POE: MEANING, SCOPE AND FUNCTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY

MEANING, SCOPE AND FUNCTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY

 The Meaning of Philosophy

People think of philosophy in different ways because of differences in viewing the world. The various ways people see things have accounted for the arguments about the way things are and how man fits into the universal scheme. The word philosophy came from the Greek words ‘philo’ and ‘sophia’.

These Greek words are interpreted as follows – ‘philia’ refers to friendliness, affection or love. Then ‘sophia’ o n the other hand, refers to the highest intellectual, especially philosophical excellence which the human mind is capable of and which is the result of studying nature for  its own sake. The two concepts would combine to form philosophy which is literally translated as ‘love of wisdom’.

Philosophy

Although, contemporary philosophers do not parade themselves As ‘wisemen’, wisdom is certainly an attribute of phil osophy. But who is a wise man? What would make us refer to a person as wise in African society? To refer to a person as a wise man in Africa, the person must know the traditional practices and customs of his people.

Such a person must also think critically and deeply about the world around him. It is only when a person has these qualities that you can refer to him as a wise man or a philosopher. In order words, how much schooling or paper qualification a man has does not account for his becoming a philosopher.

Now, let us look at some definitions of philosophy. Philosophy has been defined as:

a. A mental attitude between science and religion. Like science, it is concerned about factual evidence about the world. Like religion, philosophy is never definite about anything said about the nature of God or man.

b. A way of simplifying complex ideas and statements about our experiences in life in order to make us understand them fully.

c. A study which examines the nature of the world and the reasons behind many things or events happening in it.

 The Scope of Philosophical Inquiries

Understand that philosophical inquiry is about the following areas of study:

(i) a comprehensive explanation of why man occupies a particular position in the world.

(ii) an explanation of the nature of knowledge and its relevance to human life.

(iii) a study of theories and principles which guide social behaviour

which we call ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. Philosophy as a subject examines the question which affects human existence and the existence of other objects in the world. The subject also examines the question of the existence of God and other divine forces.

The subject also examines and clarifies important topics like life, happiness and time, predestination, immorality among others. When we study such topics, we study an area of philosophy called metaphysics.

A teacher should study this subject because it would help him to understand human nature better and, therefore, be better able to develop the knowledge of his learner. This is why you need to study it well. Philosophy is also concerned with studying the nature of knowledge.

Philosophers try to define knowledge. They try to identify the qualities of knowledge. They try to trace the origin and source of knowledge. While some philosophers believe that knowledge comes from reasoning, others believe that it comes from senses. Again, others believe that knowledge is determined by the person looking for it. The branch of
philosophy concerned with knowledge is called epistemology.

It isimportant to education because to be able to educate, we must have knowledge. Again, the process of education is the processes of making people acquire knowledge. As you read through, you are acquiring knowledge. Philosophy is also concerned with the principles guiding our social actions.

This is called ethics or moral philosophy. Again, philosophy interpret ‘good’, ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in many ways. This again depends on their background experience. To a person who is brought up in a period of war, the good life may be the life of peace. To those who suffer from ignorance, knowledge to them is good. Philosophers do not only try to define the good life, they also prescribe ways of attaining it.

As an educator, you should know the ways of life that are valued to your people so that you can prepare your learner for good social relations. This analytical function is considered to be the primary Over the years, philosophy has assumed a more moderate role by confining itself to analyzing and clarifying concepts and statements. It
also tries to resolve issues in human life. This is done in order to improve our understanding of the subject matter of life in general and discipline as well.

The Functions of Philosophy

The functions of philosophy are the uses of the subject to us as individuals and as members of a society. Some contemporary thinkers called the Analytic philosophers see philosophy as a study that essentially simplifies and analyses issues and statements pertaining to other subjects in order to enable us understand them better. The functions of philosophy are explained as follows:

(I). Analytical Function

This has to do with the analysis and clarification of ideas, issues, and statements to enable us understand the subject matters of other disciplines function of philosophy.

(II) Speculative and Normative Function

The mind is a very essential instrument for doing philosophy. The mind is one gift to man which enables him to think about himself, the people around him and the world in general. With it he can speculate about things he is not sure of; he can imagine things that are possible and even those that are not possible. It is to be noted however, that, when we think about things or speculate on issues it is done within the context of our social and cultural environment.

(III) Inspirational Function

The educational process is constantly inspired by philosophers. Such works as Plato’s Republic and others like it have become the reference book for many educators because they obtain a lot of insight from these books to guide their activities. For one thing, every society has its ideal and thus, strives to attain it.

Plato’s ideal in the Republic is one in which education serves as an important criterion for assigning social positions and responsibilities. It is therefore, believed that, people should be educated in order to enable them achieve self-fulfillment.

Even though Plato’s society does not pretend to strive for equality of all people, it is still a model to inspire the Nigerian educator in his effort to bring about a measure of equality in society.

(IV) Prescriptive Function

Every nation has its problems which call for solution. It is expected that every one would contribute to the best of his ability. Although philosophy has a lot to contribute, philosophers are sometimes excluded from the decision making process. This appears to have made the situation worse. For example, before adopting a new educational or
social policy in the country, one would expect that philosophers would be included in the planning. Such contributions would benefit all concerned.

Some educational philosophers in the country hold the view that the poverty of Nigeria’s philosophical base is responsible for our technological under-development. They also blame the country’s social political instability on the weakness of its philosophical foundation. Philosophical prescription is therefore, made to help to overcome these
difficulties. Indeed every society expects some guidance from its philosophers, especially in education. It is on this score that philosophy is made compulsory in all Teacher Education and Law Programmes.

(V) Co-ordinating Function

Since it is well known that all other disciplines are generated from philosophy, philosophy cannot be seen as competing with its offspring. In view of the fact that these disciplines have established their knowledge base solidly, philosophy has mapped out for itself other responsibilities.

The fact that there exist at present such area as philosophy of science, philosophy of social science, philosophy of law and philosophy of education among others, shows the contribution that philosophy still makes to learning. Consequently, the coordinating role of philosophy in articulating the knowledge base of these disciplines

should not leave anyone in doubt about the prescriptive function of philosophy.

Self-Assessment Exercise

1. List the function of philosophy

2. Explain the analytic function of philosophy

Answers are

1. The functions of philosophy are

a. Analytic function

b. Speculative function
c. Inspirative function

d. Prescriptive function

e. Coordinating function

2. The analytic function of philosophy has to do with the analysis and clarification of ideas, issues, and statements
to enable us  understand the subject matters of other disciplines.
This analytical function is considered to be the primary function of philosophy.

Philosophy as a Guide to Curriculum Design

The educational process relies on curriculum for guidance while philosophy constitutes the base of curriculum design.
Curriculum design is the fruitful ordering of subject matter designed to produce knowledge, skills and attitude in our children.

If the products of curriculum design are so important to the educational  process, we should expect philosophy to play an important part in the shaping of education for one thing, knowledge and social outlook are key
components of philosophy. In fact the skills referred to are basically intellectual because thinking is involved.

Whether curriculum is seen as the total interaction between the teacher and his pupil or as the general name for
school subjects, like mathematics, language, arts, health and physical education among others, curriculum is based on philosophy because of the inspiration it derives from philosophy.

 Implication of Philosophy for Teaching

From the foregoing, you must have seen that it is apparent that philosophy has great implication for teaching. If we accept the main task of teacher as to impart knowledge skills and moral, and these elements are grounded in philosophy. It is absolutely necessary for the  teacher to pay attention to philosophy.

The use of the mind as an effective instrument for thinking one’s way out of problem is very important. The teacher who acts before he has the opportunity to reflect can certainly not be an effective one. Philosophy therefore,
makes teachers able to think and this process is encouraged in his learners.

As one whose activities are guided by an inspired curriculum, the teacher must see himself as a nation builder in the strictest sense of the word. The country depends on him to teach in such a way that the manpower needed to man the different areas of responsibility is efficient and effective. Therefore, philosophy helps the teacher to understand his work better.

Philosophy also helps the teacher to understand the national and educational goals of his country. It is therefore, essential for the teacher to relate the functions of philosophy to education so that he can use knowledge to produce the educated and skilled Nigerian needed to develop the nation.

CONCLUSION

Over the years, philosophy has assumed a more moderate role by confining itself to analysing and clarifying concepts and statements. It also tries to resolve issues in human life, in order to improve our understanding of the subject matter of life in general.

Source: School of Education, National open University of Nigeria