This document discusses different philosophies of education including idealism, realism, pragmatism, existentialism, and constructivism. It provides an overview of major contributors to each philosophy such as Plato for idealism, Aristotle for realism, Dewey for pragmatism, and Sartre for existentialism. The document also discusses how these philosophies impact views on the nature of reality, knowledge, values, and education.

1. William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Professor of Educational Leadership
University of Texas of the Permian Basin
LECTURE NOTES ON PHILOSOPHY
What is your philosophy of life?
Philosophic Questions Branches of Philosophy
Are human beings basically good or
is the essential nature of the human
being evil?
What is the nature of reality?
(Metaphysics–ontology)
What causes certain events in the
universe to happen?
What is the nature of reality?
(Metaphysics–cosmology)
What is your relationship to the
universe?
What is the nature of reality?
(Metaphysics–cosmology)
What is your relationship to a higher
being (God)?
What is the nature of reality?
(Metaphysics–ontology)
To what extent is your life basically
free?
What is the nature of reality?
(Metaphysics–ontology)
How is reality determined? What is the nature of reality?
(Metaphysics–ontology)
What is your basic purpose in life? What is the nature of reality?
(Metaphysics–ontology)
How is knowledge determined? What is the nature of
knowledge?
(Epistemology)
What is truth? What is the nature of
knowledge?
(Epistemology)
What are the limits of knowledge? What is the nature of
knowledge?
(Epistemology)
What is the relationship between
cognition and knowledge?
What is the nature of
knowledge?
(Epistemology)
Are certain moral or ethical values
universal?
What is the nature of values?
(Axiology–ethics)
How is beauty determined? What is the nature of values?

2. (Axiology–aesthetics)
What constitutes aesthetic value? What is the nature of values?
(Axiology–aesthetics)
Who determines what is right, just, or
good?
What is the nature of values?
(Axiology–ethics)
1. What are the three branches of philosophy?
Metaphysics–deals with ultimate reality.
Epistemology–deals with the nature of knowledge.
Axiology–the study of values.
2. What are the major schools of philosophy?
Idealism–certain universal absolute concepts.
Realism–work is governed by various laws, known or unknown.
Pragmatism–primarily an American philosophy; scientific analysis, learning
through experience.
Existentialism–believe students should control much of what goes on.
3. What is the role of teachers?
Just about anyone can read a teacher’s guide and present information in a
sensible order. Understanding why (philosophical view) it is presented in a
particular way, if it should be presented in a particular way, or if it should be
presented at all requires a different kind of knowledge.
4. How does educational philosophy influence educational leadership?
Philosophy impacts education through administrative leadership, teaching
methods and curriculum
Some Major Contributors to Idealism
a. Formal Idealism
Plato. Plato is considered to be the first and foremost Idealist. Platonic
Idealism rests on the distinction between appearance and reality. Out
of his analysis of this distinction grew his theory of ideas.
b. Religious Idealism
Saint Augustine. Saint Augustine, a Roman Catholic, believed that
we should release ourselves from the world of Man and enter into the
world of God..

3. He believed that the world of Man is the material world of darkness,
sin, ignorance and suffering and man should try to enter the world of
God through meditation and faith. This, he concluded, is because
knowledge was created by God and can only be found trying to find
God.
3. Subjective Idealism
George Berkeley. George Berkeley (1685-1753) He related that matter
did not exist except through the mind. All knowledge that a human has
of an object is his/her sensations of it. He argued that ideas exist only
in human consciousness.
Berkeley believed that all existence was dependent on some mind to
comprehend it.
5. Absolute Idealism
George Wilhelm Friedreich Hegel. George Wilhelm Friedreich Hegel
(1770-1831) promoted this branch of philosophy. Hegel considered
evil necessary to stimulate change in order to bring about God. Thus,
the human mind grows and the world improves. In a contended state,
there is insufficient contradiction to stimulate improvement.
Hegel believed that humankind was made for achievement, not for
happiness to achieve. For this belief, humans should be willing to risk
revolution. Convinced that “the times make the man,” Hegel was
confident that a leader would arise to synthesize the forces and to bring
harmony out of chaos.
6. Modern Idealism
Josiah Royce. spokesman for Hegelian Idealism and maintained that
the external meaning of a thing depends entirely on its internal
meaning–an embodiment of purpose. a form of mind.
7. Other Contributors
René Descartes. René Descartes (1596-1650) Ehallenged the Catholic
He doubted of all things, including his existence. Descartes brought
forth the idiom, “I think, therefore I am.” He emphasized that any idea
depended on other ideas because they referred to another idea; the only
idea that did not refer was the Perfect Being (God), the source of all
things. Descartes believed in two principles: Cogito, or the
undoubtability of human thought; and Deity, or the foundation of all
objects of thought.
Immanuel Kant. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) believed the rationalist
thinks analytically while the empiricist thinks synthetically. He

4. considered the mind is conscious of the experience of the thing-in-
itself. All we know, he contended, is the content of experience. He
viewed education as important because humans were the only being
that needed it.
8. Some Major Contributors to Realism.
a. Classical Tradition
Aristotle.
Aristotle believed that a proper study of matter could lead to better and
more distinct ideas (forms). Forms, such as the idea of God or of a tree,
can exist without matter, but there can be no matter without form. Each
piece of matter has both a universal and a particular property. Particular
properties of one acorn differentiate it from other acorns; that is, size,
shape, color, weight, and so forth. These forms are the non-material
aspects of each particular object that relate to all other particular objects of
that class.
Aristotle proclaimed four causes: Material, the matter from which
something is made; Formal, the design that shapes the material object;
Efficient Cause, the agent that produces the object; and Final Cause, the
direction toward which the object is tending.
Aristotle asserted the chief good was happiness that depended upon a
virtuous and well-ordered soul. This can happen only as one develops
virtuous habits shaped through education. Education, he believed,
developed individual reasoning capacity so one can make correct choices.
This means the path of moderation, of acceptance, and of following such a
principle became the core of educational proposals.
b. Religious Realism
Saint Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) He realized
that teaching truth to minds made for truth was of such intrinsic excellence
that, as far as he could see, no human could teach, but only God himself.
He argued that God was pure reason and that God created matter out of
nothing and He gave purpose to the universe. Aquinas felt that all truths
were eternally in God and that truth was passed to humans by divine
revelation.

5. c. Modern Realism
Francis Bacon. Francis Bacon (1561-1626). Bacon, also referred to as the
“father of the scientific method,” recommended the method of scientific
inquiry be adapted to determine truth. He believed that knowledge was
power and acquiring this knowledge could allow one to deal effectively
with problems..
Bacon urged that individuals examine all previously accepted knowledge
and rid the mind of various idols or presumed falsities.
d. Other Contributors
John Locke. John Locke (1632-1704) He believed that all ideas are
developed from experience by sensation and reflection. He concluded that
what is known is what is experienced.
Herbert Spencer. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was one of the first
individuals to propose a scheme for selecting the subject matter best suited
to the needs of the pupils. He promoted that knowledge, contributing to
self-preservation, was of the utmost usefulness and should appear first
among the things taught to children.
9. The Basic Philosophy of Pragmatism.
Pragmatism comes from the Greek word for action, also the root for the
words practical and practice. Pragmatism, therefore, represents the empirical
attitude in philosophy.
a. Free Will and Determinism
Pragmatists believe that individual men originate nothing but merely transmit to
the future of which they are so small an expression.
William James, a famous pragmatist, promoted the concept of free will and a
reality of that freedom. He maintained that a human’s role was not merely to
measure so completely but to create and recreate based on experiences from the
past. James believed the universe is not an absolute; it is open, and it is full of
novelty; it contains chaos, disorder, and evil.
Major Contributors to Pragmatism
William James. James stressed that pragmatism was a broad philosophical
view that stressed pluralism, freedom, and change.
Oliver Wendell Holmes. Holmes’ philosophy is considered pragmatic
because he regarded the history and the theory of the law as instrumental.
Holmes recognized the use of force and power involved in pragmatism.
John Dewey.

6. Dewey’s philosophy of education, often labeled as experimentalism or
instrumentalism, emphasized many things including experiences,
experimentation, and freedom. Dewey believed the learner must interact
with that which is learned if a productive educational experience was to be
achieved. Though Dewey believed that all genuine education came
through experience, he also pointed out that experience may be
miseducation. He therefore suggested that teachers should carefully define
educational objectives and desired outcomes using experience as a
constructive learning instrument.
Dewey proposed that education should prepare students for the
continuation of learning in adult life by suggesting that the most important
attitude that can be formed is the desire to go on learning. Dewey also
proposed the recognition of students as individuals. The teacher must be
aware of the needs, capabilities, and past and existing experiences of
students. The teacher must also be aware of what goes on in their minds in
order to formulate plans for stimulating new ways of learning and thus
expand the experiences already present. This process could be self-
perpetuating as new experiences result in possible insights whose
explorations would result in other new experiences.
Dewey was responsible for many philosophical offshoots:
Instrumentalism, Progressivism, Experimentalism.
Other Contributors
Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Jean-Jacques Rousseau noted the importance of
environment in shaping human experience and thought. He maintained that
civilization was harmful because it had led us away from nature. Rousseau
thought that individuals were basically good, but were corrupted by
civilization. He emphasized naturalism in education and believed
education should be guided by the child’s interest.
10. The Basic Philosophy of Existentialism.
Existentialism is largely a revolt against other traditional philosophies. Key
features in existentialism are individuality, subjectivity, introspection, and
feeling.. Existentialists believe that existence precedes essence, and ideas
about Heaven, Hell, and God are all human inventions.The existentialist is
concerned with the particulars of today, not in absolutes or permanent ideals.
a. Selected Contributors to Existentialism
Sǿren Kierkegaard. One of the earlier existentialists was Soren
Kierkegaard (1813-1855).
Kierkegaard believed that a human’s essential self is developed in three
stages. First is the aesthetic stage in which a person behaves according to

7. impulses and emotions. Senses govern people, and life at this stage cannot
result in true existence. Second is the ethical stage in which a person
recognizes and accepts rules of conduct based on moral law and becomes
conscious of his/her guilt. Third is the religious stage in which a
commitment of faith will bring about a subjective and unique relationship
between God and the individual.
Kierkegaard challenged the individual to seek out individual truth.
Jean-Paul Sartre. Sartre was an atheistic existentialist who believed that
God did not exist, but there was one who did exist before essences and that
one was man. Sartre advocated that humans did not come into the world
ready-made but made of themselves what they are; humans are always in
the making. He accepted Descartes’ statement, “I think; therefore, I am.”
Sartre accepted humans as free, but attached to that freedom was heavy
responsibility. From this responsibility, individuals experience anguish..
Martin Buber. Buber suggested that a mutual respect and dignity must be
attained among all individuals. He was a proponent of an “I-Thou”
relationship where individuals are capable of relating and identifying with
the outside world. He opposed the “I-It” relationship where teachers
related to students as objects
Friedreich Nietzsche. Nietzsche authored the “God is Dead” philosophy
because he believed that more inhuman acts are committed in the name of
morality and religion than in the name of aggression.
11. Selected Philosophies Impacting Education and Western Civilization.
b. The Basics of Analytic Philosophy
For the most part, Analytic Philosophy seeks to clarify the languages,
concepts, and methods we use in the more precise activities of life. Hence,
clarification is its one central theme.
Ludwig Wittengenstein is the major contributor to the trend of linguistic
analysis. He felt there should be no systematic doctrine, no rules of. He
emphasized that philosophers should not concern themselves with the truth
of the data but should deal with the language and statements made about
the data.
Wittengenstein thought the only significant use of language was to picture
the facts; other than this, he considered it nonsensical. He believed that
words have no true meaning given to them by some independent power.
They have the meanings people give them. An ideal language, he thought,
should remove the trouble of thinking.

8. c. The Basic Philosophy of Reconstructionism
Reconstructionism is a philosophy that advocates an attitude toward
change and encourages individuals to try to make life better. Plato
proposed radical departures from the customs of his Greek
contemporaries..
d. The Basic Philosophy of Scholasticism
Scholasticism may generally be characterized as a means for employing
reason in the search for truth. Focus on academics, exclusively.
e. The Basic Philosophy of Instrumentalism
The legacy of instrumentalism is derived from Dewey’s pragmatism. The
instrumentalism position is that thought and action are primary instruments
used by human beings to solve practical problems. To find out what the
idea means, one puts it into practice and discovers the consequences it has
in practical reality.
f. The Basic Philosophy of Essentialism
The knowledge, skills, customs, manners, attitudes, and appreciations built
up through centuries of civilizations are our most precious heritage and the
best aids in meeting the real problems that were confronting humanity at
that time and that will confront humanity in the future.
g. The Basic Philosophy of Perennialism
In the perennialist philosophy, truth is the same everywhere and education,
therefore, should also be conducted in the same fashion everywhere. The
true purpose of education is to improve mankind, with the only concern of
educators being what is good for the student to know, regardless of what
the student may profess an interest in.
h. The Basic Philosophy of Constructivism
Constructivism is based on four basic principles of child development and
related teaching practices.
1. Children have an intrinsic desire to make sense of the world. What they
genuinely need to know and are genuinely interested in knowing help
them learn. In this instance, learning activities are created that are
meaningful and interesting to young children; conditions are created in
which children need to construct, develop, and apply additional
knowledge or skills; activities are provided that offer children choices
and opportunities to function as planners, decision makers, and
creators; sufficient time is allowed for children to pursue their ideas.
2. Children actively construct knowledge and values by acting upon the
physical and social world. Because their thoughts are still closely tied

9. to actions, they require a physically and mentally active learning
environment. Opportunities are provided for exploration, interaction,
and experimentation with peers, adults, and objects; children are helped
to reflect on and evaluate their thoughts and actions; activities are
created that allow children to make use of their knowledge in new
situations; opportunities are provided for children to cooperate and
consider different points of view; children are permitted to use concrete
actions to inform their decision making.
3. In their universal struggle to understand the world, young children’s
thinking will contain predictable errors. Children’s imaginative but
often incorrect and illogical answers and ideas are valued; peer
interaction to discuss, question, and challenge each other’s ideas is
encouraged; all children are allowed to experience the consequences of
their ideas and actions within reasonable constraints; children are
encouraged to find answers to their own questions; analysis is made of
how and why children learn in certain ways.
4. Developmental domains are interactive and interrelated, each
influencing the other. It is within the socio-moral environment that
cognition and language are furthered. Emphasis is placed on an
integrated approach to teaching; integrated academic instruction within
contexts that are meaningful to the child is practiced; curriculum goals
which promote various aspects of development are encouraged;
learning is viewed as dynamic and organic rather than static and linear.
Constructivist theory was developed to fulfill a need for a curriculum and
assessment framework that supports young children’s characteristic ways
of learning while at the same time providing teachers, parents, and
administrators with the information they need to make appropriate
decisions regarding the education of young children. This philosophy
enables teachers to function as professional decision makers whose
knowledge and observations of young children enrich teaching practice.
Notes: William Allan Kritsonis (From Philosophies of Education by William Allan
Kritsonis, Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Texas of the Permian
Basin.

10. to actions, they require a physically and mentally active learning
environment. Opportunities are provided for exploration, interaction,
and experimentation with peers, adults, and objects; children are helped
to reflect on and evaluate their thoughts and actions; activities are
created that allow children to make use of their knowledge in new
situations; opportunities are provided for children to cooperate and
consider different points of view; children are permitted to use concrete
actions to inform their decision making.
3. In their universal struggle to understand the world, young children’s
thinking will contain predictable errors. Children’s imaginative but
often incorrect and illogical answers and ideas are valued; peer
interaction to discuss, question, and challenge each other’s ideas is
encouraged; all children are allowed to experience the consequences of
their ideas and actions within reasonable constraints; children are
encouraged to find answers to their own questions; analysis is made of
how and why children learn in certain ways.
4. Developmental domains are interactive and interrelated, each
influencing the other. It is within the socio-moral environment that
cognition and language are furthered. Emphasis is placed on an
integrated approach to teaching; integrated academic instruction within
contexts that are meaningful to the child is practiced; curriculum goals
which promote various aspects of development are encouraged;
learning is viewed as dynamic and organic rather than static and linear.
Constructivist theory was developed to fulfill a need for a curriculum and
assessment framework that supports young children’s characteristic ways
of learning while at the same time providing teachers, parents, and
administrators with the information they need to make appropriate
decisions regarding the education of young children. This philosophy
enables teachers to function as professional decision makers whose
knowledge and observations of young children enrich teaching practice.
Notes: William Allan Kritsonis (From Philosophies of Education by William Allan
Kritsonis, Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Texas of the Permian
Basin.