Foundational Philosophies in
Education
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Idealism - mind
Realism - fact
Scholasticism - tradition
Thomism – combination of faith & reason
Pragmatism – growth in efficiency
Existentialism – Intensity of feeling
Post-modernism – Ending
domination/cultural assertion
Foundational Philosophies in
Education
Traditional Philosophies
Idealism, Scholasticism, Thomism, Realism
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Absolute Truths – permanent, universally relevant
Required Subjects
Relativistic Philosophies
Pragmatism, Existentialism, Post-modernism
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Relative Truths
No Fixed Curriculums
Idealism
Idealist - Anytime someone puts more
emphasis on the mind, or the mental
side, than anything else.
Idealism
Extreme Idealism
Mind, Thinking
Body,Feeling,
Matter, Subconscious,
Instinct, etc.
Idealism
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Plato
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The Circle
Descartes
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Doubting = Thinking (If I think, then I am)
Move beyond the learner, turn to ways
of thinking (Blooms Taxonomy)
 Lecture > Dialectic >Think
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Realism
Realist – Best type of knowledge is those
of physical fact.
Beginning of
Realism
Scientific
Realism
Physical Fact
Mind, Feeling,
Subconscious, etc.
Realism
Levels of Certainty:
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Physical Science
Social Science
Philosophical Knowledge - Speculation
Religious Knowledge – Proof? Low Agreement
Behaviorism – Conditioning
Aristotle
Scholasticism
The main focus here is Tradition.
 Truth is found in the physical, mental
and emotional things that have
endured over time and is still relevant.
 The world was here before we were
born and we must be a part of this
world.
 Liberal Education
Thomism
God exists and can be known through
faith and reason.
 Since both physical objects and human
beings, including minds and ideas, are
created by God, faith has nothing to
fear from idealism and rationalism.
 Aquinas & Aristotle (Faith & Reason)
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Pragmatism
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Everything is subject to change. (Relevance?)
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Saber-Tooth Curriculum
Certainty is only at a practical level – that
which brings the most practical results to the
most people.
Focus:
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learning the scientific method and problemsolving.
working cooperatively with others
Existentialism
Truth is Subjective
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Existence precedes essence.
55 mph? (Our we committed to this?)
Students should be given the opportunity to
choose to learn and what to learn (responsibility)
(Spiderman)
Reality is only determined by our choices.
The only authority is the authority of self.
(knowledge & values)
Pragmatists – success is important.
Existentialists – success is of no value, be true to
yourself.
Post-Modernism
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Truth is found in the interaction of different
cultures.
There should no be an ever dominant group.
This hinders certainty and rightness.
New creations of truth can and should arise
when all groups are equal and interact.
Multicultural Education
Curriculum and Instruction