Philosophic Basis of a Lutheran Philosophy of Education

I. What is a Philosophy of Education

A. A Definition of Philosophy of Education

By definition, a philosophy of education is the application of philosophy to the problems of education. In the strict sense of the term educational philosophy is a process which seeks to bring practice into harmony with basic thinking in a field. It goes to the various sciences that have a bearing on life - to biology, psychology, history, anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, ethics, and others, and seeks to find there relevant insights that bear on the educative process. These new insights it seeks to integrate into a consistent pattern. Thus, educational philosophy does not have really a substance of its own except as in the process of integration it develops new concepts or generalizations.

Viewed from another angle the philosophy of education is equivalent to a theory of education. A theory is a very practical kind of activity in education, for it makes necessary a reflective choice between educational objectives and the means that are to be used in reaching the chosen objectives most certainly and most economically.

B. The Difference between Science of Education and Philosophy

There is a constant succession of problems confronting the teacher in education. These problems involve fundamental questions like the following:

What am I trying to accomplish with these boys and girls?

What is the nature of the child?

What are the legitimate demands of society?

How can I best guide the growth of the individual pupil so as to achieve the purpose of education?

These questions and others involve a two-fold attack on what may be terms ends and means. The means to achieve an educational task involve such things as tools and techniques. These the science of education is competent to supply. the science of education is not, however, competent to set up the ends or objectives of education. To shape the ends or objectives of education we need philosophy.

It is important to recognize that the individual confronted with the practical problems of education who never gets beyond the gadget type of teaching and who simply always looks for new techniques and new procedures and new methods to employ, probably never gets to the point of raising the important question: What am I trying to accomplish? The determination of objectives is basic to any effective educational effort.

C. The Five Types of Philosophy: Naturalism, Idealism,

Realism, Pragmatism, and Scholasticism

Although there are many shades of philosophical opinion, all major philosophies can be subsumed under the four general categories indicated above. A Lutheran Philosophy of Education will have to be formed in relation to current philosophical thought. It is our purpose in this selection merely to indicate some of the outstanding features of each of these positions.

1. Naturalism

Naturalism asserts that:

1) Nature is all the reality there is.

2) Reality consists of materials, forces, laws, or processes in motion in space.

3) Ultimate reality is force or energy.

4) Private experiences are quite unreal and secondary.

5) The most acceptable life is that which keeps close to the simple and peaceful ways of Nature.

2. Idealism

The idealist maintains that the mind and the self is primary in our experience, while "things" are of secondary importance.

Herman H. Horne states "idealism is the conclusion that the universe is expression of intelligence and will, that the enduring substance of the world is the nature of the mind, that the material is explained by the mental. Idealism as a philosophy stands in contrast with all those systems of thought that center in nature (naturalism) or in man (humanism)." According to idealism "to be" means to be experienced by a person. Idealism holds that the order of the world is due to the manifestation in space and time of an eternal and spiritual reality. As to knowledge, idealism holds that knowledge is man thinking the thoughts and purposes of this eternal and spiritual reality as they are embodied in our world of fact. As to ethics, idealism holds that the goodness of man's individual and social life is the conformity of the human will with the moral administration of the universe.

3. Realism

Realism asserts that the world of physical reality is the truly fundamental thing in experience. The realist regards the physical world as "objective" and "factual." He believes that this physical world is something to be accepted and conformed to while in contrast wants and feelings are treated as subjective, subordinate secondary.

4. Pragmatism

Pragmatism or experimentalism involves essentially three concepts: (1) That ideas mean only their consequences in experience; (2) That experience is essentially social in origin and predominately social in purpose; (3) That we find out what to expect in life by studying experimentally the uniformities in experience.

The pragmatist in shaping a point of view in philosophy remains rooted in experience. He refuses to speculate or to construct theories which go beyond the obvious realities of human life. He believes that our experience is practical and that it is a reaction to stimulation in a biological and social setting.

5. Scholasticism

The scholastic philosophy has God as its basis and asserts that religion is the all inclusive context of human life. God is conceived as a personal God, who has created man and upon whom man is dependent. Without God, the scholastisist maintains, there is no purpose in life. God made man "to know, to love, and serve Him in this life and to be happy with Him forever in the next."

D. Metaphysical Bases of Education

No foundation of professional thinking in education is properly laid unless it rests on a well-considered conception of the way things really are in this world. This involves a conception of the first principles, of the contrast between the changing and the changeless, and the question as to whether or not there are immutable and imperishable principles.

1. Naturalism

Naturalism has confidence in the orderliness of nature and believes that Nature can be depended upon. Naive naturalism attempts to designate some one substance as the matter of existence. Nuclear physics has destroyed this concept of the least common denominator in matter of the universe.

Energism suggests that energy is the one substance out of which the earth is made.

Positivism is the complete dependence upon science as the only avenue of knowledge.

2. Idealism

Idealism emphasizes the reality of self. It asserts that mind or spirit as each man experiences it in himself is fundamentally real and that the totality of the universe is somehow mind or spirit in its essence.

The idealist believes that the world about him is a spiritual order that is capable of interpretation. The ultimate reality is a self. Evil is not a real existent value. The individual self has all the freedom necessary to self determination.

3. Realism

Realism basically believes in a number of final substances making up the cosmos. Realists hold to a kind of determinism, rather than free will. Mental life is always rooted and grounded in bodily existence.

Realists describe the world in much the same way as naturalists.

Some realists are atheistic, others are pantheists.

4. Pragmatism

The metaphysics of pragmatism includes the following points:

1/ The world is all foreground involving particular units of activity in which an individual or a group is engaged at a given time.

2/ The world is characterized by process and change, an overflowing stream of change and movement.

3/ The world is precarious and uncertain.

4/ The world is incomplete and indeterminate. There is room for change, for improvements made by man.

5/ The world is pluralistic. It is a multiverse rather than a universe.

6/ The world has ends within its own process. This challenges a moral norm.

7/ The world is not, nor does it include, a trans-empirical reality. Pragmatism asserts the nontheistic, nonmystical, and nonspiritual character of existence.

8/ Man is continuous with the world. Man is not a creation given birth from a source higher than nature, and not a new kind of creature emerging in nature.

9/ Man is not an active cause in the world. There is simple stimulus response, but also delayed response to allow for comprehension of a situation which is a total response that handles and forces and helps determine their future direction.

10/ The world does not guarantee progress. The world is indeterminate with regard to values. Man's redirecting power can help determine the future.

E. Epistemological Bases of Education

In epistemology we raise the question: How does the investigator or the learner come to know and how can he know that he knows?

1/ The naturalist asserts that science provides the only dependable method of knowledge. Science is the sole revealer of unchanging objective external realities.

2/ The idealist believes that mind is the primary fact - that mind is the explainer. The idealists assert that all we know about the world are ideas of it, so the school should be idea-centered or ideal-centered.

3/ The realist holds to the principle of independence. He asserts that the object of knowledge exists independently of its being known or studied by the students. This point of view is an assumption or a presupposition on which he acts. He believes that such objectivity will oppose a stability on education.

4/ The pragmatist simply believes that knowledge is experience. This experience assumes an organism and an environment; experience is an outcome of their continual interaction.

5/ The scholastic view simply assumes that the knower has the capacity for knowing the objects of his studies. In this point of view the percepts are reduced to concepts.

F. Axiological Bases of Education

All philosophies of education are concerned with a value theory. This must be the best consideration in formulating the aims of education and of formulating methods of instruction, as well as other aspects of the curriculum.

In the field of values a number of conflicts are apparent.

A. What is the nature of value? Does it originate in the taste of the pupil, the teacher, or the parent? Or does it inhere in the object of one's inclination or in some phrase of the curriculum?

B. If there is a plurality of values, how should they be compared or evaluated? How does one go about determining which things are not just desired by individuals but desirable?

C. What are the chief educational aims or values? The various types of philosophy have different points of view on this matter of value.

1. Naturalism

Naturalism asserts:

1/ Pleasure is the highest good and the basis of moral judgements.

2/ The aesthetic experience is not an experience of all-embracing truth. There is no spiritual or supernatural import.

3/ Social values are synthetic values resulting from agreements made by individuals.

2. Idealism

Idealism asserts that value consists of those experiences which fulfill the needs of the individual's nature and bring him the sense of satisfaction or well-being.

3. Realism

Realism asserts that value should be thought of largely in terms of interest or motivation and here there is intrinsic motivation.

4. Pragmatism

The pragmatist believes that value arises as does experience itself in the interaction between the individual and his environment. The good is simply what satisfies the inclination, the desires, the wishes, or the wants of the individual. The pragmatist always is concerned about what is best for the greatest number under the circumstances where the need for judgement arises.

5. Scholasticism

Scholasticism asserts that somethings are in their very nature good; others are bad. There criterion for judging whether something is good or bad is to determine whether it is in conformity with man's rational nature. This rational nature includes both body and soul. It is essentially social and it is dependent on God for its existence.

G. Philosophy and Theory of Learning

The only philosophical type that gives much consideration to a theory of learning is pragmatism. Pragmatism points out the close connection between living and learning. It asserts that one learns his responses only as he accepts them as his own appropriate responses to a given situation.

II. What is a Lutheran Philosophy of Education?

A. A Definition of a Lutheran Philosophy of Education

By definition, a Lutheran philosophy of education is the application of Lutheran doctrine and of a philosophy compatible with that doctrine to the problem of education. A Lutheran philosophy of education begins with Scripture. It accepts the truth of God's revelation and applies reason only in those areas which the Lord has left to Christian judgement and discretion. Even in this realm of the application of reason it takes into careful account the direction of Scripture and is careful not to run counter to the teachings of Scripture. It examines the findings of sciences and integrates them into its thinking. It interprets such findings, however, in the light of Scripture, and if there is a conflict, it is Scripture that has priority.

B. Objectives of Lutheran Education and Their Relation to the Science of Education

The objectives of Christian education have been defined in numerous statements. This one of the objectives of Christian Education which was developed by Arthur L. Amt accorded with the Lutheran philosophy of education.

Objectives of Christian Education

1. Knowledge of God

A. Understandings

1/ Attributes - loving, merciful, just, all-knowing, all-powerful, eternal.

2/ Work

a/ Creation

b/ Salvation from an eternity of prediction as a result of sin.

c/ Making me a Christian.

B. Implications

1/ For life

a/ The glory and praise of God.

b/ Conformity to God's will as revealed in Holy Scripture.

2/ For eternity

a/ Faith in Him as Savior from curse and punishment of sin.

b/ As means for securing eternal life with Him in heaven.

2. Knowledge of Self

A. Functions, powers, intricacies and use of the mind and of the various members of the body.

B. Proper care of body and mind as precious gifts of a loving God who asks us and care for them in the best possible manner so that both God and man can be served thereby.

3. Understanding of Social Relations

A. Love is the basis of all Christian relationships.

B. Respect for the God-given rights and privileges of others.

C. Concern for the needs, happiness and welfare of others.

D. Sincerity in the practice of simple social amenities.

E. Readiness to discharge group and community obligations in a spirit of love.

1/ In contributing to a happy and God-pleasing home life.

2/ In the exercise of the rights and duties of good citizenship.

4. Utilization of Resources and Abilities

A. Natural

1/ Minerals, plants and animals are intended to be used for the greatest good of all mankind.

2/ All talents and abilities are gifts of God to be used

a/ To strengthen and spread His kingdom.

b/ For the welfare and enjoyment of mankind.

It should be clear that the determination of objectives will help the teacher in any one of the educational agencies of the church and will help the parent as participating in Christian education to be clear as to exactly what should be accomplished. Once that has been determined we next can find assistance in the science of education as to methodology, techniques, and educational procedures to be used in achieving the objectives enumerated.

It should be clear that our statement of objectives must be broad enough to cover the entire educational program sponsored by the church. The statement must include not only such objectives that are self-evident for a program of religious training, but they must also include those aspects of the program that will show the penetration of religion into all the subjects of the curriculum.

C. A Lutheran Philosophy of Education Must Deal with Metaphysics

As to the origin of the world the Bible describes for the Lutheran the basic facts of creation (Genesis 1:1; John 1:3; Heb. 11:3).

Scripture describes also the destiny of man and of the universe. In creating the universe God established a kingdom in which He would rule and be obeyed. The fall of man brought the curse of the Lord upon mankind but God has established in Christ Jesus redemption for all mankind and all who will accept this redemption through faith in Jesus He makes once more His children and promises to them His blessings in time and in eternity. A child of God is then a citizen of two kingdom - one temporal, the other eternal.

Since it is God who has created this universe, including mankind, and since it is God who has established the relationship between man and his Creator and between man and his fellowmen there are immutable and imperishable principles involved in these relationships that are a revelation of God and which cannot be shaped up experimentally.

D. A Lutheran Philosophy of education Must Deal with Epistemology

Since the Christian accepts the Holy Bible as God's revelation to man and gives it a place of authority in matters of faith and spiritual life, he regards the Bible as the only absolutely reliable and infallible source of knowledge.

It is the function of Christian education to transmit this revealed knowledge of God, and Christian education involves, then, a transmissive process.

There are, to be sure, many areas of life on which the Bible has not spoken and in these the individual is free to reason and to accept real findings of science so long as in their interpretation they do not clash with the truths of Scripture.

E. A Lutheran Philosophy of Education Must Deal with Axiology

The Christian derives much of his knowledge of good or bad from Scripture. The Bible states plainly that some things are well-pleasing to God and others are displeasing to Him. Where the Bible speaks, the values are clear for the Christian.

In all other areas the Christian seeks the glory of God and the welfare of mankind. Values are determined by the extent to which they achieve one or the other of these aims.

F. A Lutheran Philosophy of Education Must Deal with Theories of Learning

In the matter of theories of learning, the Lutheran Church, which stands four-square on Scripture, is unique in the educational field. The Lutheran teacher makes use of every understanding of the learning process that has been developed. So far as the teaching of the Word, however, the Lutheran teacher acknowledge the existence of a supernatural methodology. The Bible asserts very plainly that Christians are made Christians by the Word of God. It is the Word of God that is the instrumentality used by the Holy Spirit in working conversion in the heart of the individual and in developing sanctification. It is then a supernatural process that is outside of the control of the educator. Christians are made Christians not by science, not by education, not by philosophy, but by the power of the Spirit. The basic business of Christian education is to confront our students with Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 1:18-2:13).

In the process of Christian education, then, it is the Holy Spirit that is the teacher. The individual does not have the equipment to apprehend the thought. That equipment must be given; he must be "born again." The purpose of the teacher is to open up the Scriptures as Christ did to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus and to point up the relevancy of the Word for every phase of life. He seeks to train the individual to submit himself to Christian p atterns of life in all of life's relationships. He seeks to strengthen him or convince him as to the uniqueness and the truth of the Gospel message.

Apart from the supernatural apprehension of divine truth the Christian teacher can make use of all the laws of psychology and all of the findings of science with respect to effective learning. The religious element will, however, have a motivational impact upon every other part of learning; it will have a selective impact upon what is worthwhile to be learned; and it will have an impact in evaluating or judging between different points of view.

III. The Functions of a Lutheran Philosophy of Education

A. It will Relate the Acts of Teaching and Learning to the Total Context of Human Endeavor

The worker in the field of Lutheran education is frequently so passed for time that he does not stop to think about the reason for proceeding as he does or the consequences of alternative methods of procedure. By helping the individual relate the act of teaching and learning to the total context of human endeavor, a Lutheran philosophy of education will stress the fact that the activities of the class are part of a total experience.

B. It Will Help Achieve Unity and Consistency in Our Approach to the Diverse Problems of Life

How can we develop consistency in our approach to educational problems? Does our statement that we stand four-square on Scripture really penetrate through to all aspects of our educational program? Or are we so occupied with textbook learning and the multitudinous demands of the school program that we do not even see the implications of theological principles on the total program of the school. To illustrate, it is very easy for the individual teacher to get into the rut of legalism. Theoretically, he sees the Gospel as the central fact of Scripture. He does not teach false doctrine. He portrays God's love in Christ in all its importance for the individual. In the totality of the school of experience, however, he finds it very easy to slip into an overemphasis on law. Where is the unity and the consistency of emphasis when that happens? The Lutheran philosophy of education should be helpful in working toward unity and consistency in the program of Christian education.

C. It Will Help Provide a Criticism of Experience that Should be Helpful in Solving Difficulties

What is the yardstick by which the individual can measure the experiences of each day? Or of a given period of time? One cannot go on continuously simply improvising procedures. The successes and failures of parents, teachers, and pastors in the educational program need analysis so that mistakes can be avoided and so that effective procedures can be perpetuated. There is probably no person teaching, whether at home, school, or in the church, who is not confronted with some difficulties in the teaching-learning process. It may be the difficulties of the individual child or of the individual class. A Lutheran philosophy of education will assist in solving these educational difficulties because it will lay bare the important considerations that must be recognized in the problem situation.

D. It should Provide a Critical Examination of the Assumptions Upon which Educational Practices is Conducted

It is quite as easy to go astray in Christian education as it is in secular education. Let us take the matter of memory work in Christian education. It is quite clear that our assumptions in the matter of memory work have been these: 1) That the process of Christian education of necessity involved a large amount of memory work, 2) That the memory work was tied in with God's demands concerning Christian education or if not explicitly commanded that it, nonetheless, was God-pleasing, 3) That memory work was helpful in achieving the aims of Christian education, 4) That time spent on memory work in Christian education was time well-invested. It can be demonstrated, I believe, that memory work in our program of Christian education has been much overemphasized. The assumptions that were made concerning its value in the program of Christian education are wrong. While there is a place for memory work in Christian education, it must not take that place on the program that should be given to the development of attitudes and of conduct.

E. It Should Help Bring Our Ideas and Practices in Education into Harmony with Our Theological Postulates

There is no doubt that we have not taken our theological postulates seriously in many aspects of Christian education. For example:

1. If every descendent of Adam and Eve is born in sin and is under the wrath of God we should not be as surprised as many parents and some teachers and some pastors are at the evidence of the remnants of the sinful condition in out pupils. There are many who naively believe that the mere attendance of an individual at a Sunday school automatically means that he will immediately "perfect," show failure to apply the definite theological principle that we are all sinners.

2 If the individual who by faith accepts the merits of Jesus Christ, and who under the power of the Holy spirit seeks to grow in grace and in knowledge is to be a "new creature" as Scripture plainly indicates, then we must in our educational program make large provision for the expression of Christian faith than we have frequently done. In far too many instances we have had an intellectual point of view for the entire process of Christian education. We have thought that by piling up additional understandings and additional knowledge about Scripture we were profitably engaged in Christian education. But, even if we were able to impart a total intellectual knowledge of Scripture and ignored the modifications in attitude and behavior that are the fruits of faith, our program of Christian education would be faulty and incomplete.

3. If love is the basis principle that should dominate person-to-person relationships then our school practice can well make greater use of love. It is very easy to slip into emphasis on duty and utilitarian considerations, but the motivation used in Christian schools should be love.

There are merely a few examples of the need for bringing our ideas and practices into harmony with our theological postulates. This illustrates the contribution that a Lutheran philosophy of education can make for this purpose.