. People however call such thinkers mwalimu, guru, sage but reserve the term philosopher for recognized academic scholars mostly of Western or European origin Technical Philosophy (A Small World) ‘This is referred to as formal/academic philosophy. In this sense, it is an academic discipline comprisi ng of specialized content, methods and specialists known as philosophers. In a technical sense, phil osophy refers to process and product. Asa process, ft refers to the activity of vigorous thinking con cerning perplexing questions’issues of life, Product refers to the out come of such thinking ie. establ ished systems of thought, views and ideas. Technical philosophy applies to few people; individuals w ho ate committed to scrutinizing issues, problems going beyond the surface common sense aspects, to their logical composition. This small world has evolved fromthe large world of philosophy charact etized by the following factors: Formalization © Itisa process whereby a definite formis given to a variety of human activities; formrefers to the presence of a structure, pattem or system. Formalization in our context in philosophy ref ers to formalization of thought. ‘© Initially, philosophy consisted of the general amorphous sense, With the advent of writing, th e various philosophical thought began to be expressed in a more definite, systematic and las ting form. © Today the world of technical philosophy is a world of books, scholarly writings, forrmal langu age and systematic thought because it is an exclusive domain for academic scholars leaving no room for oraltraditions of the past and common philosophies of life. © Writing also allowed for debate and as long as debate continued, philosophy continued to th rive, Westernization Western civilization has greatly influenced the field of learning to an extent that philosophy is attributed to Westem philosophers. “d 2 [Itis believed that philosophy originated from ancient Greece and was further developed in E urope and America. Philosophy is closey associated with Western civilization to an extend t hat anyone interested in it must be familiar with the various systems like realism (emphasize sthat there is a world of real existence which exists indepen dently of hurnan mind), idealism (stresses the idea that reality is an expression of the mind: knowledge is based on recognitio n/remembrance of latent/inborn ideas already present in the mind), pragmatism (views reali ty asa changing phenomenon: man sees reality differently as he interacts with it), as well as the philosophical language that is associated with it. ‘Asa result of this, Western philosophy is assumed to be the standard of technical philosoph y.For instance, ancient Egypt played a very big rolein the field of leamiing such as medicine and philosophy. Ancient Greece and anyone who had studied in Egypt was highly regarded a san authority. Specialization Refers to the acquisition of exceptional knowledge of, or skills in a given discipline/subject as a result of constant and intensive study. In ancient Greece, a philosopher was a scholar who specialized in the exploration of the natu re of man and the world. The knowledge was not dichotomized into rational and ernpirical d omains. A philosopher was thus a Master of Arts and Science Due to westernization, western specialists started at one time to dominate the field of forma | philosophy and subsequently imposed their language, interests and methods upon others making formal philosophy highly technicaland a matter for experts; hvays within the Weste m context. ‘Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher wrote widely on ethics, politics, fine art, logic, biology and physics. Philosophy was referred to as the mother of all sciences, the most distinguished science sci entia eminential!. With the advent of scientific evolution, the empirical sciences were detache d from philosophy. Later on, other disciplines like sociology, psychology and anthropology de veloped as independent disciplines from philosophy. These developments led to a situation where philosophy acquired its own methods, content and terminologies. ‘A student of education doesnot require technical philosophy specialization but an introduction in or der to understand the meaning and significance of educational philosophy as an academic disciplin e Revision questions 1 2 3 “] What do you understand by the term philosophy? Distinguish between technical and general philosophy. Why is the world of technical philosophy a domain for a few? RELEVANCE OF PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION TO EDUCATORS Philosophy of Education is a pertinent course o profound significance to educators. It plays fundamental role in making educators more effective in the performance of their duties. As an academic discipiine, Philosophy of education benefits the educator in the following ways: It equips the teacher with philosophical methods of critical, analytic, evaluative and speculat ve character. These arenecessary in education, they sharpen their personal etitical and creat ivethinking, Beyond ther own interest, prejudices, emotions, and traditional or laymani’s edua L cational notions. Philosophy of education thus makes edu cators more ertioal and creative in their e vi ReNS ducational practices ‘The discipline enhances .open rrindedness in the educator. This it does by loosening traditio nal conservative, rigid and d ogratia attitudes among educators. Philosophy liberates individ uals from narrow mindedness and meanness of vision. It helps them keep an open mind on any subject, giving room for improvement since new evidence may render previously held opi nions less tenable. Philosophy thus makes educators more flexible and ready to accept new changes in their educational endeavor Philosophy of education helps teachers to develop the art of correct reasoning and the abilt y to identify and avoid fallacies in arguments in their teaching and general education practic e Itenhances the teachers ability to interpret understand and influence the prevailing educati onal policies and activities. Philosophy enables the teachers to give recommendations for im provements where educational policies have failed. This is important as they are theimpleme nters of the policies and curriculum Philosophy of education offers a personal intellectual education to the teacher whose task is to stimulate the intellectual interest of the learners academic discipline. The course satisfies the teacher's personal intellectual curiosity. It also boosts one’s confidence due to clearer vi sion of the basis of educational activities that it gives the teacher. Educational philosophy above alll awakens the teacher's desire for more knowledge. True to the sentiments of the Asian philosopher , Tagore Rabindranath: “A teacher can never truly teachunless he is stil earning, as a lamp can never light a nother lampunless it centinues to bur it's own flame! Summary In this topic we have leamt that. Philosophy of education has both a common sense notion and a professional or technical se nse notion Philosophy of education as an academic discipline is the application of philosophical analyse s, critical attitudes and abilities to the issues of education Philosophy of education addresses specific problems in education. These problems are of ex istential nature National Philosophy of education of a country is very important and rrust be based on certa in key criteria Philosophy of education has relevance to the Teacher Education Programme Topic Review Questions Define the concept off Philosophy of Educat ion Discuss the nature of probjems addressed in Philosophy of Education Critically analyse the basic criteria for a National Philosophy of Education Justify the relevance of Philosophy of Education toa teacher Materials For Further Reading AggarwalJ.C (1968) Theories and Principles of Education ‘Akinpelu, J. (1981) introduction ta Philesoply of Education Kiruki, J. (1997) Introduction to Critical Thinking Kneler, G(1971) introduction to Philosophy of Education) Njoroge RJ & Bennaars G.A (1994) Philosophy and Education in Africa. -_ L CONTENT OF TECHNICAL PHILOSOPHY “This philosophy is concerned with four main areas rramely; logic, epistemology, axiology and metaph ysies. These are called the branches of philosophy. 1 Logic Itreferstothe study of correct reasoning, It deals with the structure and principles of sound argume nits. On our daily basis, individuals are engaged in various forms of arguments, where premises/stat ements are made and conclusions drawn. In most cases, wrong conclusions are arrived at involving ‘wrong premises and undue generalzat ions. Logic is essential because it stipulates how arguments should be constructed and how fallacies (erroneous beliefs or myths) can be detected and avoided Within logic, two forms of reasoning can be distinguished: deductive and inductive. (@) Deductivereasoning ‘This involves reasoning from generalte particular instances. In this case, a conclusion is inferred or deduced from general premises/statements/propositions. For example: (Syllogism) () —_AIIPGDE students are untrained teachers John isa PGDE student John is an untrained teacher (i) Allhumman beings are liable to make mistakes Mike is a human being Mike makes mistakes Gi) Allhuman beings have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God Mary is a human being Mary has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (v) —Allhuman beings are mortal John is a human being John is mortal Further examples: © Private schools perform well in national examinations © Alluniversity students are immoral “The above reasoning has been expressed in syllogism forn the first twwo statements need to be stat ed before the third can follow logically. This type of reasoning is prevalent in philosophy, religion and mathematics, (i) Inductive reasoning It involves general laws/conclusions being inferred from particular instances. It is the rever se of ded ctive reasoning. In this type of reasoning, various instances of a given specimen are observed over a period of time, The observation leads to general conclisions/la ws being established. This type of r easoning is applicable with ernpirical sciences. (The challenge of generalizability) Hitler was a dictator and was ruthless (1st Premise) “d rT_ L ‘Amin was a dictator and was ruthless (2 Premise) Castro is a dictator “Therefore Castro is probably ruthless (Conclusion) In modern philosophy, logic is expressed in two main dimensions: Symbolic logic involving mathematical symbols application of symbols to explain phenome naeg atb=4:b= 40a © Analytic logic! prevalently used by analytic philosophers who emphasise the logical analysis of language to arrive at clear meanings of terms/concepts. Students studying science, arts or education should be farniiar with the basic rules of logic so as to enable one reason correctly and use language meaningfully. Importance of logic Logic helps us reason correctly and avoid fallacies, errors in reasoning It is anecessary tool for philosophical and scientific thinking. As such, logic should not be left for pr fessional philosophers alone, learners studying other disciplines, education included, should be fam iliar with the basic principles of logic so as to reason correctly and use language meaningfully. Logic aids the concept ualization of the educational policies and realization of educational objectives. It eq ips the teacher the right reasoning and the right language necessary for effective curriculum conte nt delivery and with the ability to make necessary inferences in the educational practice. It helps see k clarity and meaning of concepts and statements. Logic also helps us to overcome narrowness of mind and dogmatism Fallacies Fallacies ate defined as mistakes in belief based on an unsound argument. There are ma ny different types of such mistakes that can occur. Fallacies are rristakes of reasoning, as opposed to raking mistakes that are of a factual nature. If | counted twenty people in the room when there were in fact twenty-one, then | made a factual mistak On the other hand, if | believe that there are round squares, | am believing something that is incon sistent. Thisis a mistake of reasoning, and a fallacy, since | should not have believed something inco sistent if my reasoning is good ‘Afallacy is undesirable or unreliable kind of inference/argument Fallacies are defects in an argument- other than false premises - which cause an argum ent to be invalid, unsound or weak. Fallacies can be separated into two general groups: f ormal and informal. A formal fallacy is a defect which can be identified merely by lookin “]gat the logical structure of an argument rather than any specific statements. Informal fa llacies are defects which can be identified only through an analysis of the actual content of the argument. Formal Fallacies Formal fallacies are only found only in deductive arguments with identifiable forms. One of the things which makes them appear reasonable is the fact that they look like and mi mic valid logical arguments, but are in fact invalid. Here is an example: © 1. All humans are mammals. (premise) 2. All cats are mammals. (premise) 3. All humans are cats. (conclusion) Both premises in this argument are true but the conclusion is false. The defect is a form al fallacy, and can be demonstrated by reducing the argument to its bare structure: © 1.AllAatec 2. All Bare C 3. All Aare B It does not matter what A, Band C stand for! we could replace them with "wines," ‘milk and ‘beverages.’ The argument would still be invalid and for the exact same reason. As y ou see, it can be helpful to reduce an argument to its structure and ignore content in orde rto see if itis valid. Informal Fallacies Informal fallacies are defects which can be identified only through an analysis of the act, ual content of the argument rather than through its structure. Here is an example #1. Geological events produce rock. (premise) 2. Rock is a type of music. (premise) 3. Geological events produce music. (conclusion) The premises in this argument are true, but clearly the conclusion is false. Is the defect a formal fallacy oran informal fallacy? To see if this is actually a formal fallacy, we have t o break it down to its basie structure: © 1A=B “] 7_ L This structure is valid; therefore the defect cannot bea formal fallacy and must instead be an informal fallacy identifiable from the content. When we examine the content we fi ind that a key term, ‘rock is being used with two different definitions (the technical term f or this sort of fallacy is Equivocation) Informal fallacies can work in several ways. Some distract the reader from what is really going on. Some, like in the above example, make use of vagueness or ambiguity to caus e confusion. Some appeal to emotions rather than logic and reason. Epistemology “This is the ph dosophical study of knowledge, Epistemology is derived fromtwo Greek words:" episte me (knowledge) and ‘fogia’ (study). It deals with philosophical reflection on issues related to knowle dge. It involves philosophical reflection on issues related to knowledge, Epistemology aims at determ ining the origin, nature, basis and extent of human knowledge. It explores the various ways of knowi 1ng, the nature of truth and the relationship between knowledge and belief. Precisely, Epistemology is the philosophical study of thenature, origin, possibility, value and limit/extent of human knowledge ‘At the core of epistemology and indeed philosophy is the epistemological problem. This is about the ‘hole question of the capacity of human mind to know, and the process of knowing, possibilty of k nowing, how the mind comes to know and the process of knowing, possibility of knowing, how the rmind comes to know, and with what degree of certitude the mind can know. Epistemology is a problem of philosophy. Epistemological questions asked are lke! What do we really know, How can webe certain that we have the truth What is the extent of human knowledge? How do we know what we claim to know? What is knowledge? What is truth? What can we really know/ What does it mean to say that I know something? © What are the sources of knowledge? To claim to know something is to claim to possess the truth. But can we be certain that we possess ‘the truth? More often two functions claim to possess truths of contradicting natures. The question t hus is, is truth absolute or relative? Over the times, in history, there have been conflicting schools of ‘thought in response to these questions and in the development of epistemology as a whole. The sc hools of thought include Skepticism, Rationalism and Empiricism Importance of Epistemology ‘© Epistemology enables us to identify various sources of knowledge. © Enables us to distinguish truth from fallacies “d 8 [# Enables.us to understand appropriate pedagogical approaches © Assistancein curriculum formulation points Skepticism Skepticism is the theory that we do not have any knowledge. It holds that, we cannot be certain of a ny of our beliefs. Skept icis mis the philosophical school of thought that holds that the human mind | acks knowledge. Man can only achieve probable knowledge .eideas whose validity is only highly pro bable. It holds that certainty of knowledge is impossible and that everything is subject to doubt. Its, thus viewed as the philosophy of dogmatic doubt. Gorgias, an Athenian skeptic, for instance conten ded that ¢Nothing existed; even if anything existed we would not be able to know... Skeptics dou bted the capactty of the human mind to know the truth with certainty. They came up and not willing ‘to commit themselves, resorted to suspension of judgment, They hold that doubt is the absolute crit erion of truth. Relativistic Philosophy held that we are at the mercy of opinion. Theres no stable an d permanent truth. Rather truth is for each of us what we can be persuaded to believe. Critics of Skepticism contend that universal skepticism is self-contradicting doctrine. If you doubt ev erything, they argue, how then you claim that doubting is the best way to attain the truth or knowle dge? Universal doubt would imply doubting even the doubting itself thus cannot be the absolute crit erion of truth, Itis to benoted that skepticism does not help much in solving the epistemological problem. The fact, if doubt is only a state of mind in which oneis inciined to one thing and doesnot have certainty. This does not destroy onet’s capacity to attain certain knowledge. The right approach to the problemi t © face it with critical enquiry and not to doubt everything, Facts of immediate experience, analytic tr uths or self-evident truths, the first principles and historical truths are universal and cannot be doubs ‘ted. We are thus led to assert that truth is objective, universal and immutable; it's only our knowledg eof Ithat changes. Rationalism On the Epistemological problem, Rationalism as a phiosophy or doctrine holds that human knowled geof truth is attainable. The human mind has the abilty to know. Man is capable of acquiring indubi table knowledge. The school contends that knowledge is based on pure reason, rather than on sens e perception. That is, truth is derived from reason and reason is superior to and as well as independe nt of sense experience. Proponents hold that knowledge is deducible from prior concepts or necessa ry ideas. Led by Rene Descartes they embrace reason as the only valid criterion of truth. Rational kn owledge is lke the mind's indubitable and clear knowledge of its own existence. For Descartes, what ever is ckar and distinct as the mind's consciousness of self must be true. Thus the only source of t rue knowledge is the human intellect. He says, for man to reach the objective truth he must distrust the senses and only trust the intellect. Descartes believed in existence of innate ideas, that the rind possesses knowledge at birth in which knowledge we have apriaviie. prior to experience. Pointing t hat senses are often unreliable and itis prudent never to trust entirely those who have deceived us e vven once (e.g. mirage, refraction, etc), Descartes saw the need to base his scientific system on secur emetaphy sical foundations. Rationalists however, do not reject empirical knowledge but only question its scientific importance. S “d 3 [_ L ‘ometimes they refuse to call it knowledge at all to them knowled eis a priori, The outstanding ratio nalsts include Plato, St Augustine, Benedict of Spinoza, Hegel, but most notable of al is Rene Desca rtes, a French philosopher. They held that true knowledges inborn, not acquired Empiricism ‘The Philosophy of Rationalism encountered opposition from the British empiricists who held that no innate knowledge exists. Whatever knowledge man poses he has acquired either during the natal pe riod or after. Empiricism is a doctrine which states that all knowledge comes from or is based on sen se perception and that all knowledge is a posterior\ that is, derived from experience. Empiricists arg ue that all real knowledge depends ultimat ely on experience. That the human mind contains nothing except what experience puts there i.e. the only source of substantive knowledge is experience. All hu man knowledge must be grounded in experience. According to this school of thought, Sense percept ion isthe genuine source of human knowledge. Empiricists thus believe that human mind is capable of obtaining reliable knowledge. They argue tha ‘anything beyond matter not subject to our senses and cannot therefore be known. They assert tha ‘there is nothing in the intellect which was not first in the senses. All our ideas are derived fromexpe rience “The chief proponent of Empiricism was an Englishman, John Locke, who was the first to launch a sy tematic attack on the claim that reason alone could provide us with knowledge. Locke compared th e human mind to theclean blank slate. He said the human mind at birth is empty like a blank slate or ‘abul-arasa, ike a white paper devoid of characteristics until it receives sense perception. The mind is a blank slate upon which experience alone can write knowledge. It’s lke a recording machine that re gisters impressions fromthe external world. Al knowledge begins with sensory experience upon whi ch the powers of the mind operate, developing complex ideas, and abstractions. Empiricists are thus emphatic that the human mind is capable of knowing; that there are no innate ideas or inborn knowl edge and that all knowledge is a posterior! i.e. on the basis of experience. Empiricists in as much as they made commendable contributions in search of solutions to the Episte mological problem, fel in a similar ditch ike the Rationalists, Both are guilty of overemphasizing one faculty of knowing at the expense of the other, We cannot use only one of our facilities as the basis of true and certain knowledge, we musthave both, sense and intellect, tt is notable that senses alon ecan deceive us and that not all people are endowed with all the senses, for instance, the blind and t he deaf, these too do know. Remedy is to be found in the German Philosopher, Emmanuel Kant. ‘The Kantian Synthetic Philosophy Kant tried to reconcile the Rationalists with the Empiricists on the solution to the epistemological pro ble On the question, who is right? The Rationalists from Plato to Descartes who argued that reas on aloneis the ukimate source of knowledge, that knowledge is derived frominnate ideas OR the E mpiricists lke Locke and Hume who held that experiences the only source of knowledge, whether th efe exist innate ideas or our minds are completely empty at birth and need experience to write upon i +. Instead of choosing between the two views, Kant analyzed the nature of the act of knowing and c concluded that; both the mind, endowed with a priori perceptions and the sensory impressions must, Unite to yield valid (scientific) knowledge. That fs to say, human knowledge is both rational and epi rical, All human knowledge begins with oris related to the experience: however, they also contend th at not all knowledge is derived from experience. “d 0 [a Allman knowledge begins with the senses, but it does not end there. The intellect, being a higher p ower of knowing, utiizes the content (raw data) provided to it by the senses to translate and elabor ate it into ideas, judgments and reasoning process. Analysis of his experience forces man to recogni ze intellectual knowledge as different from and more perfect that sensible knowledge although it do es not force him to conclude that intellect and senses operate in isolation. Rather, the two unite in th e process of knowing. For Kant knowledges a synthesis of two elements, one given from outside (s ense experience) the other is a prior mental form (intellect/reason) through which the former is perc eived, The resuk of this is the phenomenon which is the thing as it appears. But the thing as it isin it self, says Kant, is forever unknowable From the above exposition its admissible that Philosophy in its content has many implications for ducation in its conception and practice. 2 Axiology Itis the philosophical/rational study of values. The term is derived from Greek words logia (study) a ind axia (values). Itis subdivided into the following sub branches: (a) Ethics or moral philosophy i reflects on the origin and nature of moral values: meaning of w hat is right and wrong. (b) Aesthetics philos ophical study of artistic values. interested in meaning of beauty, art. (©) Social and cultural philosophy! study of values related to societies and cultures (@ Poltical philosophy & deals with study of politics, governance et. ‘The philosophical study of values is restricted to the prescriptive domains. Values fall under three ca tegories: © Objective’ values considered to be universal e.g. good, truth, beauty, freedom, love. © Relative’ values that depends on personal preference. © Hierarchical’ ordering values from the least desirable to the most desirable Philosophical reflection on va lues becomes necessary when people are no longer certain about what is important, worthwhile valuable for one’s life, It’s applied when people are faced with conflicting moral standards or confronted with radically opposed ideologies that call for the need for one to thi nk about the foundation of morality and the society. Ethics/moral philosophy have a great link with education. 3 Metaphysics “The term (Metaphysiost is a combination of the Greek expression meta ta phusikaliwhich means af ter the physics. This indicates the nature of metaphysics as that beyond the physical nature. (kiruki 2004:51) This term refers to what goes beyond (meta) physics, beyond the study nature. It is the stu dy of matter and its relationship with energy. It deals with questions, things or concems that lie afte ror beyond the physical world of sense experience. Traditionally it is subdivided into four areas: ¢ Cosmolagy. the study of the universe (cosmos). It has to do with the origin and nature mean ing of the universe. This is done rationally ¢ Theodicy. rational investigation of the super natural, It belongs to the field of theology where religious concepts and beliefs are assessed Ontology: the philosophical study of tbeing’. What is the meaning of existence? What compri ses matter? What is man/woman? What is the essence of being? L “d rT_ L Rational or philosophical psychology: philosophy of the mind. It investigates into the intricat e processes of perceiving, imagining, remembering, feeling, understanding, wiling, It attempt sto solve the mind/body problem; their composition, nature and relationship eg, can mind s urvive destruction of the body? Revision questions 1 Towhat extent are the contents of philosophy relevant to education? 2 Whyisit important for teachers to grasp a clear understanding of logic? Methods of Technical Philosophy 1 Critical Method/ Socratic Method “The term Geritical is derived from a Greek verb Krincin meaning to judge. It involves subjecting of val tues, facts, principles, conversations and assumptions; usually taken for granted to severe questionin g, This is meant to encourage honesty of thought. It seeks to protect man from fanaticismand hypo ciisy, intolerance and dogmatism, slogans and ideologies in order to liberate man from narrow rind edness and meanness of vision. This method is also called the Socratic Method. Itis liberating and onstructivein the sense that it seeks to evaluate, to judge things in the light of clear and distinct idea . This method assumes that there is no end to seeking the truth about reality. Every step of inquiry proceeds by a critical examination of what is already known and held astruein the hope of obtainn ga more objective and superior solution. 2 ‘The Rational Method/ Analytical Method It emphasized the need for logical and systematic thinking. its knowledge based on pure reason. Its greatly interested in logic being the art of correct reasoning. It consists of analysis and synthesis. A alysis method has to do with breaking issued into parts and by the power of systematic and logical thinking in order to arrive at a clear understanding. Such thinking must not be haphazard or confusi ng; t should be clear making the necessary distinctions separating clearly what is essential, what m atters from what is accidental and of less importance. It classified as primarily analytical thinking b ecauise it cuts an issue into parts, analyses concepts and statements. In addition, the method seeks ‘to analyse concepts, statements and the language used in different contexts in order to clarify andj ustify meanings. Philosophical synthesis has to do with putting together the various parts of an ide a to form a whole. itis used to complement philosophical analysis. Where else analysis breaks an iss ue nto smal parts, synthesis brings together the parts. The aimis to see something in its totality, se e the inter-relationship and the overall framework. The limitation with the rational method ists soler eliance on mind as the source of knowledge neglecting ordinary sense experiences. Rationalists are t hus regarded as idealists who do not live in the real world 3 Phenomenological Method ‘The term phenomenology originated from the Greek word liphenomenont meaning appearance and | gia meaning knowledge. It designates the description or study of appearance especially if the appe arances are sustained and penetrating. itis considers the actual staring point of investigation to be the actual things as they appear, in their essential reality through experience. Things will appear diff erent from one person to another. A philosophers concer is not the differences but to discover the underlying meaning and thus arrive at a deeper understanding of phenomena. By reflecting on an ev “d rT_ L eryday human experience e.g. OF pain, joy, fear, frustration, a philosopher is able to explain the experi ence in concrete terms indicating in which manner the experience affects onels life, whole being or e xistence. It involves a non-biased, non- prejudiced stance in examining phenomenon. Here, preconcel ved theoretical speculations are abandoned. 4 The Speculative Method/ Metaphysical method ‘Also called the metaphysical function. It helps us antswer the why questions. To speculate is to mak en intelligent/rational guess. it endeavors to challenge the human mind as far as possible to its ult imate limits n trying to understand what is apparently incomprehensible, Man is not satisfied with k nowing what happens to him, he also wants to know why. Basic issues of concem in lifeinclude; de ath, suffering happiness. Thereis no simple anewer and many people explain or clarify themin religi us terms believing religion wil give the final answer. Philosophers however prefer to explain these sssues by use of human reason; they want to challenge the human mind as far as possible in trying t understand the incomprehensible. Speculation is very well utilzed in a research hypothesis. 5 Existential Methodu In this method, one is totally involved in the activity. Here a person actively participates in sh aping his own destiny. inventiveness and creativity are thus advocated in this method. Revision question To what extent are methods of philosophy relevant to the teaching and leaming processes. ‘THE CONCEPT OF EDUCTION Itis very complex and thus cannot be defined simple terms due to its diverse shades of meaning, It also applies to diverse activities and processes. Most definitions of education are descriptive in natu re. As such, they do not capturea singleidea but a family of ideas. The meaning of the word educati ‘oncan be accessed froma number of perspectives (@) Descriptive Definition ‘This is the meaning as offered in a dictionary. The meaning is descriptive in nature and inadequate b ecause ft tends to be general and vague eg, the Fontana dictionary defines educating as * Passing on a cultural heritage ‘¢ Initiation of the young into worthwhile ways of thinking and doing Fostering of an individualis growth ‘This definition is limited because it does not explain the cardinal factors requisite in the process of e ducating namely that which has to do with transmission i. how does one do it? Which component of cutural heritage is worth of education? (b) Prescriptive/Normative Definition “This perspective tends to be biased depending on thetthinkers/th eorists involved for instance: Plato defined education in the laws as training, Comenius defined is as the art of teaching all men allthing_ L 5 Milton defines it as the art of knowing everything while Lodge defines it as equivalent to experienc i.e. the experience of man interacting with his/her normal environment. (©) Etymological Definition Etymology is the study of the origin of terms/ words. Accordingly, education is said to be derived fro mthe Latin verb educare In the ancient Rome, the verb referred to the general process of growing u p, of rearing, of bringing up. Originally it designated both the rearing of plants, animals and the brin ging up of children. Based on this definition, education has come to be viewed as the art of mokiing of giving form to an incomplete or delicate person ie. child. It presupposes therole of an adult moldi 1ng the character, mind and psychomotor of the learner. Other scholars tracethe origin of the term e ducation to a Latin word (educara! meaning to lead out or to bring out. In other words, the adult as sists the child to come of age and realize his potential without any shade of coercion. The assump ons that the child is in possession of abiities/potential awaiting to be elicited by proper guidance “The more we pursue the definition of the concept of education along the foregoing paths, the more complex it becomes. Realizing this, analytic philosophers have suggested necessary conditions or cri teria of education. According to R S Peters (1966) in Ethics and Education: Education must involve the transmission of what is worthwhile, valuable or desirable. This is called the iidesirability condition! of education. © Education must involve knowledge and understanding, and some kind of cognitive perspect ve. This is called the knowledge condition of education © Education rules out certain procedures of transmission that lacks wilingness and voluntarie son the part of the leamer. This is the procedural condition of education, Other philosophers, particularly Njoroge and Bennars in Theory and Practice of Education (1994) ha ve reflected on these criteria and proposed four criteria or dimensions of education (@) Education must involve the development of knowledge and understanding (The knowledge/Cog nitive condition). Any reference to education presupposes the acquisition of knowledge & facts, skill ideas, principlese.t.c. It involves intellectual activities like thinking, judging, reasoning, perceiving, deciding e.t.c. If an activity does not involve intellectual process then education cannot be said toh ave taken place. It involves abstraction, discrimination, intuition and imagination. (b) Education should involve the development of individuality (the Creative/skill condition). Educati on should encourage the development of individual unique capacities. Education should make the in dividual creative rather than a docile recipient of knowledge should make one a tool user rather tha ‘tmake one a tool. Education should encourage self- esteem selftreliance, selfideter mination, setfvex. pression and individual growth. Education that places emphasis on knowledge only may producea person who is too academic but lacking social training (well educated). Whenever people see unbeco ming behaviour, the question becomes: ‘where did you go to school? This is because schools are ex pected to make one social. Besides being academically endowed, an educated person should activel Y participate as a creative agent. (©) Education shoutd involve Socialization (The Normative Condition): Education takes place in as “d ‘ rT_ L cial setting and serves social functions. Education as Socialization is the acquisition of Knowledge, values, attitudes, skils to make learners acceptable members of society. These values and skills are passed from one generation to the next. The aims (objectives), content and methods of education a resocially determined. The norms and values transmitted ought to address the mind/the understan ding levelas opposed to mere habit formation. (@) Education should involve dialogue: Education is essentially a process of communication betwee nthe learner and the environment as well as between the learner and teacher. Education as dialogue encourages mutual respect, understanding, free debate and co-operation between learner and teach et. Methods that hinder free and active participation of both teacher and leamers negate proper edu cation. Themethods should neither be too permissivenor too authoritarian, Revision questions 1 Analyse education according to either Njoroge and Bennars ORR S Peters and show its relev ance to the teacher. 2. Discuss antically the concept of education and its relevance to a secondary school teacher ‘THE CONCEPT OF TEACHING Teaching may refer to three aspects ‘* An occupation or a profession ¢ Normal activity of a teacher in a classroom or school situation (enterprise). © Describing an actual teaching exercise (@) Teaching asa profession This entails the following ‘An occupation by which a living is earned. Deeper commit ment. Long duration of preparation/training. Formal induction and acceptance. Standard of performance or competence Code of regulations, ethics or practice to preserve the honor and prestige of the profession Willingness to advance the growth and effectiveness, Regulate scheme of payment and remuneration A great regard for the interest or advantage of the client (0) Teaching as an enterprise8i It refers to the cluster of activities that the teacher engages in within the school setting Marking registers. Checking noise of maintaining discipline. Filling mark books. Coordinating co-curricular activities. Being on duty (TOD).L (6) Actual teaching Simply defined as a system of actions intended to induce learning, Must meet the following erteria’ Have a person who is consciously and deliberately doing the teaching. ‘Another person or oneself who is being taught i leamer is logically necessary. Something (content) being taught (facts, information, kn owledge, skills). ‘At least an intention on the part of the person doing the act that the recipient should learn. Involve methods or procedures that are orally and pedagogically sound or acceptable. ‘According to William Frankena (1973), education is said to take place when X is Fostering or seeking to foster in ¥ some disposition. D by method M. Where > Xisthe society, the teacher or whcever is educating (even oneself) & Yistheleaner (child youth or adult) » Disdisposition beliefs, habit, knowledge; skills, attitudes considered desirable both for the le aner and society. = Mis morally acceptable methods that pay attention to the interest of the learner, personal in tegrity and active participation in the learning process. (Methods should not dehumanize or degrade the leamer.) Revision question What does the teaching concept entail? Why should a teacher have a clear understanding of this con cept? EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT IN AFRICA This can be classified into various categories: | Traditional © the African traditional/indigenous education © Thelslamic tradition in education © TheWestem tradition in education ll Contemporary (a) Conservatism © Colonial view of education © Thereligious view of education © Thenationalst view of education () Progressivism © the liberal view to education © theradical view to education the instrumental view to education () TRADITIONAL THOUGHT: THE AFRICAN INDIGENOUS EDUCATIONAL THOUGHT According to.J P Ocitti (1973), African indigenous educationa Ithought comprised of the following p. hiosophical principles: “]“] communalism preparationalism functionalism perenialism ‘© whotisticism (@) Communalism Itis derived from the adjective communal originating from the Latin word corrmunis meaning belo Inging equally to two or more people. It refers to a condition where people are united, cohesive, coop efative, and are committed to the welfare of the group as opposed to individualism. in practice, the principle of communalism was expressed through the socialization of children as opposed to individ alization. Education was aimed at strengthening the organization, unity of the clan, community an d chief-dom. Overall, cooperation was preferred to competition enabling the children to grow up seei rng their well being in terms of the welfare of the group. Relevance to contemporary education © Unity and cooperation are desirable virtues which modem education ought to inculcate in th elearners, Education policy makers should do away with parochial/narrow rninded exten sio 1 of the society as a whole ‘* Teaching of social education and ethics, history, literature as instruments to this endeavor. Limitations © Communalismts emphasis on the organic whole of the community denies the human person the freedom to exercise unique potential, and to aspire to become rather than conform. © Unity of purpose, theory and action in inhibitive to creativity. It negates the need to establish unity in diversity. (b) Preparationalism Derived from the noun preparation which stems from Latin word {prepares meaning to make ready. It entails the process of making sameone ready or suitable fora certain purpose, In the African indig enous society, children were prepared to become useful members of the society. They were expected to become well adjusted with certain values, ideas, modes of behaviour and attitudes in their adult lif particularly as married men and women, Relevance © tis imperative for education to equip individuals with the capacity to cope with the physical, social and perhaps spirtual environment. The content, methods and overall aims of educatio 1 Ought to prepare someone to become a useful member of the society. ‘© Modern education has relegated this asp ect to training colleges and universities which cater sfora negigible percentage of leamers. Limitations © Over emphasis on the outcome/preparat ion can easily overlook the process value of educati on, Each piece of knowledge, skilland general attitude ought to be useful , [(©) Functionalism Function is Latin word meaning action or activity properto anything, it also refers to the abilty to fu niction or to be useful in practical terms. Indigencus education emphasized this principle by ensuring that every leaming experience was useful. Children were inducted into the society through participat ory karning. They were involved in work, ceremonies, rituals, imitation play, hunting and oral iteratur @. Practical leamming was highly valued Relevance © Theutility value of leaming experience is a positive approach to education. In other words, e ducation is of use to the society. ‘© Learning by participation can encourage producticn in society. Instead of confining the yout hand energetic adults to institutions of leaming and exposing themto theories, they should work as they eam © Theprinciple underscores the empirical approach to learning which is a useful method of tea ching and learning © Creativity component of education is essential (@ Perenialism ‘The term emanates from the adjective perennial which is from Latin tperenis’ meaning lasting throu Ghout the year or a succession of years. It designates a sense of permanence: Indigenous education was based on the assumption that cultural heritage e.g. language, food ty pes, beliefs and traditions ‘was essential for the survival of the clan or tribe. The values, attitudes and practices contained in th common heritage were considered established once and for all in the long distant past. Succeedin g generations were not allowed to change or modify it but had to perform/observe it and hand it ove r Relevance Historical study of the past is good so as to appreciate and understand the miestones in the develo pment and evolution of ideas, knowledge and certain practices. Limitation # Ittends to overlook the leamers. Teaching based on perenialism is mainly teacher and conte nt centered while today/s teaching advocated for the learner centered approach © Knowledgeis pragmatic and keeps on changing after every given period of time. (©) Wholisticism Itis derived from the adjective wholistic whose origin is the word thal? an old English term meaning not divided into parts, complete amount or a combination of parts. Indigenous education entailed a wide range of skills, attitudes, values and knowledge. It was aimed at producing an all round person equipped with a wide range of skills. “d @ [_ L Relevance Wholistic approach te learning is important because it enables and individual to function in d iverse situations. The approach however encourages shallowness (jack of all trades and rma ster of none) ‘© Specialization is essential for innovation to be realized in the society. Revision question Examine the relevance of philosophical foundations of African indigenous education to the 844 system of education in Kenya: (ll) CONTEMPORARY VIEW: NATIONALISM IDEAS IN EDUCATION EDWARD WILMOT BLYDEN (1832-1932) Born in West Indies in 1932, he migrated to Liberia in 1851. He lived during a time when racism was. at its peak. Africans were considered backward and primitive. The Western education was widespre ad and its major aim wasto enable Africans to imbibe Western values ideas and worldviews, His co intemporaries reacted to the racial prejudices differently. Some were persuaded to discard their cultur es.and absorb the Western culture wholesale attaining what Frantz Fanon refers to as a black skin, white mask. The second group attempted to integrate the Wester values with African values ie. th ey discarded whatever was repugnant and adapted that which was useful. The third category adopt eda racial stance against the prevalent racial myths. They tenaciously defended the Negro cultural h etitage by dispelling the lingering racial myths, and second by advancing unprejudiced racial theorie s. This category of thinkers was equivalent of cultural nationalists. Blyden falls in this category. His nationalist ideas included: © Defending the Negro race as a distinctive race capable of playing its rightful role in the civiiz, ation of humankind © He opposed the inferiority complex exhibited among Africans their encounter with people of other races. © He painted to the fact that the Negro race had played a significant role in the field of learnin ginthe past and could do so again if the right educat ion wa s transrritted. He thus advocated for: © Arace-conscious-culture based type of education i. a curriculum specially tailored towards theinnate capacity and the ultimate utilty of race. This should be an education that will cau se Africans to discover themselves. Education in Africa should instill confidence among Afric. ans. It should restore human dignity and absolute confidence or faith in onet's creative abiliti es. This call for authentic personality that strives to dispel the lingering myth of European pe ople being superior to the Negro. He came up with the Philosophy of Afrikaners that sought to establish how to make black people participate in the community of nations. ¢Thedevelopment of the mind to be able to subdue corrplicated phenomena. This would ena ble oneto express themselves in normative, rational and creative domains. Towards this, he advocated for the education of girls and women in order to ensure rapid and permanent pro “d 9 [a “] gress. Revision question in what ways are Blyden's education ideas manifest in educationin Kerya today? (ill) PROGRESSIVIST PERSPECTIVE: LIBERAL VIEW TO EDUCATION JULIUS KAMBARAGE NYERERE Bom in 1922 in Musoma Tanzania, he obtained a Diploma in education at Makerere College Uganda and later undertook a Master of Arts Degreein Edinburg University in 1952. He became involved in t he polftics of Tanzania when he returned home. He was a co-founder of TANU along with other nati onalists. During the first presidential elections in 1962, he was elected the first president of post-colo nial Tanzania. Besides politics, Nyerere articulated his ideas in diverse spheres of knowledge includin g social philosophy and education. In education, he advocated two related views namely: education for self-reliance and education for liberation Education for self reliance “The concept of self relance comprises of two distinctive words, self’ and lrelancet. Self referstot fhe human person, the agent or the fl! of theindividual. Reliance points to a state of being that ared ependent on something or somebody else. It refers to some bond or relationship where subjects em brace in inter-subjective relationship viewed together. Self reliance refers to a situation where the indi vidual relies upon himself/her self or his her being. In a book called education for se reliance! (196 7), Nyerere underscored the need to radically examine education in Tanzania, He diagnosed the maj or pitfalls of the inherited colonial education in Tanzania as ‘© Education was founded upon the principle of capitalism; it promoted a class of eltes and ine quality and class structure. ‘© Itdivorced its participants from society and discouraged them from unconditional service to the community. They want to livein towns. © It tended to be formal; book centered and despised traditional informal knowledge and wisd om, © Ittended to be unproductive, discouraging students and pupils from hard work “These factors were not in agreement with the past independent Tanzania which basically embraced the philosophy of Ujamaa (African Socialism). Ujamaa stood for Work by everyoneand exploitation by none. Fair sharing of resources which are jointly produced. Equity and respect for human dignity. Education for self reliance. It meant the attainment of economic and cultural independence a ta corporate level where society could rely on itself for progress and development. * Italso meant individuals expressing themselves in creative, productive terms as a result of e ducation 20 rTa Education for liberation “The concept of liberation stands for Being freed from what appears inhibiting/ constraining Being freed to be able to undertake, empowerment or freedom to become. Education for liberation implied in Nyereret’s context: Removal of constraints and limitations that stood in the way of Tanzanians to become self r eliant: this is namely colonialism and post colonial conditions that were in the interest of colo nial powers. Liberation is not a once for all event: it is an ongoing process involving systematic eradicatio no physical and mental impediments to freedorn. Liberation is both physical and mental! the total emancipation of man. Education should release liberating ideas and skils to the mind of learners. This is likely to in crease control over themselves, their lives and their environment Education for iberation should employ rational approaches to educating in the sense that ed ucating should arase curiosity and provoke inquiry. The product of education for liberation is likely to bea self reliant individual Revision question Critically assess education for self reliance as articulated to Nyerere in relation to the 8 4-4 system 0 education in Kenya. “]PART TWO: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION INTRODUCTION It isthe process and outcome of philosophical thinking about education. tt is an educational dis cipline whose focus is the study of education/an area of specialization within the study of educa tion. tt employs philosophical approaches in studying education . It utilizes the content, methodol ogy and to some extend the language of philosophy in analyzing/dealing with educational issue s. Philosophy of education is an integral part of technical philosophy, equivalent to say philosop hy of science, law religion, mathematics etc. The philosophy of education studies approach thes tudy of/deals with educational ideas in sociology, comparative, sociology of education etc while employing errpirical and inductive approach. As such, philosophy of education is essential to the study of education in the following ways: ‘ Itprovides room for a vision beyond the empirical data of education Le. seeks to explain wha 1 education is. © Ittries to liberate those being educated and their educators from their shortsightedness. Ith elps us to enlarge our perception of education as well as for teaching © Ithelps the student to think logically, systematically, consistently and clearly about educatio nal problems as well as life. The teacher wil learn the essence of clarifying meanings and jus tifying statements. Itequips teachers with insight into the whole purpose of teaching. Thus, t goes beyond kno \wledge of subject matter and competence in teaching skills. Teachers ought to know what t hey aredoing and why they are doing it General Philosophy of Education “This refers to the common sense notion of what education ought to be. It refers to the personal view or attitude concerning the ideal education. It refers also to the preferred slogans concerning educati con such as (education for setf reliance, education for gender equity etc. In a school setting, it refers tothe school motto. In most cases, these philosophies are varied, vague and are not based on syste matic thought of what type of man they want to produce. Education comrrission reports contain ge nneral philosophical perspectives about education. ‘Technical Philosophy of Education Technical or professional philosophy of education refers to the thorough and in-depth reflection on ducation. This is done using philosophical methods, tools and techniques in investigating problems of formal schooling. In this case, the process as well as the product amounts to philosophy of educ ation. This means that the process of asking questions and criticizing issues in education as well as development of a clear statement of a positive and more rational altemative in education comprises of philosophy of education. ‘Technical philosophy of education is an integral part of forma philosophy. Itis the exclusive domain “]| of professional philosophers and of academic scholars concemed with the study of education. It is, basicall/largely Western in orientation attributed to Western Thinkers and educationists such as Co menius, Locke, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Dewey etc o EDUCATION AND HUMAN KNOWLEDGE/THE COGNITIVE DIMENSION OF EDUCATION Human knowledge falls within epistemology. Epistemology deals with philosophical reflection of kno vwledge. It studies the nature, sources and validity of the knowledge. It attempts to answer question s about knowledge such as: (@) What isknowledge? () What isthe nature of knowledge? (©) What are the principles of knowledge? (@) What istruth? (©) How do we cometo know? (9) How can we verify knowledge? (@) How do we know that we know? (0) What can we really know? (@) What is Knowledge “The concept of knowledge tito know’! can be sub-divided into three aspects: © Knowing that facts, information or details about something © Knowing how! having the abilty to demonstrate, possession of a skil or technique. © General familiarty ( lack of sufficient details ‘The Conditions of Knowledge ‘According to |. Scheffer (1965), there are three conditions of knowledge 1 Belief Condition Bele is a construction that something is asit is stated. Anyone who makes a claim to knowledge m ust believe that tis so. He must personally accent to the truthfulness of the claim. This invohves the conviction of the claimant. It is different from opinion (I think) which implies doubt. Believing indicat es certainty. To believe is however not to know: its just the beginning, more is required than mere be lie. Believing is more of a psychological state of mind and knowing is more than a strong convietio 1n. This is necessary for communication/teaching as it helps one to demonstrate an element of origin ality. 2 Truth Condition It refers to the actual truth of what one asserts. Knowing thus points to something independent of t he individual clairring to know { points to the truth of the matter. What one believes! may not bene cessarily thetruth asift is universally known. To know is thus more than believing: t implies that ther eis actually truth:a matter of true belief. To establish the truthfulness of a proposition/statement, must be subjected to the following theories: (@) Correspondence theories of truth: whatever is claimed to be true must correspond with realit yie must agree with what can be empirically verified, measured, observed. The major imped “d Fa_ L iment to this theory is that our verification tools/observation are at times faulty. itis possible to perceive reality wrongly (0) Coherence theory of truth: whatever is claimed mu st cohere/agree with what is already acce pted/admitted as truth. Any new knowledge is validated on the basis of the existing knoviled ge. However, this theory has limitations. Whatever is known may be untrue or false, one coul d possibly be mistaken e.g, the Gallleo’s case with the Roman Catholic Church (© Pragmatic theory: whatever is of utiity/value works and is useful or beneficial. 3 Justification/grounds condition ‘The claimant must be able to cite evidence and evidence of the right kind to support/justify his clai m Absolute certainty is difficult to attain because human knowledge tends to be limited. Certainty t hus remains uncertain or hypothetical. One must always be prepared to review/reconsider their kno vwledge in the light of new evidence though adequacy of evidence is many times a serious problem. A, though every claim to knowledge must be based on some grounds, there are statements which don ot necessarily require evidence. E.g. analytic propositions that are seff explanatory statements; state ments based on existential and consciousness ie. | feel frustrated. While we insist on evidence, wes hould exempt analytic proportions based on existential realities. ‘SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE Under this title, we raise the question of origin and means: that is, what is the source of knowledge, where does genuine knowledge come from? And how do human beings acquire knowledge? Many b elefs once thought to be genuine knowledge, haveturned out to be false.e.g. men once firmly held t hat the earth was flat, that death causing spirits would be driven out of men by means of loud nois @. These beliefs, once so securely held, have been almost universally discarded, The question is, coul dithe same betrue of much of our present day knowledge? Possibly, just likein the past, some peopl etoday do claim to know many things which are not true, From where did we get thebeliefs that we hold? Is there some one source of knowledge or are there many sources Knowledge as we have noted comes through both rational and empirical faculties. These are the ba sic conditions which make knowledge acquisition and understanding possible. In other words, reaso Nand sensory experience are, arguably, the primary sources of knowledge and foundations of huma knowledge. The other sources include: testimony and intuition, ‘a. Senses-Empiricism The Philosophy that believes in senses as sour ce of knowledge is known as empiricism (fro m the term empirical). it contends that people form pictures of the world around them by se eing, hearing, smeling, tasting and feeling. Proponents stress on the role of experience and s enses as the fundamental factor in the process of acquiring knowledge. Here concrete experi ence constitutes ther ealm of knowledge. Knowledge acquired fromthis source is called emp irical knowledge. This knowledge is acquired through perception of sensible realities. It is obt, ained by forming ideas in accordance with observed facts. Simply we know what wehave fo und out fromour senses. Sensory data as a matter of fact, forms the basis of much of our k “d a rT