Philosophy of Education: three common theories of education

Philosophy of Education
[Name]
[Course Title]
[University]
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Philosophy of Education
The following essay is regarding the criticism done by Kieran Egan on the three common theories of education. According to Egan, the theories are incompatible with each other. The following essay will consider some philosophies of education presented by other philosophers and it would evaluate the criticism done by Egan and it would be determined whether the criticism done by Egan is justified or it is damaging to the system of education.
Different Philosophies of Education
Theories regarding education have been presented by a number of philosophers and the theories presented stretch over a vast lapse of time (Murphy, 2006). One of the oldest philosophies of education was presented by Plato (Cahn, 1997). The philosophy of education by Plato can still be witnessed in the today`s education system. The philosophy presented by Plato was based on his vision of an ideal Republic. According to Plato, the State should take the responsibility of educating the children and they should be educated in such a manner that they serve the State afterwards. He suggested that the children should be educated in order to make them eligible for the right kind of service to the State (Lachs, 2008). The education provided should be in a specialized field and those students should serve the State in the field in which they specialize. The possible fields suggested by Plato were military services, city management and dialectic. According to Plato, the basic education such as mathematics, gymnastics and music should be provided to all the students regardless of the field they are to specialize in.
According to Aristotle, the factors should be considered in an education system are; human nature, habit and reason. According to him, repetition is the most important tool to cultivate habits in humans. This philosophy is still very apparent in the education systems all around the globe. There are a number of activities that are done repeatedly in schools in order cultivate a habit among the students. Aristotle emphasized on both the theoretical and practical aspects of the subjects taught and it can be seen in today`s educational system that students are encouraged to learn the practical aspects of the subjects as well. The purpose of education, in accordance with Aristotle, was to produce responsible and disciplined citizens (tparents.com).
Thus, it can be inferred that philosophies regarding education have been presented by philosophers thousands of years ago. The overall system of education all around the globe has been developed on the basis of these philosophies and the current theories of education are also based on such philosophies. Therefore, it can be said that the theories that are criticized by Egan are also developed from the philosophies of education presented by philosophers thousands of years ago.
Theories of Education Criticized by Kieran Egan
In his book ‘The Educated Mind`, Egan has criticized the three most commonly known theories of education. There are a number of arguments presented by Egan to justify his position however with if one goes through the justifications of Egan skeptically, it would be observed that some of his arguments are convincing but not all of them.
The theories of education which are criticized by Egan are; to educate people to provide them a rational view of reality, education through self-discovery, and the education for the fulfillment of a person`s role in society. The first theory is about educating people in such content that helps them in reasoning the reality and provides them with a sense of skepticism. According to this theory of education, people can be educated so that they get access to privileged knowledge of the world through reasoning and knowledge. Knowledge is provided by the mentors and it is provided to the students in such a manner that they rationalize the reality using their knowledge. According to this theory, education is an epistemological process which means it is a process by which a person studies the nature of knowledge, its validity and its assumptions ...