Phil Of Ed

Front 1

Define "philosophy" as written in slide 1:

Back 1

Inquiry into the meaning of concepts and the logical coherence of argument.

Front 2

Explain the difference between a "contingent truth" and a "necessary truth":

Back 2

May be true contingently that ill-educated people are uncooperative. But it is not necessarily true. Not true by definition.

Front 3

What is analytic philosophy?

Back 3

Inquiry into the meaning of concepts and the logical coherence of argument.

Front 4

Define "concept":

Back 4

The idea of a class of objects. (Cf. Words, ideas, thoughts, images.)

Front 5

Briefly define "empirical":

Back 5

Derived from experiment and observation

Front 6

Explain the 4 stages of cognition:

Back 6

Imagining, belief, thinking, knowledge.

Front 7

What is a key question asked by analytic philosophers?

Back 7

What are the criteria that define a concept?

Front 8

What is distinctive of humans?

Back 8

In the normative/evaluative sense of “human”, the distinctive criterion is Mind.
Mind = developed understanding. Dependent on language.

Front 9

What is necessary to being educated in a normative sense?

Back 9

Peters: to have a well-developed mind = a well-developed understanding.

Front 10

What are the four criteria that pick out the formal nature of the understanding:

Back 10

i) Breadth ii) “Cognitive perspective” iii) Transformation of the agent
iv) Commitment to standards implicit in a subject

Front 11

What was Spencer's argument?

Back 11

Complete living involves: i) self-preservation ii) securing necessities of life iii) rearing of offspring iv) maintenance of relationships v) leisure

Front 12

What was Spencer's ideal curriculum?

Back 12

Curriculum to match: i) physiology ii) math, chemistry, geology, biology iii) psychology iv) sociology v) ?

Front 13

What is Hirst's "Form of Knowledge"?

Back 13

Basic claim: there are a few subjects/ disciplines that between them have the potential to yield answers to questions about all aspects of our world, and are in that sense fundamental. E.g. science and mathematical questions can be asked about almost anything; by contrast, while you can ask scientific questions about, e.g., gardening, you cannot ask gardening questions about science.

Front 14

What is the formal definition of a form of knowledge?

Back 14

Formal definition of a form of knowledge.
i) Has its own distinctive concepts
ii) Has its own distinctive logic
iii) Has its own distinctive tests against experience to establish truth

Front 15

By his criteria, Hirst originally distinguished 8 forms of knowledge. What were they?

Back 15

Science, Maths, Human Sciences, History, Moral Knowledge, Religion, Philosophy, Literature & the Fine Arts

Front 16

What are the criteria that define knowledge? Which criterion is the most problematic?

Back 16

Criteria that define knowledge: i) a belief
ii) that is true (corresponds to a state of affairs in the world)
iii) for which we have justification.
The crucial and problematic criterion is the third

Front 17

What is a need?

Back 17

A necessary means to a desired end.

Front 18

Define indoctrination:

Back 18

To cause people to become committed to unverifiable ideas or bodies of belief uncritically, especially of a religious or political kind.

Front 19

List the three necessary conditions for indoctrination:

Back 19

1 Non-rational methods.
2 Content: unverifiable beliefs
3 Intention: to close the mind.

Front 20

What's the difference between education and indoctrination?

Back 20

Education, by contrast with indoctrination, provides reasoning/evidence, and understanding that some matters are not capable of definitive proof.

Front 21

What are skills?

Back 21

Skills are discrete (usually physical) abilities made perfect by practice.
Developing a skill and developing understanding are quite distinct.

Front 22

What is religion?

Back 22

A set of beliefs concerning a supernatural divine being(s), with certain specific attributes (e.g., omnipotence, love, vengeful nature), who has power over us and who is to be worshipped/recognized/revered.

Front 23

Is religion a form of knowledge?

Back 23

No. It lacks a distinctive way of “testing against experience.”
We cannot “know” that a particular religion is true.

Front 24

What is morality?

Back 24

“A set of beliefs concerning how we ought to
live; what we ought to do for its own sake rather than through, e.g., fear, seeking reward, compulsion.”

Front 25

Explain how moral relativism is both true and false:

Back 25

If “moral relativism” implies that “morality can be defined in any way you choose” or that “any moral code adopted by a society is as ‘true’ or ‘acceptable’ as any other”, then it is false.
If it implies that there may be, within limits, different codes of behaviour that are equally moral, it is true.

Front 26

What are the five fundamental moral principles?

Back 26

Freedom: presupposed by the very idea of morality.
Fairness: treating people impartially (which does not necessarily mean in the same way).
Respect for Persons: recognising others as persons and ends in themselves. (Immanuel Kant,1724-1802.R.M.Hare).
Truth: a value presupposed by any sincere attempt to understand anything. Logically connected to notions of right and good.
Human well-being, flourishing, happiness. The object of morality. (Utilitarianism; Jeremy Bentham,1748-1832; John Stuart Mill, 1806-1873; Geoffrey Warnock, The Object of Morality.)

Front 27

What is the scientific method?

Back 27

Assumption that laws govern matter. By observation and experiment we infer laws of causation.
[Correlation: “correspondence.” High correlation = close correspondence.]

Front 28

Why can't the scientific method be used in social sciences?

Back 28

i) Concepts are not (usually) unequivocal or directly perceivable (recognizable).
ii) Humans are not inanimate and may “interfere” with experiment.
iii) Trying to control thousands of possible variables in these circumstances is at best a daunting task, perhaps impossible.