Assignment # 1

Philosophy of Education
Submitted by
Bc210205269
For the Course of
Philosophy of Education (EDU 601)
B.ed (1.5 years)

Session 2021-2022
Q#1. Discuss the aims of education in the light of Plato’s and Socrates
educational philosophies.
Who was Plato’s?
Plato an Athenian had been a student of Socrates, and made Socrates his primary mouthpiece in
his famous dialogues. Founder of The Academy, where Aristotle would study under him, Plato
was a prolific writer. And, in most of his writings, he brings the conversation around to
education. It appeared to be a topic never far from the top of his mind, a topic always relevant.
His opinions would shape the aims, ideals, and manner of education in Western civilization
forever after.

Aim of education in the light of Plato’s educational philosophies:

“Education is not the cultivation of certain branches of knowledge…the real essence of
education is that it enables men to reach the true aim of their lives.”
The aim of education according to Plato is the welfare of both individual and society. Children
should come to school not only .if their parents please. But there should be compulsory
education.
Plato concept of education:
 Plato gave immense importance to education. In his treatise “The republic”Plato has dealt
with education in detail.

 According to Plato, Education the initial acquisition of virtue by the child, when the
feelings of pleasure and affection, pain and hatred, that well up in his soul are channeled
in the right courses before he can understand the reason why… education, then is a matter
of correctly disciplined feelings of pleasure and pain.

 .His goal is to create and train philosophers.

 Plato saw equality in men and women in their personhood as so he was one of the first to
propose equal education for men and for women based on their ability to learn, not on
their gender.

 In the Republic he states “If women are to have the same duties as men, they must have
the same nurture and education?.. Then women must be taught music and gymnastics and
also the art of war, which they must practice like the men?

 So the aim of education in Plato is to enable the learners to know the metaphysical truth.
Thus metaphysics is the aim of education and learning .Education is the process of
showing people how to rightly love, know, and seek truth and then apply it wisely and
virtuously in real life situations.
  The highest goal of education, Plato believed, is the knowledge of Good; to nurture a
man to a better human being it is not merely an awareness of particular benefits and
pleasures.

 According to Plato, education is a matter of conversion. I.e. A completes turnaround from

the world of appearances to the world of the reality. ‘The conversion of the souls’, says
Plato, ‘is not to put the power of sight in the soul’s eye, which already has it, but to insure
that, instead of looking in the wrong direction, it is turned the way it ought to be’.
Goal of Education:
Plato’s philosophy of education aims at preparing learners for future life. Plato  held the view
that without education, the individual would make no progress any more than a patient who
believed in curing himself by his own loving remedy without giving up his luxurious mode of
living. Therefore, Plato stated that education touches the evil at the grass root and changes the
whole outlook on life.

Stages of Education
Plato’s model of education can be called “functionalist”: a model designed to produce competent
adults to meet the needs of the state.

First stage:
Plato believed that education began from the age of seven and before this children should stay
with their mothers for moral education and genders should be allowed to plays with each other.

Second stage:
This stage is till the age of seventeen. The content of education comprises Gymnastics ,
literature, music elementary mathematics.

Third stage:
This stage is till the age of twenty. This stage is meant for cadetship and is related to physical
and military training

Fourth stage:
The four stages start at the age of twenty five to thirty years and in this age they get the training
of Mathematical calculation and last for another ten years, after the completion the selected one’s
are admitted in the study of dialect.

Fifth stage:
This age is from ages thirty to thirty five. Plato restricted the study of dialectic to this age
because he felt that an individual should be mature enough to carry on the study in dialectic,
especially about ultimate principles of reality.
Six stage:
This age is from thirty five to fifty years,  when according to Plato, an individual is ready as a
philosopher or ruler, to return to practical life to take command in war and hold such offices of
state as befits him.

Aim of education in the light of Socrates educational philosophies:

Who is Socrates?
Socrates (c 470 BC – 399 BC) was a renowned Greek teacher, now recognized as the father of
Western philosophy. During his life, Socrates often disrupted the status quo by questioning the
public and creating controversy. His views on knowledge and truth have influenced the way
many people view learning. His two students Plato and Xenophon have quoted his methods and
analysis.

Aim of Education:

 It is to discover and develop individuals’ abilities and full moral excellence.

 Curricular emphasis on subject matter of mind.

 Intellectual development.

 Self realization.

 Value inclusion

 Skill development

 Health

 Worship

 Beauty

 Teaching method

 Lecture

 Discussion

 Socratic dialogue
  Example and heroes

 Learning through:

 Introspection intuition

 Insight

 Whole- part logic

Some of saying of Socrates related to education

 According to Socrates-“Education means bringing out of the idea of universal validity

which is latent in the mind of every man”.

 Wisdom begins in admitting your own ignorance.

 Self-knowledge is the ultimate virtue.

 People can arrive at truth through questionin.

 Socrates believed that knowledge was the ultimate virtue, best used to help people
improve their lives.

 “The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance,”

 Socrates believed that people made immoral choices because they did not have
knowledge. Unless they examined their lives and gained wisdom, people would continue
to make mistakes in ignorance.

 Instead of valuing money and worldly prestige, Socrates honored knowledge. Even when
his life was on the line, he proclaimed

 Socrates urged people to care more about developing their own understanding,
knowledge he believed would lead to both goodness and happiness.

Socrates makes the claim there are two very different sorts of knowledge. One is ordinary
knowledge. This is of very specific (and ordinary) information. He claims that to have such
knowledge does not give the possessor of said knowledge and expertise or wisdom worth
mentioning.
Socrates' main focus throughout his public teaching life is the acquiring by the individual of self-
knowledge. He believes that goodness and truth, positive essences and pure ethical and moral
instincts are placed there divinely in the soul.

Instead of valuing money and worldly prestige, Socrates honored knowledge. Even when his life
was on the line, he proclaimed:

Socrates urged people to care more about developing their own understanding, knowledge he
believed would lead to both goodness and happiness.

Goal of education:

To know what you can, and even more importantly, to know what you do not know.

Theory of value:

Socrates believed that knowledge and skills are of two types:

 Trivial knowledge: The word ‘trivial’ means unimportant. Socrates believed that almost
everyone possesses this knowledge.
 Important knowledge: Skills and crafts possessed by craftsmen.

Socrates also believed that this knowledge is not the ultimate knowledge.
Ultimate knowledge is:
 One should learn the best way to live one’s life.
 The most valuable skills and knowledge for an individual would vary from person to
person.
 Most people live in shameful ignorance regarding matters of ethics and morals.

Q#2.What is Immanuel Kant philosophy of education? Discuss its impact on modern

education.

Kant was often unsure about the power of philosophy to affect the world. One exception was his
view of educational theory. Philosophy, he believed, is responsible for guarding this science: the
science that should serve educators "as a guide to prepare well and clearly the path to wisdom
which everyone should travel, and to secure others against taking the wrong way". Philosophy is
at the "narrow gate" that leads, through practitioners of education, to the public at large. Only a
few, however, need bother with the "subtle investigations" of its theory.
Purpose of education:

Man can only become man by education

Objectives of education:

 Respect for morality, Respect for humanity, Reverence for God, Prevalence for peace
 Kant separates education in two as moral and physical education. For him, physical
education is only common way with feed and care comparing human with animals.
Physical and moral education teaches us how a person lives as independent existence.
Instruction makes a person worthy as an individual. By means of instruction getting
information helps to develop person’s talent. Moral education makes a citizen value for a
state and a nation. Moral education makes a person value as a person existence
consequently person thanks to education get used to live in harmony with nation Trust in
science.
 Education’s topic is not raise a person according to this or that nation, on the contrary a
human being, Kant claims to train with the direction of mankind purpose and defends
being insufficient to convey a person’s instincts weak and human ideal aim. In this matter
he gives an important role to educators. According to Kant, the duty of educators, give a
free direction for people’s natural tendency what left over, has to provide humanity
deserving of an ideal. According to him, educator could reconcile a person’s own freedom
with nation’s forcing and pressure.

Kant: training vs. education:

 The essence of education should not be simply training, the important thing is
Enlightenment.
 The principle is to teach children, to think and not to train them like animal.
Training:
 Parents usually educate their children merely in such a manner that, however bad the
world may be, they may adopt themselves to its present condition, or, make their way in
the world.
Education:
 Children ought to be educated, not for the present, but for a possible improved condition
of man in the future.
 Kant’s thoughts concerning education are related closely with person nature. He thinks
that there isn’t wickedness at the person nature. At a person there are only goodness seeds
and this goodness can improve with education. For him, the entire kindness source at the
World is education. Whole talents and seeds always have to improve in a good way that
at a person has potential. There is no badness at a person’s nature. The only reason of
 badness is not taking under control and not giving a direction with the nature’s good
education principles.

 The reason of giving a big importance to education of Kant, the most important reason
causing badness is not directing according to a good education of a person nature and
thinking of sending a person in a good way with the education. To him, a person only can
be a person with education. By means of education Kant believes person could carry out
own self and attracts attention gaining the most addition to perfection of person nature for
education

Issues of compulsion in Education:

According to Kant, the true problem of education must be recognized, which are:
 Compulsion in education
 Learning methods
 Notion of duty
 The issue of compulsion in education arises because it is important for a responsible
citizen to
 To obey the legal and social constraints, while at the same time the individual must be
allowed the use of his personal freedom.
 Child must be educated to acquire an enlightened universal reason which would promote
the cause of peace.
 Individual and society interest must be safeguarded side by side.
 Kant advocates the judicious ‘Further development of art of education or pedagogies in
order that transformed into a science.
 Compulsions are urges to do something to lesson discomfort, usually discomfort that is
caused by an obsession. Rituals are the behaviors in which people engage in response to a
compulsion. In the most severe cases, a constant repetition of rituals may fill the day,
making a normal routine impossible. While many compulsions are acts associated with
specific obsessions, such as hand washing or checking, other compulsions can be
thoughts.
 For example, patients may have the obsession that they have committed a sin and might
relieve the resultant anxiety by repetitively saying a silent prayer to them. Compounding
the anguish these rituals cause is the knowledge that the compulsions are irrational.
 Compulsions are complex behaviors, usually resembling normal actions, which are
performed in response to obsessions. Obsessions, the thoughts that drive the compulsions,
are irrational fears that are relieved, at least for a moment, by performing the compulsive
behavior. Because the relief is brief and the obsession usually reoccurs within moments,
the pattern repeats itself, sometimes dozens of times
Impact on modern education:
 Children educate in away to improve their natural through process and discipline it in a
way to serve the cause of mankind and themselves.
 Education gives children the discipline to keep their mind active by regularly taking on
challenges.
 Emotional thinking becomes discipline through education, so that children may not allow
their emotion to rule them and drive them to do things that they should not.
 Education gives children as insight that they did not previously possess.
 Technology has only recently made its way to the classrooms. Yet, we can already see
the considerable impact it has made in such a short while. This is enough reason to
remain optimistic about the future of education.