1. Preview: Educators confront philosophical issues on a daily basis, often not
recognizing them as such. They tend to deal with these issues unreflectively, perhaps
overlooking alternative ways to handle them.
Our concern in this article is to open up inquiry into these daily issues. The focus will
be on critical philosophy to uncover criteria that support educational judgment.
Three Conceptions Of Philosophy
We should never be ashamed to approve truth or acquire it,
no matter what its source might be, even if it might have come
from foreign peoples and alien nations far removed from us.
To him who seeks the truth, no other object is higher in value.
1
-- Rasa'il al-Kindi (810-873) Arab philosopher and physician
It is in trying to resolve such questions that the discussion becomes philosophical,
even though it may not be recognized as such. And it is philosophy that can help us
make better choices among goals, values and priorities. But what exactly is this
"philosophy?" And how does it help?
In daily use the term, "philosophy," is not clear-cut. TV programs offer us the
personal philosophies of various religious or political leaders. Other people talk about
their philosophy in choosing a kindergarten or a college. Some people believe a
difference in philosophy distinguishes between Roman Catholic and public schooling
practices. Still others talk about Progressive or Back-to-Basics philosophy.
We see then, that the word "philosophy" is vague, yet, asking someone for her
philosophy on something is different from asking her how she feels about it. "How do
you feel about divorce?" we ask. "I don't like the idea," comes the reply; "but my
philosophy on divorce is that you have to consider whether it might not be better to
give up rather than stay in a bad relationship."
What, then, is philosophy? To shortcut discussion we can borrow distinctions made by
philosopher John Passmore 2 and separate out three common conceptions of
philosophy: philosophy as wisdoms; philosophy as ideology; and philosophy as
critical inquiry. These distinctions help us sort out different traditions within what is
called philosophy by the man-on-the-street (although only critical philosophy is
understood to be philosophy in Passmore's own academic tradition).
Although three conceptions of philosophy can be distinguished, there are many
common elements shared by them. A person may derive an ideology from a wisdom,
and then subject it to critical philosophy. A truth discovered through critical
philosophy may come to be uncritically venerated, as, for example, was the insight in

2. America that education should center on the child. The three conceptions of
philosophy, in practice, are found in a mix in the day-to-day practice of the schools.
Almost every major philosopher in the critical tradition -- famed philosophers like
Socrates, Aristotle, Aquinas, Locke, Kant and others-- have had much to say in the
way of wisdoms about education and much in the way of ideology to say about how
we should go about schooling.
Our primary interest in this essay is in philosophy as critical inquiry. Wisdoms and
ideologies are usually inculcated into us in a way which gives us little opportunity for
reflection
and criticism: we are taught them as absolute truths as children. But critical
philosophy, as we will see, is characterized by an attitude of critical reflection and a
practice of analysis that inculcators of wisdoms and ideologies avoid. However,
wisdoms, ideologies and critical inquiry are intimately and importantly related,
especially in educational practice. Let's examine more closely the difference between
these three ideas of philosophy and how each relates to educational practice.
Philosophy as Wisdoms
Philosophy, however one conceives it, is expected to be more than a passing feeling or
a kneejerk opinion. It's supposed to be a thoughtful response to a question or situation.
The response may not be very extensively thought out, but it's got some element of
reflection in it. Philosophy as wisdom incorporates, at the very least, this notion of
reflection, of thoughtful response.
This conception of philosophy as wisdoms includes two related ideas: personal
reflections on broad questions, and prophetic wisdoms. Such philosophy is generally
seen as arising out of personal experience or as having sacred origins. For these
reasons we tend not to challenge them with a critical question such as, "How do you
know that?"
For example, you have probably read or have heard people say things like
a. You can't expect too much from life without being disappointed sometimes; or
b. Live and let live, that's what I say;
c. Don't smile until Christmas (common advice to new teachers).

3. Such statements are thought to be philosophical. They are general, they are often
offered as reasons for acting, and they have a certain air of thoughtfulness about them.
We generally concede people the right to these sorts of reflective opinions and do not
press them for further justification.
Philosophy as Ideology
Philosophy can also be thought of as ideology. An ideology is, by comparison with
wisdoms, a more highly organized body of opinion. It usually serves programs of
action and organizational needs. Philosophy as ideology is what we normally find in
schools. For licensing purposes, state departments of education require schools, public
and private, to have available a document that states the school's "philosophy" of
education. Significantly, such school philosophies can be acquired pre-packaged.
Educational accrediting agencies publish books of them that school planners and
directors can use to choose among different philosophies of education like so many
items on a menu.3 Here is an example of such an educational ideology:
The social development of elementary school students proceeds as the child becomes
aware of the various authority structures that operate throughout the school, the
community, the region, and the nation. We believe the school must help the child
establish a perspective on the responsibilities and opportunities inherent in the
multitude of authority systems in a democratic social order.4
The point of ideology is to provide extensive suggestion as to how to structure and
control an organization. This may be subject to debate. Although the example above
mentions a"democratic social order," given its emphasis on authority, one could
imagine that with this ideology, a school run like a miniature police-state could be
rationalized.
In developing an ideology, the wisdoms of individuals, prophetic or otherwise, is
called on to justify policies and day-to-day procedures. But did Moses, Jesus or
Mohammed ever talk or write about hall passes, or detentions? No. What philosophy
as ideology requires is an imagination that stretches the original intents and statements
into broader or novel applications. Sometimes this imagination goes far beyond any
reasonable interpretation. Indeed, deeply pious people may complain that the ideology
of a church organization violates the essential spirit of the prophetic teachings, as
when they complain that teachers in their schools fail exercise forgiveness as often as
they should. A key point here is that organizational demands often substantially
change the spirit of the original philosophy. Deep moral concerns may be lost in
service of expediency.4A

4. Philosophy as Critical Inquiry
The American Philosophical Association, which represents professional academic
philosophers in the critical tradition, characterizes the activities of philosophy this
way:
Properly pursued, philosophy enhances analytical, critical and interpretive capacities
that are applicable to any subject-matter, and in any human context. It cultivates the
capacities and appetite for self-expression and reflection, for exchange and debate of
ideas, for life-long learning, and for dealing with problems for which there are no
easy answers.5
The distinguishing characteristic of philosophy as critical inquiry is its focus on
careful questioning and systematic appraisal, with no special respect given to the
sources of the opinions examined. It doesn't matter who said or wrote what. Nor does
it matter what effect critical inquiry might have on an organization. The point of the
activity is not to honor individuals or to bolster organizations, but to try to get to the
truth.
Most importantly, in philosophy as critical inquiry, any statement purporting to be
truth is challengable. But what are the rules for making such a challenge more than
just an expression of dislike? What rules there are have been developed through
millennia in a literature tracing back to Plato and earlier. We will look more closely at
these rules for challenge and investigation later.
How does critical philosophy help with educational decisions?
We live in a society where wisdoms and ideologies compete. Educators must be able
to fairly select among them in a way which they understand to enhance their practice.
Such a selection among competing wisdoms should be as reasonable and as unbiased
as possible. Critical philosophy has at its disposal a wide variety of tools for analyzing
and appraising educational debates. Educational disputes in our society tend to be
particularly ideological. Practitioners need tools which are neutral to these disputes in
order to deal with day-to-day problems in schools. Here, for example, is a list of the
kinds of questions educators confront on a day-to-day basis, and, in effect, decide
upon, whether thoughtfully or not
1. Should a talkative student be silenced for the sake of the class?
2. Should student infractions of the rules ever be overlooked?

5. 3. Should grading be based purely on achievement or should effort be factored in?
These first three questions bring up the issue as to how the needs of individuals should
be balanced against the needs of managing a group. Philosophy as ideology provides
answers here; but there are competing ideologies. Philosophy as critical inquiry
enables a reasoned choice. There are many other questions of similar importance that
raise other philosophical issues. Consider these, for example:
4. Should students be taught to tolerate those things their parents believe are immoral?
This question comes up, for example, when sexual preference or practice is a
curriculum issue.
5. Should a teacher always follow administrative policy?
This may be an issue of how to handle a conflict between personal morality and
school rules. The many wisdoms and ideologies of our pluralistic society offer
competing, even contradictory answers to such questions. For question 5, for example,
one ideology might state that a teacher's primary duty is to the school and the policies
that govern it; therefore, the teacher should always follow policy. Another ideology
might hold that the needs of the child come first in any educational organization,
therefore, there will be occasions when policies have to be ignored. Who is to say
which of these two ideologies is better and why? Critical inquiry gives us the tools to
answer this question.
SUMMARY
Within education, the term "philosophy" is casually used to cover a complex and
varied group of traditions. There are at least three different traditions which are
commonly called "philosophical":
Wisdoms: broad pronouncements taken as authoritative. These can range from
isolated statements of "crackerbarrel" philosophers, to complex and revered
doctrines.
Institutional philosophies or ideologies.6, i.e. rationalizations, often theoretically
intricate, of practices and social institutions School and curricular philosophies tend to
be of this nature.
Critical philosophy, i.e. critical analysis or discussion done in any of the traditions

6. widely accepted as Socratic. It assumes the capacity of the individual to discern truth,
even when in conflict with traditions or institutions.
The problem for educators in a pluralistic society is that they must deal with
competing wisdoms and ideologies. Critical inquiry provides approaches and methods
with enable them to do so with a minimum of bias toward any one of the competing
perspectives. The practical use of critical inquiry requires some restriction of focus,
initially at least, so that it moves easily from theory to application. Thus, in focussing
on education we will restrict critical inquiry to criteriology, that is, it is the study of
the justifications, sources, and forms of criteria for decision-making in educational
contexts.