What is "philosophy of education?"

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What is "philosophy of education?"

• Philosophy AND Education?

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• Philosophy of Education
• A performative definition
• A literal definition

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What is philosophy?
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Analytic philosophy, as method

• --offering fine-grained distinctions and
  typologies, diagnosing hidden equivocations or
  blurriness in the ordinary concepts found within
  educational slogans or cliches and criticizing
  faulty logic or misleading uses of statistics or
  other evidence.

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Not just definitions

• Creative resulting from originality of thought
  or expression (Random House)
• What constitutes originality of thought? How does
  originality differ from similar ideas (bizarre,
  unique)? How do we determine original?

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Turning to the continents and margins

• Continental philosophy existentialism,
  phenomenology
• Critical theory, feminism, postmodernism

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Philosophy of Education

• The process (and resultant contents/ideals) in
  which educational practitioners or reformers
  develop thoughtful, and to varying degrees
  systematic or coherent, justifications for their
  educational practices and commitments.

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Serving two masters

• Seeking credibility in relation to the traditions
  of philosophy
• Seeking legitimacy within the utilitarian climate
  of schools of education and among teachers

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Political Philosophy

• - the study of people living in societies,
  governed by institutions and practices that mold,
  constrain, and in many ways constitute the lives
  they lead (Christman, 2002)

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Questions central to political philosophy

• What is the ultimate justification of political
  authority?
• How tolerant must the state be of dissidents and
  subversive groups?
• To what extent should the state attempt to
  promote the good of its citizens, as opposed to
  simply protecting their liberty to pursue their
  own good?

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Distributive justice

• What is the most fair and just distribution of
  material goods and social benefits for a society
  (and to what degree should inequalities in wealth
  that capitalist economic markets produce be left
  uncorrected)?

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The Liberal Democratic Tradition

• Securing justice, not promoting citizens good or
  virtue