Home⇛UE Research Bulletin⇛vol. 25 no. 1 (2023)

Must There Be a Fundamental Aim of Education?

John Israel U. Cunanan | Michael Arthus G. Muega | Maricris B. Acido

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

Across the history of philosophy of education, there have been attempts to provide an answer to the question what is the fundamental aim of education. Such a question is considered a substantive question. But nowhere in the literature has the notion of fundamental aim of education (FAE hereinafter) been problematized. Thinkers have always assumed that FAE is necessary. This paper problematizes this assumption by raising and answering this meta-question: Must there be a fundamental aim of education? It is so done by utilizing some conclusions from the field of epistemology, and using them as a model in arguing that there must be a FAE. The methodology used here is philosophical justification. This paper also defuses an objection to FAE as raised by philosopher of education R.S. Peters. Lastly, if the necessity of the FAE is clear to the teacher, then the teacher will be more intentional in her practices, more guided in her pedagogy, and more inclined toward justifications in her selection among educational options. All of these would lead to the teacher being more reflective in all instances of her practices. And such would have great benefits to the students.



References:

  1. Anscombe, G. M. (1963). Intention (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  2. Aquinas, T. (1947). Summa Theologica (Vol. 2). New York: Benziger Brothers, Inc.
  3. Carr, D. (2010). The Analytical Tradition. In P. Peterson, E. Baker, & B. McGaw (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education (3rd ed., Vol. 6, pp. 108-113). Oxford: Elsevier Ltd.
  4. Dew, J. K., & Foreman, M. W. (2014). How Do We Know? An Introduction to Epistemology. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
  5. Dewey, J. (1944). Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education. New York, NY: The Free Press.
  6. Gregory, I. (2002). The Aims of Education. In I. Davies, I. Gregory, & N. McGuinn (Eds.), Key Debates in Education (pp. 1-16). London: Continuum.
  7. Hirst, P. H., & Peters, R. S. (1970). The Logic of Education. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.
  8. Huemer, M. (2010). Foundations and Coherence. In J. Dancy, E. Sosa, & M. Steup (Eds.), A Companion to Epistemology (2nd ed., pp. 22-33). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
  9. Lemos, N. (2007). An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
  10. Mellema, G. (1985). The Nature of Aims and Ends in Education. Philosophy Research Archives, 10, 321-336.
  11. Nunn, P. (1947). Education: Its Data and First Principles (3rd ed.). London: Edward Arnold & Co.
  12. Park, Y. (1997). Rationality and Human Dignity - Confucius, Kant and Scheffler on the Ultimate Aim of Education. In H. Siegel (Ed.), Reason and Education: Essays in Honor of Israel Scheffler (pp. 7-18). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
  13. Peters, R. S. (1966). Ethics and Education. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
  14. Peters, R. S. (1973). Aims of Education - A Conceptual Inquiry. In R. S. Peters (Ed.), The Philosophy of Education (pp. 11-29). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  15. Peters, R. S. (1973). Must an Educator Have an Aim? In R. S. Peters, Authority, Responsibility and Education (Rev ed., pp. 122-131). London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
  16. Pojman, L. P. (2001). What Can We Know? An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
  17. Popper, K. (1970). Normal Science and Its Dangers. In I. Lakatos, & A. Musgrave (Eds.), Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge (pp. 51-58). London: Cambridge University Press.
  18. Republic Act No. 10533: Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013. (2012, July 23). Retrieved March 23, 2022, from Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/05/15/republic-act-no-10533/
  19. Scheffler, I. (1973). Toward an Analytic Philosophy of Education. In I. Scheffler, Reason and Teaching (pp. 9-17). New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc.
  20. Soltis, J. F. (1978). An Introduction to the Analysis of Educational Concepts (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
  21. Soltis, J. F. (1983). Perspectives on Philosophy of Education. Journal of Thought, 18(2), 14-21.
  22. Watson, L. (2016). The Epistemology of Education. Philosophy Compass, 11(3), 146-159.
  23. Wringe, C. (1988). Understanding Educational Aims. London: Unwin Hyman Ltd.

Tools


Copyright © 2026  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic