PHILOSOPHY
Prepared by:
DENVER JANE D. DASAM
Analytic Philosophy
Analytic Philosophy(or sometimesAnalytical Philosophy) is
a20th Centurymovement in philosophy which holds that
philosophy should applylogical techniquesin order to
attainconceptual
clarity.
For
many
Analytic
Philosophers,languageis theprincipal(perhaps theonly) tool,
and philosophy consists in clarifying how language can beused.
As a specific movement,it was led byBertrand Russell,
Alfred North Whitehead,G. E. MooreandLudwig Wittgenstein.
Turning away from then-dominant forms ofHegelianism, they
began to develop a new sort ofconceptual analysisbased on
new
developments
inLogic,
and
succeeded
in
makingsubstantial contributionsto philosophicalLogicover
thefirst half of the 20th Century.
Developments of Analytic
Philosophy
Early developmentsin Analytic
Philosophy arose out of the work of
the German mathematician and
logicianGottlob Frege(widely
regarded as thefatherofmodern
philosophical logic), and his
development ofPredicate Logic.
Predicate Logic
Which allowed a much greater range of sentences to be
parsed into logical form that was possible using the
Aristotelian logic.
Example:
All men are mortal.
Socrates is a man.
Socrates is mortal.
In English, the predicate is the part of the sentence that tells you
something about the subject.
SYMBOLIC LOGIC
All logical reasoning is based on statements. A statement is a
sentence that is either true or false.
Traditionally, symbolic logic uses lower case letters to denote
statements. Usually the letters p, q, r, s, t. Statements get labels. (p:
It is raining. )
Example: (Conjunction) A compound statement that consists of 2 or
more statements connected by the word and.
And is represented by the symbol ^.
p ^ q represents p and q.
p: Jerry Seinfeld is a comedian.
q: Jerry Seinfeld is a millionaire.
Express the following in symbolic form:
i. Jerry Seinfeld is a comedian and he is a millionaire.
Analytic philosophys fundamental idea is simple: illdefined problems yield erroneous solutions. Early analytic
philosophers such as G.E. Moore, Bertrand Russell and
Ludwig Wittgenstein believed that many of the problems that
had for centuries beleaguered philosophers were the result of
language used poorly and that such problems would not as
much be solved as dissolved -- shown to be pseudo-problems
by being correctly formulated in plain language.
Bruce Maxwell
In
his
"Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus"of
1921,
Wittgensteinsuggested that the world is merely the
existence of certainstates of affairswhich can be
expressed in the language offirst-order predicate logic,
so that a picture of the world can be built up by
expressingatomic factsinatomic propositions, and
linking them usinglogical operators, a theory sometimes
referred to asLogical Atomism.
Logical atomismThe theory that the world is consists of
ultimate logical "facts" (or "atoms") that cannot be broken
down any further.
In Posivistic approach, the scientific truth and success is
measured by positivistic education, in the sense of right and
true must be concrete, exact, accurate, and provide benefit.
2002)
inPhilosophy of MindbyDaniel
andPaul Churchland(1942 - ).
Dennett(1942
R.S. Peters
Richard Stanley Peters(31 Oct 1919
30 Dec 2011) was a British philosopher.
His work belongs mainly to the areas of
political theory, philosophicalpsychology
, andphilosophy of education.
- His research was in the areas of
motivation, emotions, personality
as well as social behaviour and the
relationship between reason and
longing.
- Perhaps, his most important work
isEthics and Education.
With this and his subsequent publications he significantly influenced the
development of the philosophy of education in Britain and world-wide.
The influence was a result of his examination of the concept of education in the
sense of analytic philosophy, a central tool being term analysis.
Peters explored two substantial aspects of the philosophy of education: the
normative and the cognitive.
Paul H. Hirst
Paul Quentin Hirst(20 May 1946 17 June 2003) was a British
sociologist and political theorist. He
became Professor of Social Theory at
Birkbeck, University of Londonin
1985 and held the post until his death
from a stroke and brain haemorrhage.
Hirst wrote a paper in 1973 entitled
"Liberal Education and the Nature of
Knowledge"
-
Child-centered teaching/learning
Aims, purpose and goals of education
Integrated curriculum
Free education
Subject advisers
Inspectors, supervisors
Gender sensitive
Functions
It has no specific content it deals with logical
analysis of language; concepts and statements in
order to:
- examine clarity of statements and concepts and
remove ambiguity and confusion;
- express ideas and meanings precisely and
accurately;
- solve the problem of meaning by testing it through
experience;
In education
More concerned with formulation of education ideas and clear
expression of those ideas for easy understanding;
A university that tries to put its professors and its students as
blinkers will neither serve the cause of knowledge, nor the
interest of the society in which it exists (Nyerere in Lema et al;
2006:29)
Analysis of other peoples ideas on education to avoid
misunderstanding
Discuss the concepts that are commonly used in education,
teaching, learning, knowledge and curriculum to check their
clarity.
Discuss issues and problems that arise in the conduct of
education, analyze them and put them in clear perspective;
Relevance to Education
Teaching sound reasoning
Avoid contradictions in statements
Making use of all available evidence and facts when
putting forward an argument
Teachers learn to accept or reject arguments on the basis
of their soundness and clarity not on emotional basis or
who is making an argument.
Through clarification and precise analysis a teacher can
understand personal prejudices and expose what are the
real issues
Uses to Teachers
School teachers can:
Avoid unnecessary disagreements, contradictions,
inconsistencies and dogmatic decisions, trains high sense
of imagination and reasoning;
Justify and weigh opinions of different groups in the school
or in the community and analyze what is right, wrong or
rational;
express concepts clearly in classroom;
Critically analyze issues for comprehensive decisions
Analyze language as symbolic meaning of communication
References
Akinpelu, J (1981): An Introduction to Philosophy of Education.
McMillan: Oxford
Halverson, W (1981): Concise Readings in Philosophy. Random
House: New York.
Moore & Bruder (1990): Philosophy: The Power of Ideas. Mayfield
Publishing Com.
Nyirenda, S & Ishumi (2000): Introduction to Philosophical Concepts,
Principles and Practice. Dar-es-Salaam University Press: Dar-esSalaam.
Thompson, M (): Philosophy. Hodder Headline: London
Lema, E (2006): Nyerere on Education -Volume II: Selected Essays
and Speeches 1961-1967.Haki Elimu & E & D Limited: Dar-es-Salaa.
Online Materials:
http:/www.wikipedia.com
http://
mambaus-sholihin.blogspot.com/2010/01/analytic-philosophyand-education.html
https://sites.google.com/site/vandyphil234g1/philosophy-of-edu
cation-an-anthology-by-randall-curren/r-s-peters--education-as-initiation
http://
dailyimprovisation.blogspot.com/2011/07/hirsts-forms-of-know
ledge.html
http://www.uniassignment.com/essay-samples/education/thecurriculum-design-and-development-education-essay.php