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Branches of Philosophy

Philosophy of Education

Ethics

Philosophy of education is the branch of philosophy that examines the aims, content and methods of education and the legitimate scope of educational authority, asking what education is for, what it should teach, how it should be carried out and who may rightly decide. It became established as a distinct subfield of philosophy in the 1960s.

Facts
Disputed
Key Debate
Whether education should be primarily child centered, following the learner's own developing interests as John Dewey and progressive educators urged, or content centered, transmitting a structured body of shared knowledge as E.D. Hirsch and cultural-literacy advocates urge. 2
John Dewey's progressive education and E.D. Hirsch's cultural-literacy movement remain the two poles education policy debates keep returning to.
Central Question
What are education's proper aims, and who holds the authority to set them? 1
Key Debate
Whether education should prioritize formative aims such as rational agency and human flourishing as ends in themselves, or instrumental aims such as economic and civic utility, and whether the two can be reconciled or one must take priority. 1
Connections

Associated With

Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Includes

Plato, Philosophers
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Republic, Works
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Sources
1. Philosophy of Education (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
  • Overview
    Education may be broadly characterized as the promotion of desirable forms of learning and personal development through practices
  • The Object of Inquiry and Most Basic Questions
    Education is concerned with the transmission of worthwhile things and what distinguishes it from training and mere growth
  • The Nature and Aims of Education
    there is no obvious reason why education could not involve inherent goods or aims and also justifiably serve further student-centered aims
  • In Category: Branches of Philosophy
2. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Information
  • s.v. Philosophy of Education
    Philosophy of education was a prominent aspect of the philosophy of human affairs that emerged in fourth century BCE Athens, and it has remained an integral aspect of philosophy through much of its subsequent history.
  • Associated With: John Dewey, entry: John Dewey, Section 5 Philosophy of Education
    Around the world, Dewey remains as well known for his educational theories (see the entry on philosophy of education, section 2.3) as for his philosophical ones.
  • Associated With: John Locke, entry: Philosophy of Education
    Philosophers have sometimes formulated, examined, or critiqued guiding principles for the design of curricula (Plato Laws, Republic; Locke 1706; Rousseau 1762; Dewey 1902; Scheffler 1958; Lewin 2018).
  • Associated With: Jean-Jacques Rousseau, entry: Philosophy of Education
    A notable feature of non-instrumentally justified formative education is that it seems to escape the dilemma, aptly framed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762), of how it can be equally for the individual student and for the society.
  • Includes: The Republic, entry: Philosophy of Education, Section 3, Republic 401b-d
    leading them unwittingly, from childhood on, to resemblance, friendship, and harmony with the beauty of reason - [this is] the best education for them
  • Includes: Plato, entry: Philosophy of Education, Section 3
    In saying this, Plato regarded habituation as a mode of education and identified true beliefs about what is good and reasonable as important educational content.
View the Source
Philosophy of Education (Wikipedia)
Definition
Quote, Definition
the branch of applied philosophy that investigates the nature of education as well as its aims and problems
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