philosophy_realism

Aristotelian Realism

Aristotle proposed that ideas can exist without matter, but matter cannot exist without form. In order to get to form, it was necessary to study material things. To do this Plato would use the dialectic, but Aristotle used syllogism, which is a process of “ordering statements about reality in a logical, systematic form”, according to Ozmon. This systematic form would include a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion. The problem with this thinking is that if one premise is false, the conclusion can not be accurate.

Aristotle described the relation between form and matter with four causes: the Material cause (matter), the Formal cause (design), the Efficient cause (agent), and the Final cause (direction). Through these different forms, Aristotle demonstrated that matter was constantly in a process of change. He believed that God, the Ultimate Reality held all creation together. Organization was very important in Aristotle’s philosophy. It was his thought that human beings fulfill their purpose when they think. Thinking is the highest characteristic. According to Aristotle, each thing had a purpose and education’s purpose was to develop the capacity for reasoning. Proper character was formed by following the Golden Mean, the path between extremes of the soul. Aristotle spoke of three aspects of the soul: vegetative, animative, and rational. Balance and moderation in all things was a key to a happy life. The body and mind were not in opposition, but by collecting data using the senses, reasoning was developed.

Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas tried to balance the philosophy of Aristotle with Christian ideas. He believed that truth was passed to humans by God through divine revelation, and that humans had the ability to seek out truth. Unlike Aristotle, Aquinas believed that the soul was not a biological entity, but an immortal creation from God. Because of this the soul has an inner knowledge that can be used to guide individuals in life. The path to the soul was through the physical senses and education should use this path to help students to progress from a lower to a higher form. He felt that knowledge gained from the senses leads to God and that education should focus on the physical and spiritual nature of individuals.

Aquinas believed that education was the responsibility of the family, the Church, and society. The mother was the child’s first teacher, and it was the mother’s responsibility to start the child on the road to moral development. The Church’s role was to help people understand God’s law, and society should enforce educational laws without overstepping the boundaries or responsibilities of the Church and family.

Modern realism began to develop because classical realism did not adequately include a method of inductive thinking. If the original premise or truth was incorrect, then there was a possibility of error in the logic of the rest of the thinking. Modern realists therefore believed that a process of deduction must be used to explain ideas.

Francis Bacon

Bacon felt that the problem with religious realism was that it began with dogma and then worked toward deducing conclusions. He felt that science could not work with this process because it was inappropriate and ineffective for the scientific process to begin with preconceived ideas. Bacon felt that developing effective means of inquiry was vital because knowledge was power that could be used to deal effectively with life. He therefore devised the inductive method of acquiring knowledge which begins with observations and then uses reasoning to make general statements or laws. Verification was needed before a judgment could be made. When data was collected, if contradictions were found, then the ideas would be discarded.

John Locke

John Locke believed that the mind was a blank slate at birth. Information and knowledge were added through experience, perception, and reflection. He felt that “what we know is what we experience”. Locke believed that play was very important in learning and stressed the importance of age appropriate readiness to receive certain concepts of learning. He thought that teachers shouldn’t push children beyond their natural inclinations and should make lessons interesting and rewarding. The focus of Locke’s curriculum was on educating the total child. He felt that reading instruction should begin as soon as a child was talking.

Contemporary realism developed around the twentieth century due to “concerns with science and scientific problems of a philosophical nature”, according to Ozmon and Carver.

Alfred North Whitehead

While Thomas Aquinas tried to balance the ideas of Aristotle with the ideas of the Church, Alfred Whitehead tried to balance the ideas of realism with the ideas of idealism. He felt that philosophy was a search for patterns with pattern being similar to form as described by Aristotle. Whitehead did not believe in gaining knowledge just for the sake of knowledge, but gaining ideas connected with the experience. He felt that curriculum should not be taught just because it was taught in the past. According to Whitehead ideas should be learned in a practical and useful context.

Bertrand Russell

“Ban the Bomb” Bertrand believed that although the universe was characterized by pattern, the patterns could be verified precisely with mathematics. He discussed hard data which were the facts of a situation, and soft data which were the beliefs that could not be verified. Bertrand felt that the methods of science, hard data, should be used to arrive at philosophy. In Bertrand’s eyes, education was the key to a better world in that science could help to solve the problems of poverty and sickness. Society could use existing knowledge to apply tested methods to begin the process, and possibly have it occur in just one generation of time.

Hilary Putnam

Putnam developed a form of realism called internal realism, and felt that philosophy became the education of adults. Putnam believed that traditional realism saw the universe from a “God’s eye view” but that a God’s eye view wasn’t possible. He felt that the universe was so complex that it wasn’t possible for human beings to comprehend it all. And if people could not comprehend from this God’s eye view then metaphysics , the theory of ultimate reality, and epistemology, the theory of knowledge, no longer existed.

John R. Searle

John Searle felt that there was no separation between body and mind as the idealists suggested, and presented the idea of approaching reality using brute facts and social facts. Brute facts related to the ideas of physics and biology while social facts concentrated on the ways that society viewed or utilized those facts. Searle considered language an essential ingredient of social reality. Human social life was considered more complex than animal social life because of the capability of humans to use language.

Educational aims as they pertain to realism should be viewed from two perspectives, religious realism and secular realism. The religious realist believed that matter was not important unless it led to something else. Cramer and Ozmon give the example of looking at a rock and discussing not only its physical characteristics, but also using that information to lead to more philosophical questions such as its beginnings and purpose. Religious realists believe that God created the universe out of nothing, giving it order, and people could get to know God by studying the universe. Secular realists believed in understanding the material world through methods of rigorous inquiry. They promoted the study of science and scientific inquiry with the belief that people needed to know about the world in order to promote their survival. Self preservation was the aim of education. Students needed to be equipped with basics in a no nonsense approach. The basics also included a moral education. They felt that learned information should be useful and practical, developing rational abilities to their fullest for the achievement of a good life.

Secular realists believe that schools should teach fundamental facts about the universe in ways that make learning interesting and enjoyable. They place much emphasis on critical reasoning which is assisted by observation and experimentation. Realists believe that self realization is valuable and that it occurs best when students are able to obtain knowledge of the external world. The didactic was a method mentioned by Ozmon and Cramer as one method for learning. Regardless of the method, however, realists felt it should be organized and systemic. Locke believed that play was very important in learning and stressed the importance of age appropriate readiness to receive certain concepts of learning.

Realists agree that the educational curriculum should be practical and useful. They believe that the role of the teacher is that of a person who provides the basics in a fun and interesting way. The basics should include practical studies like reading, writing, drawing, geography, astronomy, and math, with additional physical activities. Many experiences should be provided since children are blank slates coming to school ready to receive information. Most realists believe that children should have a positive learning climate and be provided with rewards as a motivation for learning. Educators such as Maria Montessori believed in providing experiences using a variety of objects which assisted in cognitive and physical development. The realist’s curriculum tends to be one that emphasizes mental and physical development in a very organized and systematic approach.

According to Ozmon and Carver, realism appears primarily in times of trouble, but was brought into focus more by the advancement of industry and technology. Although classical and religious realists promote the development of morals and character, many other critics say that scientific realists are too materialistic and “biased toward social control and social order… In some countries, a realist outlook has been used to support totalitarian regimes, religious systems, and other worldviews that seem to seek over riding, controlling authority”. Realists seem very concerned with testing and having students measure up to certain standards. The result of this approach is the development of a very rigid curriculum that focuses on preparing students for taking a test which is scientific and fact based. In one sense, getting through the test itself is preparation for survival, but I’m not sure that‘s the idea of survival that the original proponents for realism had in mind.

Because idealists focused on ideas as true reality, I thought that my philosophy was primarily based on idealism. However, when given the information that Frances Bacon focused on knowledge as power, I began to conceptualize where James Madison may have received his inspiration, and therefore have changed my opinion. Because my teaching career is close to spanning thirty years, many aspects of realism in the current educational system become apparent when viewed from my experiences as a teacher and as a student. I recall the movement toward technology and science as a result of the push to explore space, brought on by the Soviet launch of Sputnik. In my elementary schooling, I recall never having physical education classes, and then one day spending time in the cafeteria doing jumping jacks and other physical activities. I’ve also experienced the stress of preparing students to gain a sufficient amount of factual data to pass a test for the successful completion of a grade. Within the past two years I’ve seen a push toward positive behavior strategies used in an effort to motivate students to successfully acquire knowledge. However, I feel as though I’m struggling to push students toward the attainment of these facts when they are not developmentally ready in many respects, due primarily to the fact that many parents are not acting as their children’s first teachers. That’s not a judgment, but a reality brought on by industrialization and the push for materialism that much of realism tends to promote.