Assignment No 2

Name: Naimat Ullah

Roll No. CA634279

Course Philosophy of Education

Course code 8609

Semester: Spring, 2021

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Q. 1 Discuss the method designed by Socrates to give and acquire knowledge.
Socratic inquiry is emphatically not "teaching" in the conventional sense of the word. The leader of Socratic
inquiry is not the purveyor of knowledge, filling the empty minds of largely passive students with facts and
truths acquired through years of study. As the people in the School of Education would say, the Socratic
teacher is not "the sage on the stage." In the Socratic method, there are no lectures and no need of rote
memorization. But neither, as you might expect, is the Socratic teacher "the guide on the side."
In the Socratic method, the classroom experience is a shared dialogue between teacher and students in which
both are responsible for pushing the dialogue forward through questioning. The "teacher," or leader of the
dialogue, asks probing questions in an effort to expose the values and beliefs which frame and support the
thoughts and statements of the participants in the inquiry. The students ask questions as well, both of the
teacher and each other.
The inquiry progresses interactively, and the teacher is as much a participant as a guide of the discussion.
Furthermore, the inquiry is open-ended. There is no pre-determined argument or terminus to which the
teacher attempts to lead the students. Those who practice the Socratic method do not use PowerPoint slides.
Without a lesson plan, the group follows the dialogue where it goes.
Essential components of the Socratic method
1. The Socratic method uses questions to examine the values, principles, and beliefs of students.
Through questioning, the participants strive first to identify and then to defend their moral intuitions about the
world which undergird their ways of life. Socratic inquiry deals not with producing a recitation of fa cts, or a
questioning of the logic of various and sundry abstractions which are held up for comparison, but demands
rather that the participants account for themselves, their thoughts, actions, and beliefs. Socratic inquiry aims
to reveal the motivations and assumptions upon which students lead their lives. Thus, practitioners of the
Socratic method may want students to know facts, but they want to focus more on what the student thinks
about these facts, not what others think! It's no use citing authorities.
2. The Socratic method focuses on moral education, on how one ought to live.
Socratic inquiry necessarily proceeds in an ad hominem style. That is, rather than making arguments or
asking questions designed to convince any or all people, all comments in a Socratic inquiry are directed at
specific participants in the discussion. The subject of inquiry is not what is thought or said about the world in
general, but what each participant thinks or says about the world. The goal is not to consider depersonalize d
propositions and abstractions, but to probe the underlying values and beliefs of each inquirer.
Since the substance of Socratic inquiry is the belief and value system of the participants, when those beliefs
or values are challenged, or refuted, it is nothing less than the coherence of the lives of the people that is at
stake. As Socrates says often in Plato's dialogues, he is primarily concerned with how one ought to live. In
Plato's Gorgias, Socrates says, "Do not take what I say as if I were merely playing, for you see the subject of

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our discussion- and on what subject should even a man of slight intelligence be more serious?-namely, what
kind of life should one live . . ."
Refutation of one's beliefs about how best to live delivers an implicit verdict that, to paraphrase Rilke's poem,
"The Archaic Torso of Apollo" (1908), you must change your life. Socrates is famous for saying "the
unexamined life is not worth living." Equally true, though less appreciated, is the fact that the unlived life is
not worth examining.
3. The Socratic method demands a classroom environment characterized by "productive discomfort."
In the best of Socratic dialogues, there is real tension among the interlocutors. The stakes are high. Will one
be called on, be called to account?
4. The Socratic method is better used to demonstrate complexity, difficulty, and uncertainty than at eliciting
facts about the world.
Bertrand Russell once wrote, "As usual in philosophy, the first difficulty is to see that the problem is difficult.
If you say to a person untrained in philosophy, 'How do you know I have two eyes?' he or she will reply,
'What a silly question! I can see you have.' It is not to be supposed that, when our inquiry is finished, we shall
have arrived at anything radically different from this un-philosophical position. What will have happened will
be that we shall have come to see a complicated structure where we thought everything was simple, that we
shall have become aware of the penumbra of uncertainty surrounding the situations which inspire no doubt,
that we shall find doubt more frequently justified than we supposed, and that even the most plausible
premises will have shown themselves capable of yielding implausible conclusions. The net result is to
substitute articulate hesitation for inarticulate certainty."
The Socratic Professor
In the Socratic method, the Socratic professor is not the opponent in an argument, nor is he or she someone
who always plays devil's advocate, saying essentially: "If you affirm it, I deny it. If you deny it, I affirm it."
This happens sometimes, but not as a matter of pedagogical principle.
Neither does the Socratic professor possess all the knowledge or the answers, nor is he or she "just testing"
the students. The professor is a participant in dialogue, and must always be open to learning something him-
or herself. It follows from this, that the Socratic professor does not seek deference to his or her authority. Nor
does he or she create a cult of personality by seeming aloof, cold, and distant. Instead, the Socratic professor
knows his or her students' names, and the students know each other's names.
The Socratic professor aims for "productive discomfort," not panic and intimidation. The aim is not to strike
fear in the hearts of students so that they come prepared to class; but to strike fear in the hearts of students
that they either cannot articulate clearly the values that guide their lives, or that their values and beliefs do not
withstand scrutiny.
Use of Socratic Method
1. Set down conversational guidelines:

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* Learn student names and have the students learn each other's names.
* Explain that participation requires listening and active engagement and that it is not enough to just insert a
single comment in class and then be silent for the rest of the day.
* Emphasize that students should focus their comments on concepts or principles, not first-person narratives.
2. Ask questions and be comfortable with silence. Silence is productive. Be willing to wait for students to
respond. There is no need to fill a conversational void; silence creates a kind of helpful tension. Use the "ten-
second wait" rule before you attempt to re-phrase your questions!
3. Find ways to produce "productive discomfort." Cold-calling works, but temper it with small group work so
students can talk to their neighbor.
4. Above all else, use follow-up questions! Get students to account for themselves, not just to regurgitate
readings and lectures.
5. Always be open to learning something new. Don't be a sage on the stage, or a guide on the side. Be willing
to say, "I don't know the answer to that question."
6. Welcome the "crazy idea" that offers a new perspective on the topic, but discourage those ideas which are
not serious.
7. Brevity and short interventions from the professor are most welcome. No speeches or long lectures.
8. Discourage obsequious deference to authority and status. Break this down if at all possible. Stanford
students are too practiced at "doing school" and discovering what they need to know to get by.
9. Find a classroom space that encourages interaction. Seats bolted to the floor put one at an immediate
disadvantage.
10. Finally, don't be scared of size! All of this is possible even in large classes. The Socratic method is
possible in a class as large as 70. Just use more small groups.
At the end of his talk, Professor Reich gave an example of an exercise in Socratic method in which he posed a
moral dilemma to his audience (you are the conductor of a train that has lost its brakes and you have to make
the choice to either kill five workers on the tracks of an alternate route, or risk killing all 300 passengers on
the train) and asked them to make arguments for what should be done. He then followed up each suggestion
provocatively, pushing each speaker to defend and articulate the reasons and values underlying their decision
(is it better to save the many at the expense of the few?), and then applied their reasoning to other moral
dilemmas in which their conclusions might not be as defensible.

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Q. 2 Explain the components of hierarchy of values proposed by John Lock.
John Locke (1632-1704) was the first and probably most crucial British empiricist. Empiricism was “hostile to
rationalistic metaphysics, particularly to its unbridled use of speculation, its grandiose claims, and its
epistemology grounded in innate ideas” (Palmer [1993]: 165). Locke’s famous principle of tabula rasa (blank
slate) is based on the belief that only experience and reflection on experience can produce epistemological
certainty (Ibid.). These foundational ideas of his philosophy are presented in An Essay Concerning Human
Understanding (1689). However, Locke was very much interested in the application of grand philosophical
ideas in practical reality. Thus, he also wrote Two Treatise on Government (1660) in which for the first time in
history, Locke distinguished between “political state” and “the state of nature” (Ibid., 170).
We are all bestowed with some natural rights to “life, liberty and possessions” (Ibid.). Political states should be
evaluated in terms of how they protect these natural rights. The Founding Fathers of the American Revolution,
of course, based their position of justifiable revolution against the tyrannical government on Locke’s philosophy
of government (Ibid., 173). People have the “supreme power” of sovereignty “to remove or alter the legislative
when they find the legislative act contrary to the trust reposed in them” (John Locke quoted in Stumpf [1994]:
273). The rebellion, however, is justifiable only when the government is dissolved in extreme cases (Ibid.). The
natural outcome of this experiment was the historical struggle for democracy in all its dynamic understanding
and application in the U.S. context.
Locke’s general principles of democracy and civility were very much visible in his Some Thoughts Concerning
Education (1693).
Locke’s Philosophy of Education
After asserting the “holistic” principle of education (both mind and body should be involved) and confirming
the enormous impact of education in human civilization (Locke [1693] in Johnson & Reed [2012], p. 43), Locke
meticulously explains how education works.
First and the most essential “endowment” of education is a virtue. Locke says: “I place virtue as the first and
most necessary of those endowments that belong to a man or a gentleman, as absolute requisite to make him
valued and beloved by others, acceptable and tolerable to himself. Without that, I think, he will be happy neither
in this nor the other world” (Ibid., 44).
Locke, furthermore, explains that virtue of love for the Supreme Being and respect of the Maker, including
concrete steps of devotion from an early age, are necessary preconditions for loving others and avoiding
injustices and selfishness (Ibid.). Locke never leaves his readers in the abstract world of ideas only. Concrete
mandates are prescribed on how to develop the abstract nature of love and a virtuous life.
Second, the “application of mind,” well trained by virtue is wisdom. “To accustom a child a true notions of
things and not to be satisfied till he has them, to raise his mind to great and worthy thoughts and keep him at a
distance from falsehood and cunning, which has always a broad mixture of falsehood in it, is the fittest

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preparation of a child for wisdom,” elaborates Locke. Wisdom, as we can notice, is closely tied to the first
principle of a virtuous life.
Third, breeding is based on the modesty and humility principle. Actions are prescribed that will make someone
a gentleman (or a lady). Sets of habits that Locke defines will help youth to learn “how to behave ourselves
towards others” (Ibid., 46). Locke describes this demeanor as “internal civility of the mind” governed by the
fashions of the country or context in which we live (Ibid.).
Finally, the process of learning begins for those who understand that it is not enough to become “a bookish
man” (Ibid.). Education is learning but not learning as “a paradox” (Ibid.). Education, Locke concludes, is much
more than just memorizing. “Reading and writing and learning I allow to be necessary, but yet not the chief
business” (Ibid.). The ultimate goal of education is the dynamic development of “good habits” in the
appropriate environment (Ibid., 46-7). “Education is dependent on securing of right habits of thought and
action” (Ibid., 42). This last principle of education based on democracy and civility is what I would like to
reemphasize in my contextual evaluation of Locke’s hierarchy of values in education.
Locke’s Principle of Civility of the Mind and Contemporary Education
It has already been affirmed that Locke’s philosophy of education has four necessary steps: 1) developing a
virtuous life of civility, tolerance, and love; 2) Moral wisdom that equips the learner for life; 3) Respectable
manners and behavior in civil society; 4) Good habits and actions that transcend “bookish” learning only. All
these endowments are based on one fundamental principle of civility within the democratic way of thinking.
I firmly believe that contemporary education should explore and apply the principles of civility and democracy
as necessary preconditions for acquiring knowledge of God and the world. Civility is not just an individual
quality but the endowment of the learning community. Universities and other learning communities should take
responsibility for defending these values.
Andrew Delbanco, in his volume College: What It Was, Is and Should Be, summarized his investigation of the
history and nature of higher education in the United States by the following statement: “A college should not be
a haven from worldly contention, but a place where young people fight out among and within themselves
contending ideas of the meaningful life, and where they discover that self-interest need not be at odds with
concern for one another. We owe it to posterity to preserve and protect the institution. Democracy depends on
it” (Delbanco [2012]: 177).
Delbanco’s whole book affirms two pillars of the higher education process: 1) Pursue the meaningful life
through investigation of knowledge and 2) Develop a character defined as ability to dialogue with others
(especially opposites), and pursue a common interest in the democratic society.
Students ought to learn how to apply Locke’s principle of “civility of the mind” in the democratic context of
contemporary education. “Bookish” or even a strictly cultural approach to education/learning will create more
contentions than before. Learners today should base their pursuit of truth and knowledge on the principle of
active development of character — civility, tolerance, dialogue, and democracy.

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 These values are not just partially lost in contemporary education. In the general social setting and bipartisan
politics, today’s situation is not very promising. Peter Whener, in his research The Death of Politics: How to
Heal Our Frayed Republic After Trump, claims that in our distorted views of political realities, values of
moderation, compromise, dialogue, and civility are almost a lost art (Whener [2019]: ch. 6, p. 141-188). In the
spirit of John Locke, he outlines some necessary concrete steps on how to apply this abstract principle of
civility. Some of the suggestions include paying attention, listening, showing respect, being agreeable,
apologizing, offering constructive criticism, and taking responsibility (Ibid., 182-3).
Our classrooms and online education, especially in higher education, should reflect these values, apply these
principles, and create some action steps in a cordial and civil democratic university environment. Universities
should be places where teachers and learners have the ability to transcend their personal beliefs and worldviews,
and by utilizing the civil and democratic tools of dialogue, tolerance, and respect become beacons of light for
the darkened politics and society today.
Q. 3 Elaborate the classification of different types of knowledge proposed by Al-Ghazali.
Educational ideology, in the words of Scrimshaw (1983) is ‘that system of beliefs which gives the general
direction to the educational policies of those who hold those beliefs’. The educational philosophy of Islam
develops from the beliefs found in the Qur’an and Sunna. In the early days of Islam, Muslims’ approach to
these beliefs were straightforward and uncontroversial. There were no differences of opinion regarding the
beliefs and practices of the Prophet, upon him be peace. His companions constituted clear examples of his
educational ideology wherever they settled. However, as Islam spread, it faced new problems and had to deal
with differing ideologies and belief systems that had crept into the body of the Muslim community. The need to
determine educational practice became increasingly important. The first books collecting the beliefs and
practices that ‘gave the general direction of education’ were written in the third century. These included Adab
al-Mu’alimeen by Muhammad bin Sahnun.
Educational beliefs address four main questions. They are:
• How is knowledge defined and how should it be classified?
• What is the role of the teacher?
• What is the role of the learner?
• What happens when learning takes place?
THE DEFINITION AND CLASSIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE
Al-Ghazali’s division of knowledge has sometimes been misunderstood. He has been accused of advocating a
secular view of the curriculum. This misunderstanding has been compounded by the translation of his two main
classifications of knowledge as ‘sacred and ‘profane’2. A more accurate translation would be ‘revealed’ and
‘non-revealed’ knowledge. The first category covers ‘that which came from the prophets’. The second category
includes ‘all knowledge obtained through the use of the intellect, experimentation or hearing’.

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A full understanding of these two categories can only be understood by examining the relationship of the
temporal world and the everlasting Hereafter. The two are intrinsically connected. Knowledge of the Hereafter
is gained by examining the temporal world. The temporal world gives us signs and proofs of the existence of a
Greater Existence and leads us to worship Him. Knowledge of the Hereafter teaches us how to live our temporal
lives. All knowledge belongs to God. The two categories differ only in their means of acquisition.
Al-Ghazali also applies legalistic criteria. Knowledge may be fard, compulsory, or not. The fard knowledge is
further divided into fard alayn, compulsory on every individual and fard al-kifaya, a compulsion on the
community at large. The latter is fulfilled if at least one person learns it.
An example is the studying of medicine. -
Revealed knowledge may be of the fard al-ayn category i.e. the basic beliefs or fard al-kifaya i.e. principles of
jurisprudence.
Non-revealed knowledge falls into three categories. The first is fard al-kifaya which therefore ranks among
some of the types of revealed knowledge. These are connected to what al -Ghazali calls the four fundamental
activities, without which human activities, including spiritual affairs, cannot be organized. They are -
i. agriculture
ii. cloth manufacture
iii. building
iv. politics.
Any activity auxiliary or subsidiary to any of the above is also fard-al kifaya. Iron production is auxiliary to
agriculture. Milling and bread making is subsidiary to it. Both are compulsions on the community.
Compulsions fall on the individual or society according to specific situations. For example, one who enters
Islam is not expected to know about fasting until the month of fasting arrives. Likewise, the compulsions on a
community depend on how the society has developed with regards the four fundamental activities.
Another category is ‘praiseworthy’, which is not compulsory, knowledge. An example is the study of the
intricacies of medicine or arithmetic. A basic understanding is supplementary to the fundamentals mentioned
above and is therefore compulsory, but this is not true of its intricacies and detailed theories.
The other two categories are ‘blameworthy’ knowledge which includes magic and ‘neutral’ knowledge which
includes poetry.
AL-ANSARI’S CLASSIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE
Al-Ansari uses a slightly different classification. He identifies four categories.
1. Shariah studies
2. Literary studies
3. Studies based on exercise
4. Intellectual studies

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Q. 4 What is Perennialism? Describe the main features of Perennialists’ educational curriculum.
Perennialists believe that the focus of education should be the ideas that have lasted over centuries. They
believe the ideas are as relevant and meaningful today as when they were written. They recommend that
students learn from reading and analyzing the works by history's finest thinkers and writers. Essentialists
believe that when students study these works and ideas, they will appreciate learning. Similar top perennialism,
essentialism aims to develop students' intellectual and moral qualities. Perennialist classrooms are also centered
on teachers in order to accomplish these goals. The teachers are not concerned about the students' interests or
experiences. They use tried and true teaching methods and techniques that are believed to be most beneficial to
disciplining students' minds. The perennialist curriculum is universal and is based on their view that all human
beings possess the same essential nature. Perennialists think it is important that individuals think deeply,
analytically, flexibly, and imaginatively. They emphasize that students should not be taught information that
may soon be outdated or found to be incorrect. Perennialists disapprove of teachers requiring students to absorb
massive amounts of disconnected information. They recommend that schools spend more time teaching about
concepts and explaining they are meaningful to students. The only example I can think of would be a class
about religion or history. The instructor would use religious books and historical documents.
Is the educational philosophy that the importance of certain works transcends time. Perennial works are those
considered as important and applicable today as they were when they were written, and are often referred to as
great books. Common examples include Melville’s Moby Dick, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Dickens’s Great
Expectations, and Dante’s Inferno. Perennialism is sometimes referred to as “culturally conservative,” because
it does not challenge gender stereotypes, incorporate multiculturalism, or expose and advocate technology, as
would be expected of contemporary literature.
The goal of a perennialist education is to teach students to think rationally and develop minds that can think
critically. A perennialist classroom aims to be a closely organized and well-disciplined environment, which
develops in students a lifelong quest for the truth. Perennialists believe that education should epitomize a
prepared effort to make these ideas available to students and to guide their thought processes toward the
understanding and appreciation of the great works, works of literature written by history’s finest thinkers that
transcend time and never become outdated.
Perennialists are primarily concerned with the importance of mastery of the content and development of
reasoning skills. The old adage “the more things change, the more they stay the same” summarizes the
perennialists’ perspective on education. Skills are still developed in a sequential manner. For example, reading,
writing, speaking, and listening are emphasized in the early grades to prepare students in later grades to study
literature, history, and philosophy.
The Paideia Proposal, a book published in 1982 by Mortimer Adler, described a system of education based on
the classics. This book inspired the school model referred to as the Paideia program, which has been, and still is,
implemented by hundreds of schools in the United States. Teachers using the Paideia program give lectures

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10% to15% of the time, conduct Socratic seminars for 15% to 20% of the time, and coach the students on
academic topics the remaining 60% to 70% of the time. Socratic seminars are lectures in which the teacher asks
a specific series of questions to encourage the students to think about, rationalize, and discuss the topic.
Perennialist curricula tend to limit expression of individuality and flexibility regarding student interests in favor
of providing an overarching, uniformly applicable knowledge base to students. Vocational training is expected
to be the responsibility of the employer.
Understanding essentialism will enable you know and improve basic teaching skills and perennialism will allow
you as a teacher to continue operating in the success of methods, concepts, and best practices that were used in
education over time.
Q. 5 What is Montessori Method of teaching? What are the influences of Montessori Approach on the
educational system of today?
Montessori is a method of education named after Dr. Maria Montessori. She was the first woman in Italy to
obtain the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Because she was a doctor, Maria Montessori looked at education from
a scientific level. She believed that education should prepare a person for all aspects of life. She designed
materials and techniques that would promote a natural growth of learning in students. They are common to all
Montessori classrooms. Working with these materials and techniques forms a pattern that children carry over
naturally to reading, writing, and mathematics. Each skill is developed to interlock with another.
From The American Montessori Society:
The Montessori Method of education, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, is a child-centered educational
approach based on scientific observations of children from birth to adulthood. Dr. Montessori’s Method has
been time tested, with over 100 years of success in diverse cultures throughout the world.
It is a view of the child as one who is naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a
supportive, thoughtfully prepared learning environment. It is an approach that values the human spirit and the
development of the whole child—physical, social, emotional, cognitive.
Montessori education offers our children opportunities to develop their potential as they step out into the world
as engaged, competent, responsible, and respectful citizens with an understanding and appreciation that learning
is for life.
▪ Each child is valued as a unique individual. Montessori education recognizes that children
learn in different ways, and accommodates all learning styles. Students are also free to learn at their own
pace, each advancing through the curriculum as he is ready, guided by the teacher and an individualized
learning plan.
▪ Beginning at an early age, Montessori students develop order, coordination, concentration,
and independence. Classroom design, materials, and daily routines support the individual’s emerging
“self-regulation” (ability to educate one’s self, and to think about what one is learning), toddlers through
adolescents.

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 ▪ Students are part of a close, caring community. The multi-age classroom—typically spanning
3 years—re-creates a family structure. Older students enjoy stature as mentors and role models; younger
children feel supported and gain confidence about the challenges ahead. Teachers model respect, loving
kindness, and a belief in peaceful conflict resolution.
▪ Montessori students enjoy freedom within limits. Working within parameters set by their
teachers, students are active participants in deciding what their focus of learning will be. Montessorians
understand that internal satisfaction drives the child’s curiosity and interest and results in joyous
learning that is sustainable over a lifetime.
▪ Students are supported in becoming active seekers of knowledge. Teachers provide
environments where students have the freedom and the tools to pursue answers to their own questions.
▪ Self-correction and self-assessment are an integral part of the Montessori classroom
approach. As they mature, students learn to look critically at their work, and become adept at
recognizing, correcting, and learning from their errors.
Given the freedom and support to question, to probe deeply, and to make connections, Montessori students
become confident, enthusiastic, self-directed learners. They are able to think critically, work collaboratively,
and act boldly—a skill set for the 21st century.

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