idealism

The term idealism is applied to a broad range of philosophical approaches that

ascribe true reality not to the phenomena available to our sense experience
but to some entity--spirit, mind, divinity, or, in the case of Plato,
eternal Form that transcends phenomena and can only be grasped by the
intellect.

With its emphasis on Absolute Spirit, the philosophy of Georg Wilhelm

Friedrich Hegel is also idealist. Idealism can be contrasted with materialism.

Although his understanding of reality tends to be more aligned with

materialism, the psychoanalytic theory of Sigmund Freud recognizes idealist
impulses in the human mind, as indicated by his accounts of idealization and
the ideal ego. Jacques Lacan's account of the mirror stage builds on a
concept of an Ideal-I which founds an individual's self-image, but which is also
a driving force in the formation of neuroses.
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Plato's Phaedrus is a rich and enigmatic text that treats a range of important

philosophical issues, including metaphysics, the philosophy of love, and the
relation of language to reality, especially in regard to the practices
of rhetoric and writing.

Although he was an actual historical figure and Plato's teacher,

the Socrates who appears in the Phaedrus is to some extent a character
invented by Plato. By the time Plato composed the Phaedrus, he was using
Socrates's dramatic encounters with other characters to stage a presention of
his own philosophy. Socrates is hardly a mere mouthpiece for Plato, and for
the sake of consistency, the Reading Guide to this text refers to the
statements and ideas of "Socrates". Readers should be aware, however, that
the positions outlined in the dialogue represent Plato's thought as much as
that of his teacher and have become part of the philosophical tradition
called Platonism.

If you compare the Phaedrus with a text like the Poetics by Plato's

student Aristotle, Plato's dialogue may seem to wander from topic to topic,
although the issues Socrates and Phaedrus discuss are connected
conceptually, as the Guide will indicate. The difference is partially due to the
genre of these works--Aristotle's treatise lays out its argument systematically,
while the dramatic depiction of the give-and-take of a conversation in Plato's
dialogue does not permit such a tight systematization of the ideas. Another
difference, however, lies in the way these two thinkers "do" philosophy.
Dialogue--in particular, the dialectical question-and-answer method known
as elenchus is a form in keeping with Plato's understanding of truth as
recollection (anamnesis in Greek) from within the soul. Aristotle tends to be a
more empirical thinker, engaging on careful description and analysis of
the phenomena he observes.

Classical scholarship generally places the composition of

the Phaedrus between the years 375 and 365, during the same period in
which Plato composed the Republic, another text in which he raises criticism
of representional arts, including literature.

In the late nineteenth century, in texts such as The Birth of Tragedy, Friedrich
Nietzsche advanced a reinterpretation of Greek culture that cast Socrates as
the champion of a rationalism embodied in a force he called the Apollinian.
The Apollinian Socrates was pitted against the force of delusion, passion, and
creativity--the Dionysian, which emerges in the genre of tragedy. Nietzsche's
treatment of rhetoric in his university lectures as well as in the essay "Truth
and Lying in an Extra-Moral Sense" follows out this initial characterization of
Socrates. Dismissing the key concepts of idealism and metaphysics ("God",
for example) as nothing more than a fiction, Nietzsche argues that all
language is essentially rhetoric, a set of figures of speech that over time have
accrued meaning for human societies, but whose meaning is contingent, not
guaranteed by any transcendent, eternal truth or archetype.

in the mid-twentieth century, building on the work of Nietzsche and Martin

Heidegger, the philosopher Jacques Derrida took on Socrates's challenge
to writing in a number of texts--most directly "Plato's Pharmacy"--which
describe and exemplify the philosophical procedure of deconstruction. Derrida
criticizes Plato's idealist insistance that our ideas have their origins in
a transcendent realm of perfect Forms, available only to reason (logosin
Greek) as logocentrism; he calls Socrates's assumption of an essential link
between the meaning of a speaker's words and the speaker's physical voice
(phonos in Greek) phonocentrism. Derrida's proposal of a "grammatology"
(from grammata, the Greek word for "letters") seeks to understand how the
very alienating power of writing that Socrates deplores--the "free-play" or
"dissemination" of the verbal sign within a system of signification--calls into
question any stable meaning that could serve philosophy as the foundation
for metaphysics. The deconstruction of metaphysical grounds opens the way
for an investigation of the unquestioned assumptions and binary oppositions
that underpin cultural norms, legal categories, and the coherence of literary
texts.

Idealism
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. Its basic viewpoint stresses the human spirit as
the most important element in life. The universe is viewed as essentially nonmaterial in its
ultimate nature. Although Idealist philosophers vary enormously on many specifics, they
agree on the following two points; the human spirit is the most important element in life; and
secondly the universe is essentially nonmaterial in its ultimate nature.  Idealism should not
be confused with the notion of high aspirations that is not what philosophers mean when
they speak of Idealism. In the philosophic sense, Idealism is a system that emphasizes the
pre-eminent importance of mind, soul, or spirit. It is possible to separate Idealism into
different schools, but for our purposes we shall be content to identify only the most general
assumptions of the Idealists in metaphysics, epistemology, and value theory, without regard
to the idiosyncrasies of the various schools.
If we study the basic principles, Idealism puts forth the argument that reality, as we perceive it, is
a mental construct. It means that experiences are result of sensory abilities of the human mind
and not because reality exists in itself, as an independent entity. In the philosophical term this
means that one cannot know the existence of things beyond the realm of the intellect. Plato
describes “reality” in his Theory of Forms. For him the “Form” is actual substance of 'Things'
which 'Formed' matter and perceptible reality. Plato wants convey the message that matter is real
and can be experienced as a rational living entity; it is not a mere projection of consciousness.
According to Knight (1998) Augustine (354-430), Rene Descartes (1596-1650), George
Berkeley and the German philosopher Immanuel Kant and George William Hegel are the
prominent names who represent idealism. Berkeley and Kant have interpreted idealism in very
different ways. Kant described idealism as transcendent, whereas Berkeley called it
'immaterialism' which is commonly termed as subjective materialism. George Berkeley says that
the material world exists because there is a mind to perceive it and that things which are not
within the conceptual framework of the human mind cannot be deemed real. Berkeley admits
that objects exist, but their presence in the physical realm is as long as there is a mind to perceive
them. For this Berkeley has used a Latin phrase 'Esse est percipi'  (to be perceived).On the other
hand Kant is of the opinion that reality exists independently of human minds but its knowledge is
inherently unknowable to man because of sensory filters in our consciousness. These filters slow
down our ability to see the 'thing in itself'. Thus our ultimate perception of things is always
through the mind's fixed frame of reference (Shahid, 2008).
Idealism and curriculum
 According to idealism the teacher is the symbol or model of good character, he is the masters of all
sort of knowledge, so the teacher has the central role in the teaching-learning (Singh, 2007). The
teacher has right to choose suitable content from the available literature and to teach. The student is a
passive receptor, who has to gain the knowledge transferred by the knowledge. The teacher certifies
the disciple at the successful completion of education as per the above given age levels (Singh).
Idealism and aim of education
Plato says that to become a philosopher or king, a person has to go through all the processes of
education. He describes the aim of education as to drag every man out of the cave as far as possible.
Education should not aim at putting knowledge into the soul, but at turning the soul toward right
desires continuing the analogy (similarity) between mind and sight. The overarching goal of the city
is to educate those with the right natures; so that they can turn their minds sharply towards the Form
of the Good. The philosophers must return periodically into the cave (society) and rule
there. Aristotle says that education is essential for complete self realization as he says, “The
supreme good to which we all aspire is the happiness. A happy man is the one who is educated.
A happy man is virtuous, virtue is gained through education.”  Plato says that Education is for the
individual’s personal betterment and that of the society.
Idealism and stages of education
Plato has also divided the process of education into five major steps;
1.       Age 7 to 18; study general mathematic, music, astronomy and so on,
2.      Age 18 to 20; considers best for physical training,
3.      Age  20 to 30; study of logic, knighthood, and mathematics
4.      Age 30 to 35; study of dialectics
5.      Age 35 to 50; practice of dialectics in various official affairs in the state
6.      50 years +; a person can become a philosopher or king as his tern comes.
Plato says that in each step the person is given with different sort of education. He suggests screening
those in each step who cannot perform well. The ones who can successfully pursue all the six stages
can be called philosophers who have the understanding of the form of good.

Idealism and method of teaching

idealism is traditional philosophy of education in which teacher has centeral role who has to be role
model so that the students will adopt his model to become good citizen. In idealism the lacture
method is considered the most important one in which a delivers lecture and students listen to the
teacher. Teacher selects any topic or issue for teaching first he teaches the topic then asks the
questions about that topic. Students answer the asked questions, Teacher provides the feedback and
students improve themselves according to the teacher’s feedback. This is teacher centered approach
therefore students do not participate in a well manner and do not understand the taught content. This
method of teaching is not suitable for young or elementary level of students because they are not
habitual for listening long time. This method is only used for adults. Because their mind is mature
and they can understand easily.    The second method that suits idealism the most is the Socratic
Method in which the teacher involves the students in learning activities. The teacher raises an issue
and the students are encouraged to discuss it in a dialogue form and reach to a conclusion.  
Idealism and assessment
In idealism Assessment is a means for focusing teachers’ collective attention, examining their
assumptions, and creating a shared culture dedicated to continuously improving the quality of
higher learning. Assessment requires making expectations and standards for quality explicit and
public; systematically gathering evidence on how well performance matches those expectations
and standards; analyzing and interpreting the evidence; and using the resulting information to
document, explain, and improve performance. In idealism teacher has the central role then the
child, so he can assess the child’s learning by asking him certain questions based on the
information that has been provided by teacher’s lecture or from the text book used in the
teaching learning process.
Conclusion
From the above stated discussion it can be concluded that idealism is an important philosophy
which has played an important role in the field of education. It provides a complete guideline for
the students, teachers, learning activities and many more. In current age idealism has been week
as much emphasis of the education is put on the realistic approaches, still it has its impacts in our
education system.

Reference list
Knight, G. R. (1998). Issues and alternatives in educational philosophy (3rd ed.). Michigan:
Andrew University Press.
Singh, Y.K. (2007). Philosophical foundations of education. New Delhi: APH Publishing     
Corporation.
Shahid, S.M. (2008). Foundations of education. Lahore: Majeed.
Willace, O.P. & William, A. (1977). The elements of philosoph; Compadium for       
Philosophers and Theologians. New York: Alba House. 

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Aims of Education in Idealism

The purpose of education is to contribute to the development of the mind and self of the
learner. The education-imparting institute should emphasize intellectual activities,
moral judgments, aesthetic judgments, self-realization, individual freedom, individual
responsibility, and self-control in order to achieve this development.
In an idealistic education system emphasis should be placed on developing the mind,
personal discipline, and character development. A person should be literate and of good
moral character

The aim of education is to brings the child as close to Absolute Truth as possible. All of
the aims of the idealist as educator find their ground in the conception of Ultimate
Reality and the students’ relation to this Reality.

More specifically, the school can take a leading role in defining and refining our
knowledge of Truth an the Absolute. The school has a responsibility to find and to train
future leaders. As will be seen, much of the curriculum for the idealist is based on the
study of earlier leaders.

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 school, as one of the social
institutions concerned with the Absolute must make judgments as to what is right and
what is wrong; thus, one of the aim of education would be to develop morality.

Another aim of education is the maintenance and transmission of the established values
of the past. Once we have established that something is good, or true, or beautiful, it is a
responsibility of the school to pass it one to succeeding generations.

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Introduction

Idealism is the metaphysical and epistemological doctrine that ideas or thoughts make up

fundamental reality. Essentially it is any philosophy which argues that the only thing actually

knowable is consciousness whereas we never can be sure that matter or anything in the outside

world really exists thus the only the real things are mental entities not physical things which exist

only in the sense that they are perceived. A broad definition of idealism could include many

religious viewpoints although an idealistic viewpoint need not necessarily include God,

supernatural beings or existences after death. In general parlance, “idealism” is also used to

describe a person’s high ideals (principles or values actively pursued as a goal) the word “ideal”
is also commonly used as an adjective to designate qualities of perfection, desirability and

excellence. 
Definition:
 “Idealistic philosophy takes many and varied forms but the postulate underlying all this is that
mind or spirit is the essential world stuff, that the rule reality is a material character”.
Idealism in education:                          
Idealism pervades all the creation and it is an underlying, unlimited and ultimate force which
regions supreme overall mind and matter. They all advocate its great importance in education
and lay more emphasis on aims and principles of education than on models, aids and devices.
Idealism and Aims of Education:
 The following are the aims of education according to the philosophy of idealism:
Self-realization or Exhalation of Personality:
   According to the idealism man is the most creation of God. Self- realization involves full of
knowledge of the self and it is the first aim of education “The aim of education especially
associated with idealism is the exhalation of personality or self-realization it is the making actual
or real personalities of the self.”
   To Ensure Spiritual Development:
Idealistic give greater importance to spiritual values in comparison with material attainments.
The second aim of education is to develop the child mentally, morally and above all spiritually.
“Education must enable mankind through its culture to enter more and more fully into the
spiritual realm”.
Development of Intelligences and Rationality:
 “In all things their regions an external law this all pervading energetic, self conscious and hence
eternal law this all pervading energetic. This unity is God. Education should lead and guide man
to face with nature and to unity and God”.
Idealism and Curriculum
Idealists give more importance to thoughts, feelings ideals and values than to the child and his
activities. They firmly hold that curriculum should be concerned with the whole humanity and its
experience.
Views of Plato about curriculum   
According to Plato the aim of life is to realize God. Which is possible only by pursing high
ideals   namely Truth, Beauty, and Goodness. Three types of activities namely intellectual,
aesthetic and moral cancan attain these high ideals.
Views of Herbart Curriculum
According to Herbart the idealistic aim of education is the promotion of moral values. He gave
prime importance to subjects like Literature, History, Art, Music, and Poetry together with other
humanities and secondary place to scientific subjects.
 History of Idealism

Plato is one of the first philosophers to discuss what might be termed idealism. Usually Plato

referred to as Platonic Realism. This is because of his doctrine describes forms or universals.

(Which are certainly non-material “ideals” in a broad sense). Plato maintained that these forms

had their own independent existence. Plato believed that “full reality” it is achieved only through

thought and could be describe as a non-subjective “transcendental” idealist. The term

metaphysics literally means “beyond the physical” This area of   Philosophy a focuses on the

nature of reality. Metaphysics attempts to find unity across the domains of experiences thought.

At the time metaphysical level there are four broad philosophical schools of thought that apply to

education today. They are idealism, realism, pragmatism (sometimes called experientialism and

existentialism). Plato was an idealist philosopher who founded the first school of philosophy in

Athens. His work forms the foundation of western philosophy. His presentation of philosophical

works in the form of “Dialogues” gave the world of philosophy the dialectic. Plato took

Socrates’ maxim “virtue is knowledge” and extrapolated it into an elaborate theory of knowledge
which envisaged a level of reality beyond that immediately available to the senses but accessible

to reason and intellect. The students of Plato’s academy the first school of philosophy in Athens,

were to go beyond the concrete world of perception and come to understand the universal

“ideas” or forms which represented a higher level of reality. Plato’s idealism extended to the

concept of an ideal state as outlined in his “Republic”. This was a state ruled by an intellectual

elite of philosopher kings.

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To understand this complex philosophy, one must examine its development beginning from the classical
times upto the nineteenth century. Philosophers like Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Francis Bacon, John
Locke, Alfred NorthWhitehead,and Betrand Russell have contributed much to realism ideology.

7.2.1 Aristotle Realism

Aristotle (384 - 322 B.C.E.), a great Greek philosopher, was a child of to a physician to the King of
Macedon, thusscience was in his background. At the age of seventeen, he went to Athens and joined
Plato’s school, where hestayed until Plato's death. Although he studied under Plato,Aristotle
fundamentally disagreed with his teacher on just about everything. Aristotlecould not bring himself to
think of the world in abstract terms the way Plato did; above allelse,Aristotle believed that the world
could be understood at a fundamental level through thedetailed observation and cataloguing of
phenomenon. That is, knowledge, which is what theword science means, is fundamentally empirical.

As a result of this belief, Aristotle literally wrote about everything: poetics, rhetoric,ethics, politics,
meteorology, embryology, physics, mathematics, metaphysics, anatomy,physiology, logic, dreams, and
so forth. Aristotle was the first person to asserts that nature is understandable. This tradition, opposed
to the ideathat nature is under the control of changeable divinity which are to be appeared rather than
understood, is oneof the roots of science. Aristotle also provides a good example of the way in which
what one knows or believesinfluences the way one understands new information. His theory of motion
flows from his understanding ofmatter as constituted of four elements: air, earth, fire, and water.
Objects, being solid like earth, would tendto clump together with other solids - earth, so objects tend to
fall to earth, their natural place and an object’snatural state is then at rest. Certainly, this explains a
common observation. Falling is an example of a naturalmotion in Aristotle's scheme.
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Aristotle proposed Aristotelian Realism that ideas, such as the idea of God or the idea of a tree, can
existwithout matter, but matter cannot exist without form. In order to get to form, it was necessary to
studymaterial things. As a result, Aristotle used syllogism, which is a process of „ordering statements
about reality ina logical, systematic form (Ozmon & Craver, 2008). This systematic form would include a
major premise, a minorpremise, and a conclusion. The problem with this thinking is that if one premise
is false, the conclusion can not beaccurate. For example, a famous but a simplistic version of a syllogism
goes as follows: All men are mortal.Socrates is a man;Therefore, Socrates is mortal. Aristotle described
the relation between form and matter with the Four Causes: (a) Material cause - the matter from which
something is made;(b) Formal cause - the design that shapes the material object;(c) Efficient cause - the
agent that produces the object; and(d) Final cause - the direction toward which the object is tending.
Through these different forms, Aristotle demonstrated that matter was constantly in a process of
change. Hebelieved that God, the Ultimate Reality held all creation together. Organization was very
important inAristotle’s philosophy. It was his thought that human beings as rational creatures are
fulfilling their purposewhen they think and thinking are the highest characteristic. According to Aristotle,
each thing had a purpose and education’s purpose was to develop the capacity forreasoning. Proper
character was formed by following the Golden Mean, the path between extremes of the soul.Aristotle
believed that a good education helps achieve the Golden Mean and thereby promotes harmony
andbalance of soul and body. Aristotle spoke of three aspects of the soul: vegetative - brass, animative -
silver, andrational - gold. Balance and moderation in all things was a key to a happy life. The body and
mind were not inopposition, but by collecting data using the senses, reasoning was developed. The
importance of education in the philosophy of Aristotle was enormous, since the individual man could
learn to

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use his reason to arrive at virtue, happiness, and political harmony only through the process of
education. ForAristotle, the purpose of education is to produce a good man. Man is not good by nature
so he must learn tocontrol his animal activities through the use of reason. Only when man behaves by
habit and reason, according tohis nature as a rational being, he is capable of happiness. In short,
education must aim at the development of thefull potentialities of each man man’s intellectual
capacities to the fullest extent and individual’s body to itshighest level of health and strength

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Realism

Realists believe that reality exists independent of the human mind. The ultimate reality is the world of
physical objects. The focus is on the body/objects. Truth is objective-what can be observed. Aristotle, a
student of Plato who broke with his mentor's idealist philosophy, is called the father of both Realism and
the scientific method. In this metaphysical view, the aim is to understand objective reality through "the
diligent and unsparing scrutiny of all observable data." Aristotle believed that to understand an object,
its ultimate form had to be understood, which does not change. For example, a rose exists whether or
not a person is aware of it. A rose can exist in the mind without being physically present, but ultimately,
the rose shares properties with all other roses and flowers (its form), although one rose may be red and
another peach colored. Aristotle also was the first to teach logic as a formal discipline in order to be able
to reason about physical events and aspects. The exercise of rational thought is viewed as the ultimate
purpose for humankind. The Realist curriculum emphasizes the subject matter of the physical world,
particularly science and mathematics. The teacher organizes and presents content systematically within
a discipline, demonstrating use of criteria in making decisions. Teaching methods focus on mastery of
facts and basic skills through demonstration and recitation. Students must also demonstrate the ability
to think critically and scientifically, using observation and experimentation. Curriculum should be
scientifically approached, standardized, and distinct-discipline based. Character is developed through
training in the rules of conduct.

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Realism, in philosophy, the viewpoint which accords to things which are known or perceived an
existence or nature which is independent of whether anyone is thinking about or perceiving them.

Society   is ever changing. We have to cope with this change and also to intelligently
carve a desired way to prepare ourselves for  future. Education is the oldest and biggest
enterprise of man, in terms of manpower engaged or number of human beings involved
in its pursuit, with and to ensure harmonious, complete and all round development. It
can, therefore, never be unplanned and aimless venture or purposeless activity. To think
of ‘whys’ and ‘how’ of education, before we actually go in for it is a pre-requisite.
Education without proper and well defined aims, objectives, goals and motives is quite
unthinkable.

No educator can dare talk of education without mention of its goals, aim, purpose or
objectives. An education without the knowledge of aims, objective and goals of
education is like a sailor navigating a ship without the knowledge of destination and the
route. So, aims are a must for education and need to be laid down explicitly.

Education is a purposeful and ethical activity and each activity as aspect has some aim
before it. So, there is a close relationship between an activity and its aim.
An aim is a conscious purpose which we set before us, while   launching upon any
activity. Just like that education is also unthinkable without aims. If there are no aims
the educational process would not take place because an aim is a pre-determined goal
which inspires the activity of education. If the aims all clear, definite and meaningful
then the activity will go on till the end goal is achieved.

An aim is a foreseen end that gives direction to an activity or motivates behaviour. Aims
are guide-lines in the educational process. Like the sun, aims illumine our life. The
ignorance of right aims will spoil the whole educational system.

According to Encyclopaedia of Modern Education, “ Education is purposeful and ethical

activity. Hence it is unthinkable without aims.” We cannot proceed in any walk of life
without aim. For achieving success in activity of life, clear and well defined aim is
essential. An educator without the knowledge of aims can be compared to a sailor who
does not know his destination. This means that a system of education which is not clear
about its aims or which has undesirable ends is bound to fail. Aims give foresight to the
educational planner.

All our methods of teaching, our curriculum and our system of evaluation are shaped
and moulded according to our aim of education. It is the ignorance of right aims that has
vitiated our educational system, its methods and its products, and has successfully
resulted in the physical, intellectual and moral weaknesses of the race. There is a great
necessity of aims in education because of the following reasons:

If aim is known we can make efforts to that end. Educational aims keep the teacher and
the taught on the right track. They provide a line of action and guidance to the teachers.
They give direction and zest to the work of the pupils. Educational aims help us to avoid
wastage in time and energy. In the words of John Dewey, “To have an aim is to act with
meaning.” Aims help us to act intelligently and to act with a meaning. We know what is
to be done and we straight away start doing that.

Educational aims help us to evaluate ourselves. They use to take stock of the results of
our effort. The aim is a yard-stick with which we can measure our success and failure.
They are necessary to assess the outcome of the educational process.

We as educators carefully evaluate the existing conditions i.e., contents of education,

methods of teaching, efficiency of teaching, library equipment, planning of curricular
and co-curricular activities in the light of our objective and plan for the future.

Aims of education are always influenced by the philosophy of life of the people of that
country, for example Idealistic philosophy lays down different aims like education for
self-realisation. Pragmatists have not faith in any fixed aim of education. The philosophy
prevailing in the life of the people is reflected in the aims of education of that country.
Aims of Education in Realism
Realists do not believe in general and common aims of education. According to them
aims are specific to each individual and his perspectives. And each one has
different perspectives. The aim of education should be to teach truth rather than beauty,
to understand the present practical life. The purpose of education, according to social
realists, is to prepare the practical man of the world.

The science realists expressed that the education should be conducted on universal
basis. Greater stress should be laid upon the observation of nature and the education of
science. Neo-realists aim at developing all round development of the objects with the
development of their organs.

The realist’s primary educational aim is to teach those things and values which will lead
to the good life. But for the realist, the good life is equated with one which is in tune with
the overarching order of natural law. Thus, the primary aim of education becomes to
teach the child the natural and moral law, or at least as much of it as we know, so that
his generation may lead the right kind life; one in tune with the laws to the universe.
There are, of course, more specific aims which will lead to the goals already stated. For
example, realists set the school aside as a special place for the accumulation and
preservation of knowledge.

Realists just as other philosophers have expressed the aims of education in various
forms. According to John Wild the aim of education is fourfold to discern the truth
about things as they really are and to extend and integrate such truth as is known to gain
such practical knowledge of life in general and of professional functions in particular as
can be theoretically grounded and justified and finally to transmit this in a coherent and
convincing way both to young and to old throughout the human community.
Breed expressing similar sentiments avers that the chief function of all education is
direction of the learning process. Education should guide the student in discovering and
knowing the world around him as this is contained in the school subjects.
Russell follows the same line of reasoning in his discussion of educational objectives.
He too would not object to the school’s assisting the child to become a healthy happy
and well-adjusted individual. But he insists that the prime goal of all school activities
should be the development of intelligence. The well-educated person is one whose mind
knows they would as it is. Intelligence is that human function which enables one to
acquire knowledge. The school should do all in its power to develop intelligence.
Harry Broudy, a contemporary realist, proposes that the good life should be ultimate
aim of education since it is the final goal of all human activity.

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What are the Aims of Education
According to Realism?
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The aim of education according to realism is to give to the pupil a complete knowledge
and understanding of human society human nature, motives and institutions. Education
must explain to the pupil how he is related to the world of man and to the world of
nature.
The purpose of this explanation is to enable the pupil to adjust himself in the
environment in which he must live. Rabelais, a realist, says that the aim of education is
“the formation of a complete man, skilled in art and industry,” the development of the
whole man, physically, morally, intellectually.

To Milton, another realist, education should prepare for actual living in a real world when
he writes: “I call, therefore, a complete and generous education that which fits a man to
perform skillfully, justly, and magnanimously all the offices, both private and public, of
peace and war.” In other words, it may be said that according to realism the aim of
education is not to produce a scholar or a professional man, but to produce a man of
the world of affairs.
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realism/111890