Q1.

Evaluate Plato's theory of education and points out its contribution the filed of
education. (20)

Philosophy means "love of wisdom." It is made up of two Greek words, philo, meaning love,
and sophos, meaning wisdom. Philosophy helps teachers to reflect on key issues and concepts
in education, usually through such questions as: What is being educated? What is the good
life? What is knowledge? What is the nature of learning? And What is teaching? Philosophers
think about the meaning of things and interpretation of that meaning. Even simple statements,
such as "What should be learned? Or What is adolescence?" set up raging debates that can
have major implications. For example, what happens if an adolescent commits a serious
crime? One interpretation may hide another. If such a young person is treated as an adult
criminal, what does it say about justice, childhood, and the like? Or if the adolescent is
treated as a child, what does it say about society's views on crime?

Your educational philosophy is your beliefs about why, what and how you teach, whom you
teach, and about the nature of learning. It is a set of principles that guides professional action
through the events and issues teachers face daily. Sources for your educational philosophy are
your life experiences, your values, the environment in which you live, interactions with
others and awareness of philosophical approaches. Learning about the branches of
philosophy, philosophical world views, and different educational philosophies and theories
will help you to determine and shape your own educational philosophy, combined with these
other aspects.

When you examine a philosophy different from your own, it helps you to "wrestle" with your
own thinking. Sometimes this means you may change your mind. Other times, it may
strengthen your viewpoint; or, you may be eclectic, selecting what seems best from different
philosophies. But in eclecticism, there is a danger of sloppy and inconsistent thinking,
especially if you borrow a bit of one philosophy and stir in some of another. If serious
thought has gone into selection of strategies, theories, or philosophies, this is less
problematic. For example, you may determine that you have to vary your approach depending
on the particular learning needs and styles of a given student. At various time periods, one
philosophical framework may become favored over another. For example, the Progressive
movement led to quite different approaches in education in the 1930s. But there is always
danger in one "best or only" philosophy. In a pluralistic society, a variety of views are
needed.

1
Four General or World Philosophies

The term metaphysics literally means "beyond the physical." This area of philosophy focuses
on the nature of reality. Metaphysics attempts to find unity across the domains of experience
and thought. At the 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. Each will be explained shortly. These four general
frameworks provide the root or base from which the various educational philosophies are
derived.

A fifth metaphysical school of thought, called Scholasticism, is largely applied in Roman

Catholic schools in the educational philosophy called "Thomism." It combines idealist and
realist philosophies in a framework that harmonized the ideas of Aristotle, the realist, with
idealist notions of truth. Thomas Aquinas, 1255-127, was the theologian who wrote "Summa
Theologica," formalizing church doctrine. The Scholasticism movement encouraged the
logical and philosophical study of the beliefs of the church, legitimizing scientific inquiry
within a religious framework.

Two of these general or world philosophies, idealism and realism, are derived from the
ancient Greek philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. Two are more contemporary, pragmatism
and existentialism.

However, educators who share one of these distinct sets of beliefs about the nature of reality
presently apply each of these world philosophies in successful classrooms. Let us explore
each of these metaphysical schools of thought.

Idealism

Idealism is a philosophical approach that has as its central tenet that ideas are the only true
reality, the only thing worth knowing. In a search for truth, beauty, and justice that is
enduring and everlasting, the focus is on conscious reasoning in the mind. Plato, father of
Idealism, espoused this view about 400 years BC, in his famous book, The Republic. Plato
believed that there are two worlds. The first is the spiritual or mental world, which is eternal,
permanent, orderly, regular, and universal. There is also the world of appearance, the world
experienced through sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound, that is changing, imperfect, and
disorderly. This division is often referred to as the duality of mind and body. Reacting against
what he perceived as too much of a focus on the immediacy of the physical and sensory

2
world, Plato described a utopian society in which "education to body and soul all the beauty
and perfection of which they are capable" as an ideal. In his allegory of the cave, the shadows
of the sensory world must be overcome with the light of reason or universal truth. To
understand truth, one must pursue knowledge and identify with the Absolute Mind. Plato also
believed that the soul is fully formed prior to birth and is perfect and at one with the
Universal Being. The birth process checks this perfection, so education requires bringing
latent ideas (fully formed concepts) to consciousness.

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). Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-
part logic are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent in the
mind. Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes.

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

3
through training in the rules of conduct.

Pragmatism (Experientialism)

For pragmatists, only those things that are experienced or observed are real. In this late 19th
century American philosophy, the focus is on the reality of experience. Unlike the Realists
and Rationalists, Pragmatists believe that reality is constantly changing and that we learn best
through applying our experiences and thoughts to problems, as they arise. The universe is
dynamic and evolving, a "becoming" view of the world. There is no absolute and unchanging
truth, but rather, truth is what works. Pragmatism is derived from the teaching of Charles
Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), who believed that thought must produce action, rather than
linger in the mind and lead to indecisiveness.

John Dewey (1859-1952) applied pragmatist philosophy in his progressive approaches. He

believed that learners must adapt to each other and to their environment. Schools should
emphasize the subject matter of social experience. All learning is dependent on the context
of place, time, and circumstance. Different cultural and ethnic groups learn to work
cooperatively and contribute to a democratic society. The ultimate purpose is the creation of a
new social order. Character development is based on making group decisions in light of
consequences.

For Pragmatists, teaching methods focus on hands-on problem solving, experimenting, and
projects, often having students work in groups. Curriculum should bring the disciplines
together to focus on solving problems in an interdisciplinary way. Rather than passing down
organized bodies of knowledge to new learners, Pragmatists believe that learners should
apply their knowledge to real situations through experimental inquiry. This prepares students
for citizenship, daily living, and future careers.

Existentialism

The nature of reality for Existentialists is subjective, and lies within the individual. The
physical world has no inherent meaning outside of human existence. Individual choice and
individual standards rather than external standards are central. Existence comes before any
definition of what we are. We define ourselves in relationship to that existence by the choices
we make. We should not accept anyone else's predetermined philosophical system; rather, we
must take responsibility for deciding who we are. The focus is on freedom, the development
of authentic individuals, as we make meaning of our lives.

There are several different orientations within the existentialist philosophy. Soren

4
Kierkegaard (1813- 1855), a Danish minister and philosopher, is considered to be the founder
of existentialism. His was a Christian orientation. Another group of existentialists, largely
European, believes that we must recognize the finiteness of our lives on this small and
fragile planet, rather than believing in salvation through God. Our existence is not guaranteed
in an after life, so there is tension about life and the certainty of death, of hope or despair.
Unlike the more austere European approaches where the universe is seen as meaningless
when faced with the certainty of the end of existence, American existentialists have focused
more on human potential and the quest for personal meaning. Values clarification is an
outgrowth of this movement. Following the bleak period of World War II, the French
philosopher, Jean Paul Sartre, suggested that for youth, the existential moment arises when
young persons realize for the first time that choice is theirs, that they are responsible for
themselves. Their question becomes "Who am I and what should I do?

Related to education, the subject matter of existentialist classrooms should be a matter of

personal choice. Teachers view the individual as an entity within a social context in which the
learner must confront others' views to clarify his or her own. Character development
emphasizes individual responsibility for decisions. Real answers come from within the
individual, not from outside authority. Examining life through authentic thinking involves
students in genuine learning experiences. Existentialists are opposed to thinking about
students as objects to be measured, tracked, or standardized. Such educators want the
educational experience to focus on creating opportunities for self-direction and self
actualization. They start with the student, rather than on curriculum content.

5
Q2. Discuss the role of philosophy in curriculum development. (20) The Concept of
Philosophy in curriculum development

The concept of philosophy of education has been viewed from several perspectives by many
scholars and great thinkers. As a result, a plethora of definition has also been attempted.
Hence, it has been difficult to arrive at a universally acceptable definition of philosophy of
education, since there are four perspectives from which it could be approached. This includes
the traditional, analytic, technical and non-technical definitions – definitions of which we do
not have time and space to pursue here. But it has been noted that Philosophy of Education
mirrors the needs and aspirations of the society for which it was formulated (Apologun,
2012). It is in this regard that the Pakistan Philosophy of education is essentially rooted in the
national goals and objectives of the state.

However, some eminent scholars defined philosophy of education as applied philosophy

primarily concerned with the application of philosophical principles, to the practical conduct
of education (OKoh, 2003). In other words, philosophy of education has a wider scope that
touches virtually every sphere of education in that it performs a central but critical function
for all segments of education. In simple terms, philosophy of education “oversees the
activities of other aspects of education, by providing them the necessary tools or instruments
and techniques for a clearer conception of their roles and operations.

Universalization of primary education

Pakistan achieved independence from over a century of British colonial rule in August 1947.
The colonial period did witness some progress in education. However, the progress was
largely limited to what emerged as India. The regions comprising Pakistan were relatively
backward in all respects, including in education. At independence, 85 percent of the
population was illiterate and in the more backward regions of the country, e.g., Balochistan,
the literacy rate was even lower, with the rate for rural women therein being virtually zero. It
was realized then that the task of nation building would not be achieved without an educated
and skilled manpower. And in recognition thereof, a National Education Conference was
convened the same year, which recommended that universalization of primary education
should be achieved within a period of 20 years. Since then, universal primary education has
remained an important objective of all governments. And to this end, considerable resources
have been expended in creating new infrastructure and facilities and various projects and
schemes have been launched. Yet, the desired progress has not been achieved, either

6
quantitatively or qualitatively. Half a century down the road, Pakistan remains a largely
illiterate country. Close to two- thirds of the population and over 80 percent of rural women
are still illiterate.More than a quarter of children between the ages of five and nine do not
attend school. And for those who do, the quality of education is seriously wanting. One 1994
study conducted arithmetic and urdu language tests to grade-3 school children in Lahore and
found that only 33 percent of students in government schools passed both the tests. The same
test conducted in 1996 to test grade-3 students in 5 districts in Punjab found that only 22
percent of the students in government schools passed both the tests. The same test
adminsitered to the teachers did not elicit an encouraging result either. This paper outlines
this process from the education conference in 1947 to the education policy presented in 1998.

The Conference formed a number of committees, including for primary and secondary
education and for adult education. The Primary and Secondary Education Committee
“considered it essential that a national system of education should be based on the strong
foundations of free and compulsory primary education.” It proposed separate pre-primary and
primary education stages for children of ages 3 to 6 and 6 to 11, respectively. It also took
account of and dwelt on the problems of medium of instruction, teacher training, physical
education, etc. The Committee on Adult Education pointed out that illiteracy was high at 85
percent and, at the then rate of increase of literacy, 140 years would be required to liquidate
the problem. Highlighting the urgency of introducing literacy among the masses, including
women, it identified the objective of literacy as a means to further education.

Primary aim of the campaign

“The primary aim of the campaign must be not merely to make adults literate but to keep
them literate”, it stated. It called for the provision of facilities for adult education on the
widest scale and the introduction of a free and compulsory system of primary education to be
treated as complementary to one another. It suggested the setting up of a permanent system of
adult education, closely linked with compulsory primary education, to solve the problem in a
period of 25 years. The Committee’s report was fairly pragmatic in its approach and the
language used was matter of fact. It dwelt on the problems and constraints facing the task and
identified issues of training adult school teachers, teaching materials and literature for adult
schools, instruction methodologies, etc. It cautioned against attempting to draw up a code or
prescribe uniform methods or approaches applicable to the country as a whole and, instead,
called for a committee of experts report on questions of teaching technique and results of
experimentation. It also advised against drawing any rigid distinction between adult

7
education in the strict sense and technical, commercial or art instruction and suggested that
adult students may be provided literacy through subjects of a vocational character. The report
recommended the following stages for the execution of a programme of adult education.

The first 5 years were to be devoted to planning, recruitment of teachers and training. In the
sixth year, about 500,000 persons were to be made literate with an annual increase of 300,000
thereafter. It acknowledged that illiteracy was not confined to the rural areas and a large
proportion of the urban population was also illiterate. It, thus, called on all government
departments and all employers and trade unions to ensure that their employees, workers, and
members are literate The question of levying a tax on those employers who do not make
adequate provision for the education of their employees was also presented for consideration.
Other specific proposals included (i) the possibility of making a period of social service
obligatory on all university students and (ii) the use of mechanical aids to learning, such as
radio, cinema, the gramophone, and magic lantern.

The Concept of Development

The term development could be used interchangeably with evolution depending on the
contexts in which it is being used, either positively or negatively to refer to situations, trends,
or issues. Development, ordinarily means “man’s effort to make the necessary impact on
nature; his environment, and on himself with a view to transforming and improving himself
and his environment” (Nwafor, 2006). It is clear therefore that development and improvement
are synonymous. When something has been made to wear a new look from what it was
before, we can say that a development has taken place. The words “growth” and expansion”
are coterminous with development, and they suggest positive development. These words
equally denote progress being made from one stage to another, which do not denote negative
development like retardation, degeneration or decline. Development in a wider context deals
with socio-economic and political life of the society; it connotes the fulfillment, realisation or
actualization of goals and objectives, hopes and aspirations of that society.

The process of actualization begins when a society recognizes its inadequacies, and sets goals
for itself, and decides to make deliberate efforts to remedy perceived deficiencies in order to
attain desired goals (Nwafor, 2006). In this regard, Nyerere in Ezimah (2004) views
development as having an emancipator goal, i.e., it liberates man from shackles of ignorance,
superstition and oppression in all its ramifications. Consequently, all forms of development
have to some extent a reasonable dose of educational process. For that reason, the

8
development of the intellectual frontiers of the individual cannot be left untouched. By
extension therefore, the development of the individual’s intellectual capacity and capability
empowers him socially, economically and politically; thereby giving him not only a sense of
self-fulfillment, but also a sense of belonging and commitment to the overall development of
society.

Main Developmental Factors

The main factors that influence development are education and science. This is because
education essentially stipulates the quality of human capital, on which depends the
development of the available material resources. As a result of the ever increasing
significance education has for national development, coupled with increased scientific,
technological and social changes, educational systems of all countries tend to improve and to
adapt to the requirements of the present age. These laudable changes can only be feasible
through the strategies of long-term objectives and the means of achieving them. In this
regard, “the most general method by which national objectives of education can be achieved
are ingrained in the implementation of the concepts of “life-long education” and the
development of a learning society.

In essence, education should contribute to the realization of three most important objectives:

1. The development of the individual;

2. The development of society; and

3. The development of the national economy.

This could be done in such a way that skills of the individual in the labour market would be in
tandem with the needs of business organisations, companies, government parastatals and
private employers of labour. These objectives highlighted above are mid-wifed by education
through philosophy of education, which encapsulates the societal goals and objectives, needs
and aspirations.

The Policy recalled provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948),
whereby it is stated: “Elementary education is the fundamental right of all people, men and
women, of all types of areas and places, irrespective of gender, sect, religion or any other
denomination. Everyone has the right to education” and The Convention on the Rights of the
Child (1989), which states that the child has a right to education and it is the State’s duty
ensure that primary education is free and compulsory. It also recalled Pakistan’s international

9
commitments, such as the World Declaration on Education For All (1990) and the Delhi
Summit Declaration (1993), to double the rate of literacy by the year 2000. A unique feature
of the 1998 Policy is the massive involvement of foreign donor agencies in the education and
While the Seventh Plan had specifically rejected non-formal education and opted
unambiguously for formal education, the 1998 Policy reinforced the strategic shift in the
1992 Policy towards non-formal education with a virtual condemnation of the formal
education system. It stated that “millions of children have been deprived of elementary
education not because institutional facilities did not exist but primary education clashed with
their jobs, since it was organized only as a full-time program during the day.” Promoting the
idea of non-formal education, it stated that The Policy relating to elementary education policy
was based on agreed themes and strategies of Social Action Program, such as improving the
quality, expanding access for out of school children, especially disadvantaged groups,
improving management and supervisory services, capacity building, institutional
development and financial sustainability. The major issues and challenges of elementary
education were identified as:

It, thus, expected that “by the year 2002-03, 90 percent of the children in the primary age
group (5-9) will be in schools and by the year 2010, the gross enrolment will rise to 105 per
cent. Consequently, the promulgation and enforcement of Compulsory Primary Education
Act will be possible by 2004-05.” The Policy also recognized that the current literacy rate is
estimated at 38.9 percent, 27 percent for females, and 8 percent for rural females and
proposed to raise the literacy rate to 55 percent during the first five years and 70 percent by
2010. The implementation strategy is as heroic as that of the abortive National Literacy Plan:
1984-86. The Policy proposes to launch a National Literacy Movement on an emergency
basis in every village, tehsil and district, increase the existing Non-Formal Basic Education
(NFBE) community schools/centres from 7000 to 82,000, utilize mosques as one of the
means to provide non-formal basic education to increase literacy, render it mandatory for all
industrial units and federal and provincial agencies, like WAPDA, Pakistan Steel, OPF, PTV,
PBC, etc., to make their employees and their dependents literate, put Boy Scouts and Girl
Guides at the service of literacy programs, establish Literacy Corps comprising of
College/University students/teachers for literacy programs during vacations, issue driving and
ammunition licenses only to literate persons, condone, accordingly, the duration of a
prisoner’s term of imprisonment if s/he becomes literate, utilize radio and television for social
mobilization and promotion of the cause of basic education, particularly amongst rural

10
females, and for imparting skills to neo-literates, require Khakahs/Mazars to donate a portion
of their earning to the literacy fund, and link development grants to local governments with
literacy programmes.

Common feature of all the policies

The striking common feature of all the policies, plans, programmes, and schemes is the
philosophical pronouncements about the importance of education. For example, the Second
Five Year Plan stated: "No uneducated community has progressed far in the modern world,
and no educated community with initiative and leadership has remained backward". This
statement was again repeated a quarter of a century later in the Sixth Five Year Plan thus:
"No educated society has ever achieved the heights of economic and political power. No
educated society has ever been left behind in the relentless march of history." Another
common feature is the repeated admission of failure. Each policy commenced with a lament
about the failure of past efforts, including the immediately preceding ones, to achieve the
targets. Each plan reviewed the performance of the previous plan and opined about its failure
to achieve its targets. Each PC-1 of an education scheme provided justification for the project
in terms of the failure of past schemes. Yet another common feature is the unfaded optimism
of the particular policy, plan, programme or scheme to achieve the targets. The philosophical
pronouncements about the profound importance of education, lament about past failures, and
glowing optimism about impending success form a pattern across all policies, plans,
programmes, and schemes. A final common feature of all policies, plans, programmes, and
schemes is that all of them, with the sole exception of the Second Five Year Plan, failed to
achieve their objectives. The Third Plan placed a target of 70 percent primary enrollment
rate; yet the same at the begining of the Fifth Plan was 54 percent. The Fifth Plan set the
target at 100 percent by 1987, which was pushed forward to 1992 by the 1979 Education
Policy; yet the same was 60 percent at the beginning of the Seventh Plan in 1988. The
Seventh Plan set the target at 100 percent by 1993; yet the rate in 1998 was 39 percent. The
1992 Education Policy pushed forward the target of 100 percent to 2002, while the 1998
Policy lowered the target to 90 percent by 2003.

11
Q 03 Describe the characteristics of curriculum development on the basis of idealism.
(20) Idealism

Idealism is a philosophical approach that has as its central tenet that ideas are the only true
reality, the only thing worth knowing. In a search for truth, beauty, and justice that is
enduring and everlasting, the focus is on conscious reasoning in the mind. Plato, father of
Idealism, espoused this view about 400 years BC, in his famous book, The Republic. Plato
believed that there are two worlds. The first is the spiritual or mental world, which is eternal,
permanent, orderly, regular, and universal. There is also the world of appearance, the world
experienced through sight, touch, smell, taste, and sound, that is changing, imperfect, and
disorderly. This division is often referred to as the duality of mind and body. Reacting against
what he perceived as too much of a focus on the immediacy of the physical and sensory
world, Plato described a utopian society in which "education to body and soul all the beauty
and perfection of which they are capable" as an ideal. In his allegory of the cave, the shadows
of the sensory world must be overcome with the light of reason or universal truth. To
understand truth, one must pursue knowledge and identify with the Absolute Mind. Plato also
believed that the soul is fully formed prior to birth and is perfect and at one with the
Universal Being. The birth process checks this perfection, so education requires bringing
latent ideas (fully formed concepts) to consciousness.

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). Introspection, intuition, insight, and whole-
part logic are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are latent in the
mind. Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes.

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

12
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.

The place to begin is with the big conceptual picture itself, of international relations and
world politics. Pieces that are salient to this complex and multi-dimensional puzzle include
concepts about: the state; national interests; power and balance of power; culture and society;
anarchy; identity; norms; actors; agency; democracy; diplomacy; globalization; human rights;
international institutions; international law; non-government organizations (NGOs);
economic progress; multinational corporations; international society. These big ideas are
basic to any understanding of international relations and foreign policy decision making.

Now all of these big ideas have to be interpreted, and that is the point of the background
theories that appear on the scene. For many decades, the most prominent in the West have
been versions of political ideologies such as realism, idealism, and neoconservatism, as well
as schools of thought such as IR constructivism and the English School. There are also other
lenses such as neorealism and

neoliberalism vying for greater pride of place. Any one of which can be chosen by a national
leader, or by foreign policy advisers and committees, or by other decision makers, to give
meaning to each of the conceptual pieces.

The choice of an interpretive grid, therefore, determines how situations and events are
analyzed and how policy prescriptions will be made and implemented – different interpretive
grids place different emphases on different conceptual pieces, so that the importance of some
pieces stand out over against others to get priority of place when it comes time to decision-

13
making time, and that in turn enormously gives shape and direction to a particular policy. A
neoconservative administration, for instance, would look at and respond to a major event of
the Middle East quite unlike an administration following liberal internationalism.

Further, we have the variety of religious-political ideologies of the Middle East states
performing the same function, as meaning-grids, for their leaders and advisers for
understanding and prioritizing concerns about the state, national interest, identity, agency,
human rights, democracy, globalization, etc., and the kind of policies that will be enacted. So
it’s quite a mix, especially when we include Russia, China, India… Well, you get the picture.
Now assemble it!

It is the within the purview of scholars and academics to present these aspects (pieces) in
detail, with the lengthy attention they deserve (readers can peruse the Bibliography to find all
sorts of comprehensive approaches to these aspects). My goal in this article will be to paint
with broad brush strokes to outline how political realism and idealism shed light on which of
the pieces should be stressed as most important for understanding international relations and
making foreign policy decisions. The following outlines of these two -isms will show the
conceptual environment of the near- past and the present period in order to recognize how
Western international relations work, how they are changing, and what the practical
consequences of the changes have been and may be.

A caveat, however. This is not to assume that foreign policy decision comes down to
whatever political ideology has been elected to the White House, Downing Street, or Élysée
Palace. IR constructivism in particular has shown that there is much more going on than
ideology. IR constructivist research project s, for instance, show the high level of significance
that agency, identity, and norms have in foreign policy decision making. This results in
heightening the importance of different pieces of the international picture, pieces that the
traditional theories have tended to marginalize. (IR constructivists and the English school will
be the subject of an article in this series.)

Realism and Idealism: Rival Theories

During the twentieth century, political realism and political idealism vied as conceptual rivals
for understanding international relations, for analyzing the decision-making of inter-state
actors, for qualifying what policies should or should not see the light of day, and for
justifying or criticizing the kinds of policies that went forward from each other’s camp. In
fact, it was to deal formally with such issues that the academic discipline of “international

14
politics” itself was formed in 1919 at the University of Wales.

Here we will look only at the puzzle pieces most emphasized by realists and idealists. Some
of these pieces are the same ones, but the two ideologies treat them differently, which affects
how the purpose of international relations is understood, which affects policy choices.

Political Realism

State of nature, anarchy, war. Realism as a political philosophy has a history traced as far
back as the classical political theorist Thucydides. Since the sixteenth century, the Europeans
Machiavelli, Hobbes, and Rousseau have been its leading lights. At the core of this European
realism is an assumption that relations between nations exist fundamentally in a “state of
nature” described as “anarchy,” a condition in which war between nations is assumed to be
permanent and expected, not unlike how violence would arise domestically between different
groups within a nation were it not for the power of civil government to restrain people.

Human life in this anarchical state of nature was famously shorthanded by Thomas Hobbes as
“solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Politically, because states have no higher authority
over them, such as a world government to restrain them, anarchy means that states as
collective entities were on their own in the international arena to work out how to live with
one another. For the more hard-core realists, relations between states must be ordered around
the bare minimum conditions necessary for mere co-existence, and the world can forget about
any notion of building cooperative agreements and arrangements toward human flourishing.
In other words, the conceptual frame limits the options for what realists assume is possible
(as it does for the idealist, neoconservatives, IR constructivists, and others).

Further complications arise because nations have differing interests, and interests change over
time due to changing domestic or international circumstances. And because a realist sees the
state as the primary actor in international relations, are often accused of using international
institutions as yet another arena for acting out state power. From a constructivist point of
view, however, for instance, although the state remains a key actor, international institutions
can act as important restraining agencies on a state’s power, particularly on its foreign policy,
perhaps, in order to seek joint gains for the common international good, rather than just for
the good of the one state. (One significant practical consequence of such a difference might
be that a realist might feel less guilty about breaking an international treaty than would an IR
constructivist.)

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Balance of power

Another non-negotiable principle of political realism is balance of power, which has been the
most relied on arrangement for ordering relations between states to put the brakes on forms of
anarchy. Typically, two or more states or groups of states will act in concert (politically,
economically, or militarily) to try to hold in check a powerful state or a group of states from
gaining predominance and dictating to the others. The idea is to create a form of international
stability through balance of power arrangements, which arise and change through shifting
alliances, partnerships, friendships, or even secret diplomacy and adversarial relations.
Morgenthau insists that balance of power politics must not be thought of as merely one kind
of foreign policy among many, but the only kind possible. The “balance of power and
policies aiming at its preservation,” he wrote, “are not only inevitable but are an essential
stabilizing factor in a society of sovereign nations; and the instability of the international
balance of power is not due to the faultiness of the principle but to the particular conditions
under which the principle must operate in a society of sovereign nations.

National interests

Idealism’s more optimistic view of human nature also gives it a broader frame of reference
for national interests. The saying that “states act in their national interests” is a truism even
for idealists. Realists, as Nye points out, believe they “must define their interest in terms of
balance of power or they will not survive, just as a company in a perfect market that wants to
be altruistic rather than maximize profits will not survive. So for the realists, a state’s position
in the international system determines its national interests and predicts its foreign policies.”
Idealists, in contrast, “have a richer account of how state preferences and national interests
are formed. The definition of the national interests depends in large part on the type of
domestic society and culture a state has. For example, a domestic society that values
economic welfare and places heavy emphasis on trade, or that views wars against other
democracies as illegitimate, defines its national interests very differently from a despotic state
that is similarly placed in the international system. Liberals argue that this is particularly true
if the international system is moderate, that is, not purely anarchic.

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Q 04 Identify the similarities and differences between pragmatism and Existentialism.
(20)

There are many different ways to approach education. Watch this lesson to find out about one
of them, pragmatism, and the way that it combines practical and experiential learning to offer
students a chance to grow and learn.

Pragmatism

Sally is a new teacher, and she's stressed out. She wants to make her lessons as good as
possible, and to reach as many students as possible, but she's not sure how to do that. Add on
top of that the fact that she's supposed to teach all sorts of information that seems completely
useless in the real world, and she is worried that her students will leave her class having not
gotten anything out of it.

Pragmatism is an educational philosophy that says that education should be about life and
growth. That is, teachers should be teaching students things that are practical for life and
encourage them to grow into better people. Many famous educators, including John Dewey,
were pragmatists.

Let's look closer at how Sally can apply the basic principles of pragmatism to her lesson
planning.

Practical Learning

Okay, Sally understands that education should be practical. But what, exactly, does that
mean? And how will it look in her classroom?

The idea of practical learning is that education should apply to the real world. For example,
if Sally is teaching students who live in an urban area, there might not be much practical
application for them to learn about agricultural science. Or, if she's teaching at a school for
children of farmers, there might be little need for her to teach art history.

Do you have students who struggle to use appropriate verbal and nonverbal language in
different social situations? Then this is the lesson for you! Read on for fun activities that will
increase your students' pragmatic skills starting today!

Pragmatic Language Skills

Pragmatic language is the language that we use daily to communicate with other people.
This can include the words we use and how we say those words as well as our body language

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when we are speaking and when we are silent. It also applies to how we do all this in
different social settings. Deficits in pragmatic skills can make it difficult for our students to
correctly and appropriately express what they are thinking and feeling, as well as making it
difficult to understand what others are thinking and feeling.

Pragmatics Activities

The following activities and exercises will help you help your students become masters of
pragmatics!

It arises out of actual living. It does not believe in fixed and eternal values. It is dynamic and
ever- changing. It is a revolt against Absolutism. Reality is still in the making. It is never
complete.

Our judgement happens to be true if it gives satisfactory results in experience, i.e., by the way
it works out. A judgement in itself is neither true nor false. There are no established systems
of ideas which will be true for all times. It is humanistic in as much as it is concerned more
with human life and things of human interest than with any established tenets. Therefore, it is
called humanism.

Pragmatism means action, from which the words practical and practice have come. The
idealist constructs a transcendental ideal, which cannot be realised by man. The pragmatist
lays down standards which are attainable. Pragmatists are practical people.

They face problems and try to solve them from practical point of view. Unlike idealists they
live in the world of realities, not in the world of ideals. Pragmatists view life as it is, while
idealists view life as it should be. The central theme of pragmatism is activity.

Educative experiences in life depend upon two things:

(a) Thought

(b) Action.

The emphasis of pragmatism is on action rather than on thought. Thought is subordinated to

action. It is made an instrument to find suitable means for action. That is why pragmatism is
also called Instrumentalism. Ideas are tools. Thought enlarges its scope and usefulness by
testing itself on practical issues.

Since pragmatism advocates the experimental method of science, it is also called

Experimentalism — thus stressing the practical significance of thought. Experimentalism

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involves the belief that thoughtful action is in its nature always a kind of testing of
provisional conclusions and hypotheses.

Pragmatism has no obstructive dogmas. It accepts everything that has practical consequences.
Even mystical experiences are accepted if they have practical results. Unlike idealists they
believe that philosophy emerges out of educational practices while the idealists say that
“education is the dynamic side of philosophy”. The chief exponents of Pragmatism are
William James (1842-1910), Schiller, and John Dewey (1859-1952).

Pragmatism in Education:

In the present world pragmatism has influenced education tremendously. It is a practical and
utilitarian philosophy. It makes activity the basis of all teaching and learning. It is activity
around which an educational process revolves.

It makes learning purposeful and infuses a sense of reality in education. It makes schools into
workshops and laboratories. It gives an experimental character to education. Pragmatism
makes man optimistic, energetic and active. It gives him self-confidence. The child creates
values through his own activities. According to pragmatism, education is not the dynamic
side of philosophy as advocated by the idealists. It is philosophy which emerges from
educational practice. Education creates values and formulates ideas which constitute
pragmatic philosophy. Pragmatism is based on the psychology of individual differences.
Pragmatists want education according to aptitudes and abilities of the individual. Individual
must be respected and education planned to cater to his inclinations and capacities. But
individual development must take place in social context. Every individual has a social self
and an individuality can best be developed in and through society.

Thus pragmatism has brought democracy in education. That is why it has advocated self-
government in school. The children must learn the technique of managing their own affairs in
the school and that would be a good preparation for life. Education is preparation for life.
Pragmatism makes a man socially efficient. The pragmatists are of the opinion that the
children should-not be asked to work according to predetermined goals. They should
determine their goals according to their needs and interests.

Teaching-learning process is a social and bi-polar process. Learning takes place as an

interaction between the teacher and the taught. While idealism gives first place to the teacher,
pragmatism gives the first place to the taught. Similarly, between thought and action, they
give first place to action. The pragmatists decry verbalism and encourage action. Today

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pragmatism occupies the most dominant place in the United States of America.

According to pragmatism the theory and practice of education is based on two main
principles, viz:

(i) Education should have a social function, and

(ii) Education should provide real-life experience to the child.

Pragmatism and Aims of Education:

Pragmatism does not lay down any aims of education in advance. It believes that there can be
no fixed aims of education. Life is dynamic and subject to constant change, and hence the
aims of education are bound to be dynamic. Education deals with human life. It must help the
children to fulfill their biological and social needs.

The only aim of education, according to pragmatism, is to enable the child to create values in
his life. In the words of Ross, education must create new values: “the main task of educator is
to put the educand into a position to develop values for himself’.

The pragmatist educator aims at the harmonious development of the educand — physical,
intellectual, social and aesthetic. The aim of education, therefore, is to direct “the impulses,
interests, desires and abilities towards ‘the satisfaction of the felt wants of the child in his
environment. Since the pragmatists believe that man is primarily a biological and social
organism, education should aim at the development of social efficiency in man. Every child
should be an effective member of the society. Education must fulfill his own needs as well as
the needs of the society. The children should be so trained that they may be able to solve
their present-day problems efficiency and to adjust themselves to their social environment.
They should be creative and effective members of the society. Their outlook should be so
dynamic that they can change with the changing situations.

What pragmatism wants to achieve through education is the cultivation of a dynamic,

adaptable mind which will be resourceful and enterprising in all situations, the mind which
will have powers to create values in an unknown future. Education must foster competence in
the children that they may be able to tackle the problems of future life.

Pragmatism and Curriculum:

The aims of education are reflected in the curriculum. The pragmatic aims can only be
reflected in a pragmatic curriculum. The curriculum should be framed on the basis of certain
basic principles. These are utility, interest, experience and integration. Practical utility is the

20
watchword of pragmatism.

Hence those subjects, which have utility to the students should be included in the curriculum.
The subjects which carry occupational or vocational utility should find a place in the
curriculum. Language, hygiene, history, geography, physics, mathematics, sciences, domestic
science for girls, agriculture for boys should be incorporated in the curriculum. While
deciding the subjects of curriculum the nature of the child, his tendencies, interests, impulses
at the various stages of his growth and multiple activities of daily life should be taken into
consideration. The subjects like psychology and sociology — which deal with human
behaviour — should be included in the curriculum.

Present-day problems

The pragmatists advocate that the pupils should not be taught dead facts and theories because
these may not help them to solve the problems of life. The subjects which help to solve the
practical problems of life should be included in the school curriculum, particularly at the
elementary stage. The pragmatic aim of education is to prepare the child for a successful and
well- adjusted life. He must be fully adjusted to his environment. The pragmatists hold the
view that the students should acquire that knowledge which is helpful to them in solving the
present-day problems. They should learn only those skills which are useful to them in
practical life. With this end in view the elementary school curriculum should include subjects
life reading, writing, arithmetic, nature study, hand-work and drawing.

According to pragmatism, all education is “learning by doing”. So it must be based on the

child’s experiences as well as occupations and activities. Besides the school subjects, free,
purposive and socialised activities should be in the curriculum. The pragmatists do not allow
the inclusion of cultural activities in the curriculum, because they think these activities have
no practical value. But this view is somewhat narrow and biased. The pragmatists believe in
the unity of all knowledge and skill. They prefer to give integrated knowledge round a
particular problem of life. They do not like to divide subjects of instructions into water-tight
compartments. Life is the subject matter of instruction. Its various problems studied in
complete perspective are fit subjects of instruction.

Existentialism

existentialist philosophy, including its historical roots and key characteristics. While
imagining what the world was like after World War II, you'll also consider the value of the
existentialist viewpoint in describing human existence.

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Nature Of Existentialist Thought And Manner

According to existentialism: (1) Existence is always particular and individual—always my

existence, your existence, his existence, her existence. (2) Existence is primarily the problem
of existence (i.e., of its mode of being); it is, therefore, also the investigation of the meaning
of Being. (3) That investigation is continually faced with diverse possibilities, from among
which the existent (i.e., the human individual) must make a selection, to which he must then
commit himself. (4) Because those possibilities are constituted by the individual’s
relationships with things and with other humans, existence is always a being-in-the-world—
i.e., in a concrete and historically determinate situation that limits or conditions choice.
Humans are therefore called, in Martin Heidegger’s phrase, Dasein (“there being”) because
they are defined by the fact that they exist, or are in the world and inhabit it.

With respect to the first point, that existence is particular, existentialism is opposed to any
doctrine that views human beings as the manifestation of an absolute or of an infinite
substance. It is thus opposed to most forms of idealism, such as those that stress
Consciousness, Spirit, Reason, Idea, or Oversoul. Second, it is opposed to any doctrine that
sees in human beings some given and complete reality that must be resolved into its elements
in order to be known or contemplated. It is thus opposed to any form of objectivism or
scientism, since those approaches stress the crass reality of external fact. Third, existentialism
is opposed to any form of necessitarianism; for existence is constituted by possibilities from
among which the individual may choose and through which he can project himself. And,
finally, with respect to the fourth point, existentialism is opposed to any solipsism (holding
that I alone exist) or any epistemological idealism (holding that the objects of knowledge are
mental), because existence, which is the relationship with other beings, always extends
beyond itself, toward the being of those entities; it is, so to speak, transcendence.

What is Existentialism?

Have you ever felt like you don't know where you're going, or if you're making any progress
at all in your career or your life? If so, you were most likely having an 'existential moment.'
Existentialism is a philosophical and literary perspective that focuses on the experience of an
individual person and the way that he or she understands the world.

After World War II, some philosophers and writers saw the world as an indifferent place
without a set of universal rules that applied to everyone. In light of the large number of
casualties, the Holocaust and the use of the first atomic bomb, post-war writers in particular

22
found societal rules and views especially unreliable.

History

Philosophers who debated the meaning of life in 19th-century Europe were trying to
understand what it meant to have a 'self' and how human beings could live an ethical
existence. While mathematicians and scientists explored the natural laws of the universe,
religious people and theologians discussed God's expectations for a good life and the human
soul. At the same time, social scientists tried to explain economic and social phenomena
through methods involving logic and reason.

In comparison to the vastness of the universe, it's not surprising that human experiences and
lives often seemed brief and insignificant. Inevitably, people may have wondered: 'Why do so
many bad things happen to good people?' And if there was an omnipotent being, why did that
being seem indifferent rather than interested in what happened to us?

After the Second World War, existential writers started to think of human beings in more
individualistic terms, as confused and powerless as they might be in the universe. Instead of
focusing on society's expectations of a person, existential philosophers and literary figures
aimed to explore the meaning individuals created for themselves. They were not interested in
painting a rosy or optimistic picture of the world; instead, they were willing to point out
challenges that often had no solutions.

Characteristics

According to existentialists, human beings spend their lives in a void plagued by angst and
despair in a world defined by alienation and absurdity. Absurdity refers to the persistence of
human beings in living out our lives, despite little evidence that what we do matters in the
greater universe. We create meaning in our lives even when there is little or no evidence of a
natural force or omnipotent being protecting or guiding us. We simply continue to exist
aimlessly.

Existentialists also used words like 'authenticity' and 'freedom.' Authenticity describes the
attribute of taking responsibility for one's own experience, instead of viewing your
experience as defined by outside forces, such as God, the greater society or the universe.

An authentic life is one in which you choose what matters to create your own meaning, an
awareness of which leads to freedom. However, this freedom comes with a price, since an
awareness of reality is painful and anxiety inducing. While authenticity and freedom may

23
lead to clearer choices, they don't necessarily make life more pleasurable. Yet, we continue to
exist.

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Q 05 What are the limitations of natural knowledge? Discuss. (20)

Given the above characterization of knowledge, there are many ways that one might come to
know something. Knowledge of empirical facts about the physical world will necessarily
involve perception, in other words, the use of the senses. Science, with its collection of data
and conducting of experiments, is the paradigm of empirical knowledge. However, much of
our more mundane knowledge comes from the senses, as we look, listen, smell, touch, and
taste the various objects in our environments. But all knowledge requires some amount of
reasoning. Data collected by scientists must be analyzed before knowledge is yielded, and we
draw inferences based on what our senses tell us. And knowledge of abstract or non-
empirical facts will exclusively rely upon reasoning. In particular, intuition is often believed
to be a sort of direct access to knowledge of the a priori.

Once knowledge is obtained, it can be sustained and passed on to others. Memory allows us
to know something that we knew in the past, even, perhaps, if we no longer remember the
original justification. Knowledge can also be transmitted from one individual to another via
testimony; that is, my justification for a particular belief could amount to the fact that some
trusted source has told me that it is true.

b. Skepticism

In addition to the nature of knowledge, epistemologists concern themselves with the question
of the extent of human knowledge: how much do we, or can we, know? Whatever turns out to
be the correct account of the nature of knowledge, there remains the matter of whether we
actually have any knowledge. It has been suggested that we do not, or cannot, know anything,
or at least that we do not know as much as we think we do. Such a view is called skepticism.

We can distinguish between a number of different varieties of skepticism. First, one might be
a skeptic only with regard to certain domains, such as mathematics, morality, or the external
world (this is the most well-known variety of skepticism). Such a skeptic is a local skeptic, as
contrasted with a global skeptic, who maintains that we cannot know anything at all. Also,
since knowledge requires that our beliefs be both true and justified, a skeptic might maintain
that none of our beliefs are true or that none of them are justified (the latter is much more
common than the former).

While it is quite easy to challenge any claim to knowledge by glibly asking, "How do you
know?", this does not suffice to show that skepticism is an important position. Like any
philosophical stance, skepticism must be supported by an argument. Many arguments have

25
been offered in defense of skepticism, and many responses to those arguments have been
offered in return. Here, we shall consider two of the most prominent arguments in support of
skepticism about the external world.

c. Cartesian Skepticism

In the first of his Meditations, René Descartes offers an argument in support of skepticism,
which he then attempts to refute in the later Meditations. The argument notes that some of our
perceptions are inaccurate. Our senses can trick us; we sometimes mistake a dream for a
waking experience, and it is possible that an evil demon is systematically deceiving us. (The
modern version of the evil demon scenario is that you are a brain-in-a-vat, because scientists
have removed your brain from your skull, connected it to a sophisticated computer, and
immersed it in a vat of preservative fluid. The computer produces what seem to be genuine
sense experiences, and also responds to your brain's output to make it seem that you are able
to move about in your environment as you did when your brain was still in your body. While
this scenario may seem far-fetched, we must admit that it is at least possible.)

As a result, some of our beliefs will be false. In order to be justified in believing what we do,
we must have some way to distinguish between those beliefs which are true (or, at least, are
likely to be true) and those which are not. But just as there are no signs that will allow us to
distinguish between waking and dreaming, there are no signs that will allow us to distinguish
between beliefs that are accurate and beliefs which are the result of the machinations of an
evil demon. This indistinguishability between trustworthy and untrustworthy belief, the
argument goes, renders all of our beliefs unjustified, and thus we cannot know anything. A
satisfactory response to this argument, then, must show either that we are indeed able to
distinguish between true and false beliefs, or that we need not be able to make such a
distinction.

d. Humean Skepticism

According to the indistinguishability skeptic, my senses can tell me how things appear, but
not how they actually are. We need to use reason to construct an argument that leads us from
beliefs about how things appear to (justified) beliefs about how they are. But even if we are
able to trust our perceptions, so that we know that they are accurate, David Hume argues that
the specter of skepticism remains. Note that we only perceive a very small part of the
universe at any given moment, although we think that we have knowledge of the world
beyond that which we are currently perceiving. It follows, then, that the senses alone cannot

26
account for this knowledge, and that reason must supplement the senses in some way in order
to account for any such knowledge. However, Hume argues, reason is incapable of providing
justification for any belief about the external world beyond the scope of our current sense
perceptions. Let us consider two such possible arguments and Hume's critique of them.

i. Numerical vs. Qualitative Identity

We typically believe that the external world is, for the most part, stable. For instance, I
believe that my car is parked where I left it this morning, even though I am not currently
looking at it. If I were to go peek out the window right now and see my car, I might form the
belief that my car has been in the same space all day. What is the basis for this belief? If
asked to make my reasoning explicit, I might proceed as follows:

I have had two sense-experiences of my car: one this morning and one just now. The two
sense-experiences were (more or less) identical.

Therefore, it is likely that the objects that caused them are identical. Therefore, a single object
– my car – has been in that parking space all day.

Similar reasoning would undergird all of our beliefs about the persistence of the external
world and all of the objects we perceive. But are these beliefs justified? Hume thinks not,
since the above argument (and all arguments like it) contains an equivocation. In particular,
the first occurrence of "identical" refers to qualitative identity. The two sense-experiences are
not one and the same, but are distinct; when we say that they are identical we mean that one
is similar to the other in all of its qualities or properties. But the second occurrence of
"identical" refers to numerical identity. When we say that the objects that caused the two
sense-experiences are identical, we mean that there is one object, rather than two, that is
responsible for both of them. This equivocation, Hume argues, renders the argument
fallacious; accordingly, we need another argument to support our belief that objects persist
even when we are not observing them.

ii. Hume's Skepticism about Induction

Suppose that a satisfactory argument could be found in support of our beliefs in the
persistence of physical objects. This would provide us with knowledge that the objects that
we have observed have persisted even when we were not observing them. But in addition to
believing that these objects have persisted up until now, we believe that they will persist in
the future; we also believe that objects we have never observed similarly have persisted and
will persist. In other words, we expect the future to be roughly like the past, and the parts of

27
the universe that we have not observed to be roughly like the parts that we have observed. For
example, I believe that my car will persist into the future. What is the basis for this belief? If
asked to make my reasoning explicit, I might proceed as follows:

My car has always persisted in the past.

Nature is roughly uniform across time and space (and thus the future will be roughly like the
past). Therefore, my car will persist in the future.

Similar reasoning would undergird all of our beliefs about the future and about the
unobserved. Are such beliefs justified? Again, Hume thinks not, since the above argument,
and all arguments like it, contain an unsupported premise, namely the second premise, which
might be called the Principle of the Uniformity of Nature (PUN). Why should we believe this
principle to be true? Hume insists that we provide some reason in support of this belief.
Because the above argument is an inductive rather than a deductive argument, the problem of
showing that it is a good argument is typically referred to as the "problem of induction." We
might think that there is a simple and straightforward solution to the problem of induction,
and that we can indeed provide support for our belief that PUN is true. Such an argument
would proceed as follows:

PUN has always been true in the past.

Nature is roughly uniform across time and space (and thus the future will be roughly like the
past). Therefore, PUN will be true in the future.

This argument, however, is circular; its second premise is PUN itself! Accordingly, we need
another argument to support our belief that PUN is true, and thus to justify our inductive
arguments about the future and the unobserved.

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5. Conclusion

The study of knowledge is one of the most fundamental aspects of philosophical inquiry. Any
claim to knowledge must be evaluated to determine whether or not it indeed constitutes
knowledge. Such an evaluation essentially requires an understanding of what knowledge is
and how much knowledge is possible. While this article provides on overview of the
important issues, it leaves the most basic questions unanswered; epistemology will continue
to be an area of philosophical discussion as long as these questions remain.

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