IDEALISM

Presentation outline
Definition Leaders Principle
of of
idealism Idealism
History Idealism as a
philosophy of
Methods Educational
Aims
of
Idealism
WHAT IS IDEALISM?
 Definition

It comes directly from
the Greek "idealismos"
meaning (idea).


The term entered the
English language by
1796.
 Definition
 Idealism is the philosophical
theory which maintains that
experience is ultimately based on
mental activity.
 In literature, idealism refers to the
thoughts or ideas of the writer.
 Man has two facets: spiritual and
material. When the emphasis is on
WHAT IDEALISTS
THINK
material values
IDEALISTS THINKof life does not
THAT…
have considerations.
‘Mind and Soul’ rather than the
‘Matter and the Body’ are more
important.
ideas are the only true reality.
Idealism is opposed to
materialism, the theory that
reality is physical
HISTORY OF
IDEALISM
 History says that idealism…

Is the oldest system of

philosophy known to man. Its
origins go back to ancient India
in the East, and to Plato in the
West.
 has a basic viewpoint that
stresses the human spirit as the
most important element in life.
 History says that idealist
philosophers…
vary enormously on many
specifics but they agree on the
following two points:

1. The human spirit is

the most important


element in life; and

2. The universe is
essentially nonmaterial

DEVELOPMENT OF
IDEALISM
 Development of Idealism

1. Socrates (469-399 BC)

2. Plato (427-347 BC)
3. St. Augustine (350-4300
4. Descartes (1596-1650)
5. Berkeley (1685-1753)
6. Kent (1724-1804)
 Development of Idealism:
SOCRATES

 Regarded as the father

of philosophy
 Believed we learned
through questioning
(the Socratic method)
 Wrote nothing, what we
know of his views were
written by his followers,
 Development of Idealism:
PLATO

 A student of Socrates
 Known as the father of
idealism
 Operated a school
named
the “Academy”
 Plato’s Views Toward Education

 Those who demonstrate

proficiency in the dialectic would
continue their education and
become philosophers in
positions of power to lead the
state toward the highest good
(the Philosopher-King)
 Believed both boys and girls
 Development of Idealism:
AUGUSTINE(354-430)

 People do not create

knowledge; God has
already created it, but
people can discover it
through trying to find God.
 Development of Idealism:
AUGUSTINE’S BELIEF

 Only a few people possessed

the mental ability to quest for
the truth. Therefore most
people should rely on the
church for knowledge.
 Development of Idealism:
AUGUSTINE’S BELIEF

 Encouraged the use of summaries

 Believed teachers should teach through
persuasion and by leading impeccable
lives.
 Teachers should not expect to increase
their worldly stores through teaching.
 The “stick and fist” were needed to keep
 Development of Idealism:
DESCARTES(1596-1650)

 A renown mathematician
 Wrestled with the question of
what was real and did he really
exist (perhaps he was a dream)
.
 He finally concluded: “I think,
therefore I am”
 Development of Idealism:
DESCARTES’ BELIEF

Thinking and

ideas are the
ultimate truth.
 Development of Idealism:
IMMANUEL KANT(1724-1804)

 “…the greatest and most difficult

problem to which a man can
devote himself is the problem of
education…”
 Education should teach students
how to think according to
principles - moral laws, moral
 Development of Idealism:
IMMANUEL’S BELIEF

Existence is dependent
upon some mind to know
it, and if there are no
minds, nothing would
exist unless It is
perceived in the mind of
 Development of Idealism:
GEORGE BERKELEY (1658-1753)

 Berkeley is the founder of modern

Idealism.
 Berkeley claimed that only the
conscious minds and ideas/
perceptions are reality
 The world is not external to or
independent of the mind
 Berkeley’s Idealism
Berkeley’s Idealism included two
elements: objective and subjective
 Subjective- all we know are our
own ideas
 Objective- Independent of our
perceptions; ideals exist in an
objective state
 Berkeley said we find out about
things of the world through
experience
 For Berkeley, all the things we
Berkeley and Perception

 Berkeley argued: If we
carefully examine the
knowledge we have of
objects around us, we
see that the only
knowledge we have of
such objects consists
 Objections to Idealism

✣ Idealism assumes that the

universe has an order and a
purpose…What about
natural disasters and
tragedy?
✣ Fallacy of
 Objections to Idealism
Subjective idealism- since
perceptions are perceived and not
objects, this doesn't answer the
question of what things are (rules
out objective knowledge)
✣ Objective idealism- explains why
perceptible things persist in the
mind and offers intelligible world
system
 Methods of Idealism

✣ Study the classics for universal truths

✣ Mathematics (2+2=4 is an absolute
truth)
✣ Dialectic (critical discussion)
⨳ The dialectic looks at both sides of
an issue
✣ Lecture is used to transmit known
truths and to stimulate thinking.
 Principles of Idealism

1. Principle of universe mind

2. Man is a spiritual being
3. Ideas and values are superior
to materialistic world
4. Real knowledge in perceived in
mind
EDUCATIONAL
AIMS
 Idealism As A
Philosophy of Educational AIMS
✣ Absolutist- The search for “TRUTH”- True Ideas
✣ Rationalist- The search for truth is a rational process. Thus, to
be educated, is to reason effectively.
✣ Subjectivist- Individuals should strive for self-realization
✣ Character Development
⨳ Wisdom
⨳ Moral conviction
⨳ Good will
⨳ Loyalty
TEACHER-LEARNER
RELATIONSHIP
 TEACHER-LEARNER
RELATIONSHIP
✣ Idealists have high expectations of the teacher. The teacher must be
excellent, in order to serve as an example for the student, both
intellectually and morally. No other single element in the school system
is more important than the teacher.
✣ The teacher must excel in knowledge and in human insight into the
needs and capacities of the learners; and must demonstrate moral
excellence in personal conduct and convictions.
✣ The teacher must also exercise great creative skill in providing
opportunities for the learners' minds to discover, analyze, unify,
synthesize and create applications of knowledge to life and behavior. 
METHODS OF
INSTRUCTION
 METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
✣ The teaching methods must
encourage the acquisition of
facts, as well as skill in
reflecting on these facts. It is
not sufficient to teach pupils
how to think. It is very
important that what pupils
think about be factual;
 METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
✣ Teaching methods should
encourage learners to enlarge
their horizons; stimulate reflective
thinking; encourage personal
moral choices; provide skills in
logical thinking; provide
opportunities to apply knowledge
to moral and social problems;
IMPLICATIONS TO
EDUCATION
 IMPLICATIONS TO EDUCATION

✣ Interested in search for truth

through ideas, with truth
comes responsibility to
enlightens other “education is
transformation: ideas can
change lives”.
✣ Role of a teacher is to bring
out what is really there in
 Idealism and education

✣ The state should be involved

in education, moving brighter
students towards abstract
ideas and the less able
towards collecting data- a
gender free tracking system.
 Cont…..

✣ Evils comes through

ignorance, education will lead
to obliteration of evil
✣ Idealism emphasizes on
inductive reasoning/lecturing
and dialogue.
 conclusion
So, In idealism, the
✣ aim of education is to discover and develop each
individual's abilities and full moral excellence in order
to better serve society.
✣ The curricular emphasis is subject matter of mind:
literature, history, philosophy, and religion.
✣ Teaching methods focus on handling ideas through
lecture, discussion, and Socratic dialogue (a method of
teaching that uses questioning to help students
discover and clarify knowledge).
PERENNIALISM
2. PERENNIALISM
Perennialism was prevalent in the
early seventies in U. S.
Perennialism reveres the
experience of teachers who have
been there.
Heavy orientation to the past 20
years--almost nil attention to the
 AIMS

to teach time-honored

curricula, including the
classics such as Plato an
Aristotle.
 CURRICULUM

Geometry
English literature
World Geography
EVALUATION METHODS

Teacher-made tests
Standardized test
Memory work (“mind is a
muscle”)
Spelling bees
 METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

Assign seats in rows.

Be strict, but not necessarily
expert, with punishment and
reward.
Set up classroom rules.
 TEACHER-LEARNER RELATIONSHIP

Self-contained knowledge--teacher is
supposed to know all the answers
Teacher is the “fountain of all
knowledge.”
Students are passive listeners
 REALITY TESTING FOR
PERENNIALISTS

Paper-pencil test
Recitation
Standardized test
 IMPLICATION TO EDUCATION

Expect future to continue in the

same vein as the present
Belief that knowing the classics of
the past will equip students for the
future
 WHERE PERENNIALISM SHINES

Perennialism does help to dampen the

uncertain effects of the fads that come
to education
Not every new idea is a good one, or
one that will even be effective.
Perennialism plays well to traditional
communities
 ANY
CLARIFICATIONS
THANK YOU!!
 PHILOSOPHY
 “love of knowledge.”
 examination of basic concepts: the
branch of knowledge or academic
study devoted to the systematic
examination of basic concepts such
as truth, existence, reality, causality,
 SOCRATIC METHOD
method of reasoning: a means
developed by Socrates of arriving
at the truth by continually
questioning, obtaining answers,
and criticizing the answers
 ACADEMY

a formal society
whose purpose is to
promote a particular
aspect of knowledge
or culture
 ANTHROPOMORPHISM

attribution of human characteristics

to nonhumans: the attribution of a
human form, human characteristics,
or human behavior to nonhuman
things, e.g. deities in mythology and
animals in children's stories