Famous Philosophers

1. Famous Philosophers This PowerPoint Emphasizes Their Philosophies of Education

2. Socrates469-399 B.C. • Born in Athens Mother – midwife Father – stonecutter • Executed for being seen as a threat to existing institutions • Convinced of the universality of right/wrong, good/evil • Essential relationship between knowledge and virtue • Created the Socratic Method for questioning: • Focus on an ill-considered statement/concept • Questioning that points out inconsistencies • Redefining the original statement/concept • New definition is again critically examined

3. Socrates469-399 B.C. • Believed in a universal body of knowledge that was a gift from God • Education’s goal is to help students uncover knowledge that already exists • “Real world” was one of ideas that were universal and absolute • Curriculum should be centered around the classic body of knowledge • Instruction should let students make intellectual discoveries; teachers should not just lecture • Socratic Method promotes critical thinking in the classroom

4. Francis Bacon1561 -1626 • Born in London – lived very political life • Introduced the systematic study of science • Aimed at practice rather than theory • Laid the foundation for pragmatism • Didn’t believe that humankind already possessed a body of truth • Believed most knowledge of his time to be false because it was not based on sufficient examination of the concrete world

5. Francis Bacon1561 -1626 • Believed that knowledge could be attained through amassing data, carefully interpreting the data, and conducting experiments founded on organized observations • Reality/Truth is found in nature, not beyond nature • Believed in the power of inductive reasoning – focusing on the acquisition of knowledge through a process of going from specific to general • Endless and persistent uncovering of facts and principles that are not already known • Teacher assists students in generating/observing specifics and then moves them toward general statements or conclusions

6. Jean-Jacques Rousseau1712 - 1778 • Born in Geneva, Switzerland • Believed human beings are individually good from birth • Education should be founded on personal exploration of and contact with nature, people, and things • Saw society as superficial with weak human relationships • Believed if a person became bad , it was due to the influence of corrupt social institutions

7. Jean-Jacques Rousseau1712 - 1778 • Believed in simplicity, personalized education, and a just society founded on individual responsibility • Believed that all knowledge reaches the mind through the senses • Strongly promoted experiential learning – to grow toward goodness we must be in harmony with nature • Believed the world was made up of verifiable constants/order which were established by a Supreme Being • A proponent of naturalism – believing that human beings learn gradually and constantly throughout their lives • Education should involve the development of capacities rather than the imposition of ideas • Theory of what should/ought to be, not what already exists

8. Karl Marx1818 - 1881 • Born in Trier, Germany • Believed that class struggle and economic conditions were the sole causal determinants of history and thought • Believed in a philosophy of action which could change laws, institutions, and enable men • Schools should provide students with empowering knowledge and skills that will allow them to transform society • Schools should focus on the needs of the individual, so that each would gain the knowledge needed to change society

9. Karl Marx1818 - 1881 • Emphasized a technologically grounded curriculum • Interested in having students understand the economic system in which they would be living • Schools should provide insights and critical inquiry skills that would enable them to transform the dominant culture • Followed Hegel’s use of the dialectic (assumption – contradiction – new understanding) but thought the end result should include practical action that would change society

10. Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi1746 - 1827 • Born in Zurich, Switzerland • Created several schools to help educate poor children • Believed successful education depended on the security and support of the home and genuine affection in the classroom • Teaching process involved • Numbers – careful observation and experience with an object in the natural world • Forms – incorporating the five senses to be able to describe objects and ideas orally • Names – developing and using a vocabulary to describe the object or idea

11. Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi1746 - 1827 • Wanted to break away from lecture and memorization • Believed that true education will produce economically self-sufficient individuals • Helped form the Doctrine of Self-Activity – the idea that a child is born with the power to receive impressions and react to them • Instruction must be connected to a certain need or want of the student • Education should contribute to the growth of the physical body, the mind, and the morality of the individual • Believed in hands-on learning with actual objects and field trips • School should be hands-on, practical, and student-centered

12. Herbert Spencer1820-1903 • Born in Derby, England • Believed in the freedom to develop naturally through the employment of sensory data and empirical knowledge • Believed all human activity was the result of an evolutionary process – actually coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” referring to society as opposed to biology • Emphasized empiricism as the primary source of knowledge, but conceded that not everything can be observed so not everything can be known

13. Herbert Spencer1820-1903 • Development of knowledge is a process of moving from simplicity to complexity, so evolutionary in nature • Primarily concerned with applying principles of evolution, accumulation of scientific data, and inductive reasoning • Education should include a curriculum that is focused on the worth and relative use of the knowledge to the individual during his/her life • Believed SCIENCE was the essence of the modern curriculum • Believed the laboratory method was most valuable due to its student centeredness and promotion of self-discipline and control • Classrooms should promote self-development through interesting and fun activities

14. John Dewey1859 - 1952 • Born on a farm in Burlington, Vermont • Believed reality is a “liquid process” which is constantly changing • A school should be a microcosm of the community or the society • Believed society must transmit the habits of doing, thinking, and feeling from the older to the younger • Gaining new knowledge should result in further inquiry and eventual action which he called “making” - instrumentalism

15. John Dewey1859 - 1952 • Believed strongly in the use of reflective thinking – active, persistent and careful consideration of a belief or idea • School should provide students with the processes and behaviors that will sustain a democratic way of life • Education should not have any preconceived, fixed, or determined ends • Student centered, activity-oriented curriculum which promotes reflective thinking • Teacher is responsible for providing problems or situations that will be interesting and challenging, and worthwhile in promoting social growth • Education is life, not a preparation for life – a dynamic, ongoing, never-ending experience • Desired to bring the real world into the classroom

16. Jean-Paul Sartre1905-1980 • Born in Paris • Viewed the world as composed of ignorant and imperfect individuals living in an uncertain universe in which nothing is rational or right • Believed that society could be made better • Subjective human experience provides truth • These experiences should involve reflection, freedom of choice, decision making and responsibility

17. Jean-Paul Sartre1905-1980 • “Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself (was an atheist) • Felt that free choice in the classroom promotes teacher-student partnerships and student empowerment • Believed that although free choice should be given, these experiences should be well planned and not entirely devoid of constraints or limitations