The purpose of this paper is to determine whether philosophies such as Idealism, Realism, and Pragmatism should reason with children. However, before we begin to analyze this statement, I think it is important to define what is reason and provide a brief overview of Piaget’s cognitive theory. Reasoning is a systematic process that enable individuals to achieve knowledge and understanding (Landauer & Rowlands, 2001). This process includes stages such as logic, deduction, and induction (Cohen, 1999). Reason focuses on fundamentals such as ideas, emotions, memories, and everything you can perceive using your senses (Landauer & Rowlands, 2001).
According to Piaget’s cognitive theory, children have the mental capacity to acquire knowledge (as cited by McLeod, 2015). The theory explains the different development stages and indicates when an individual is capable to reason and think on …show more content…
Plato with the help of his mentor Socrates established the foundation of this philosophy (Gutek, 2014). According to Plato, individuals acquire knowledge as they search for the truth. Furthermore, it believes the purpose of education is to empower individuals to accomplish this goal, and that during this process an individual can become an intellectual and knowledgeable person (Gutek, 2014). Based on Plato’s epistemology students are eager to learn and can “differentiate between what is right and what is wrong” (Gutek, 2014, p. 23). Additionally, Plato believed that knowledge attained through wisdom is the greatest form of intelligence and it promotes critical thinking skills (Gutek, 2014). For an idealist, reasoning with children is acceptable as it promotes knowledge and critical thinking. Since children are inquisitive from nature, the idealism philosophy encourages children to use reason as a way to acquire and increase their
According to Piaget’s cognitive theory, children have the mental capacity to acquire knowledge (as cited by McLeod, 2015). The theory explains the different development stages and indicates when an individual is capable to reason and think on …show more content…
Plato with the help of his mentor Socrates established the foundation of this philosophy (Gutek, 2014). According to Plato, individuals acquire knowledge as they search for the truth. Furthermore, it believes the purpose of education is to empower individuals to accomplish this goal, and that during this process an individual can become an intellectual and knowledgeable person (Gutek, 2014). Based on Plato’s epistemology students are eager to learn and can “differentiate between what is right and what is wrong” (Gutek, 2014, p. 23). Additionally, Plato believed that knowledge attained through wisdom is the greatest form of intelligence and it promotes critical thinking skills (Gutek, 2014). For an idealist, reasoning with children is acceptable as it promotes knowledge and critical thinking. Since children are inquisitive from nature, the idealism philosophy encourages children to use reason as a way to acquire and increase their