2. • Definition of Idealism
• Concept of Idealism
• Idealist
• Types of Idealism Theories
• Movements in Philosophy of Idealism in Education
1. Development of Idealism
2. Idealism as a Philosophy of Education
3. Critique of Idealism
CONTENTS
3. • A philosophical orientation emphasizing mind or
spirit as the pre- eminent feature of life.
• Contrast with Materialism
.
DEFINITION:
• Idealism is employed in philosophy, the mental work of experience
is foundational to all science and for that matter all knowledge.
• It would be impossible to know anything apart from consciousness
or experience.
• Thus, the mental work (experience, awareness, consciousness) has
priority - it is the only world to which we have immediate access.
• For the idealist, psychology is the science that studies mental
processes and experience.
• An idealist would argue that all science begins with experience and
is about experience.
Thus, it is the mind or the mental world that has ontological status.
The material world is a construction - a mere by- a product of a
more important reality.
• Many of the key figures in the history of psychology has identified
with idealism.
Examples include: Socrates, Plato, Augustine, Immanuel Kant,
George Berkeley, and George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
CONCEPT OF
IDEALISMC
•
.
a
.
.
IDEALISTS
4. • concedes the primary
of human consciousness
and believes that the
existing world
are a combination of
sensation.
Subjective
Idealism
• concedes the primary of
an objective
consciousness which
exists before and
independent of
human ones.
Objective
Idealism
TYPES OF IDEALISM:
Movement in philosophy of Idealism( in
Education)
(Ozmon and Craver 2008):
. Development of Idealism.
Idealism as a Philosophy of Education
. Critique of Idealism
5. Development of idealism
Platonic
Idealism
Religious
Idealism
Modern
Idealism
Platonic Idealism (Plato 427-347 B.C.E)
•
“People should concern themselves in searching for truth”
Importance and use of dialectic (or critical discussion)
•
2 worlds: world of ideas (forms) and world of matter (ever-changing)
People do not create knowledge, but rather they discover it.
6. Religious Idealism
• Idealism has exerted considerable influence on religion
• Religion - God as Universal Good,
• Idealism- Truth as Universal Good
Idealism
Augustine (354 - 430 C.E.)
• Augustine believed that the senses were unreliable and
that belief in God rests ultimately on faith.
• “We must first believe, in order that we may know.”
• He believed that God already created knowledge, and
people can discover it through trying to find God.
• Learning must come from within and all true knowledge
comes from God.
7. Idealism
1. George Berkeley (1685-1753 C.E.)
• All existence depends on some mind to know it; if no minds exist, then
for all intents and purposes nothing exists unless it is perceived by the
mind of God.
• Philosophical realism- that material world exists independent of
mind.
• His main purpose is to make evident the existence of God and to
prove that God is the true cause of all things.
2. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804 C.E.)
• Wrote books: Critique of pure reason and Critique
of practical reason.
To Kant, the essence of education should not be simply training; the
important thing was enlightenment, or teaching a child to think
according to principles as opposed tomere random behavior
8. 3. George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831 C.E.)
• 3 important books: Phenomenology of Mind, Logic, and
Philosophy of Right.
• 3 major aspects of his system: logic, nature and spirit.
• Spirit is the final stage or synthesis of Idea and Nature.
• Hegel’s idealism is most apparent- the search for final
Absolute Spirit.
• “to be truly educated, an individual must pass through the
various stages of the cultural evolution of humankind.”
idealism as a Philosophy of Education
Educational Aims of Idealism
• Methods of Education
curriculum
• Role of the Teacher
9. Search for Truth (highest aim)
• Philosophical wisdom or the conception of true ideas is the
highest aim of education
Self-Realization (ultimate aim)
• Idealism has exerted so much influence on educational views
about individual mind and self
Character Development (proper aim)
• Many idealists are concerned with moral character as an
outgrowth of thinking and thoughtful actions
Educational Aims of
Idealism
• Methods of
Education
v
• Dialectic (Plato)
• Intuitive approach (Augustine)
Great books (modern idealists)
• Lecture method
• Other idealist’s methodology: projects, supplemental
activities, library research and artwork.
• Self-directed activity
10. • Teach students to think.
• Idealists think that humans can become more noble
and rational by developing the ability to think.
• Educational materials like reading materials
• Teacher should encourage and help students to
explore curriculum materials for ideas.
Assist students in choosing important material
Serve as exemplary models.
Teachers are expected to encourage students to ask questions and to
provide a suitable environment for learning Socratic
characteristics(analyzing, discussing with others)- encourage their
students to better their thinking.
Infuses them with a desire to improve their thinking in the deepest possible
way.
• Curriculum
• Role of the
Teacher
11. The high cognitive level of education that idealists promote.
Their concern for safeguarding and promoting cultural learning.
Their great concern for morality and character development.
Their view of the teacher as a revered person central to the
educational process.
Their belief in the importance of self-realization.
Their stress on the human and personal side of life.
Their comprehensive, systematic, and holistic approach.
Reference:
Idealism book,
Critique of idealism in
education
