Need For A Philosophy!!

EDUCATION is basically the adjustment of the child to the three worlds, VIZ., (1) the world of Nature (the physical world) — the arena of our activities on earth, shaped and controlled by physical forces, (2) the world of man, i.e., the social order — the entire fabric of civilization which is wholly man’s education, and (3) the
world of morality that the moral order, contained in the social order. In teaching the child science we are adjusting him to the physical world.

Need For A Philosophy:

The real reason why there is a so much wastage in our effort in education is that we often lack a philosophy which alone can help us in considering an educational question from a single consistent point of view and in studying it from all aspects so as to see it steadily and as a whole. We must, therefore, re-examine some of the cherished postulates of our educational theories and practices in the light of this observation.

Life is a system of relations and every such relation has a physical and a social aspect, for every individual is what, he is through his interaction with his surroundings, viz., the physical world, the social order and the unseen world of morality.

As a social being, the child enters into all sorts of relations with human beings and with the physical world. Later on the range and scope of these relations increase in complexity and variety and he realizes the existence of a third world — the world of spiritual values.

No man can save the soul of his brother and each must spin his moral web anew after his own pattern. So, the greatest task of education is to adjust the child to the two worlds and then to develop in him also the power and impulse to weave as much of his life as possible into the moral fabric.

Thus, the relations between the three worlds can be broadly classified as theoretical and practical, i.e., the relations of knowledge and action. As a result the predominantly intellectual cast of philosophic thought during the last three centuries, knowledge and action came to be regarded as antithesis and their mutual dependence was overlooked. This philosophy of knowledge is derived from a higher source than a practical activity, and as such, the former possesses a higher and more spiritual worth than the latter. The consequences of this thesis between knowledge and action were serious: knowledge was confounded with erudition and action with rule of thumb aptitude. If the progress of the experimental sciences during the last few centuries has proved anything it is that there is no such thing as genuine knowledge and fruitful understanding except as the result of doing and experience. Actual experience is the basis of knowledge.

In understanding these three worlds, child should be introduced in the early stage to a Philosophy of science through liberal and technical experimental sciences and to the Philosophy of Social Science through interaction with various social channels, teaching the importance of various social clusters & their well beings and the Philosophy of inner knowledge through spirituality, morality through culture & religion. These thoughts should be introduced to the fabric of education in all levels.

When I think of Philosophy as a topic it always reminds me this Thomas Gray’s line in his Elegy Written in a Country Church-yard that “The paths of glory lead but to the grave” is not a pessimistic parody but an optimistic observation. We do not remember and rejoice over the achievers but the affectionate.