STUDENT NAME: MUHAMMAD ZAKRIA

FATHER NAME: MUHAMMAD HASSAN

PROGRAMME: B.Ed. (1.5 Years)

SEMESTER: AUTUMN 2021

ROLL NO: CB647134

COURSE NAME: Philosophy of Education

COURSE CODE: 8609

TUTOR NAME: DR‫۔‬QAISER SULEMAN

ASSIGNMENT NO: 01
 ASSIGNMENT NO. 1

Q.1 Explain the different branches of philosophy.

Ans: The word philosophy is derived from two Greek words. The first word, philo, means
“love.” The second, sophy, means “wisdom.” Literally, then, philosophy means “love of
wisdom”. Each individual has an attitude toward life, children, politics, learning, and previous
personal experiences that informs and shapes their set of beliefs. Although you may not be
conscious of it, this set of beliefs, or personal philosophy, informs how you live, work, and
interact with others. What you believe is directly reflected in both your teaching and learning
processes. This chapter explores the various philosophical views that influence the teaching
profession.

Although the role of Eastern philosophy in the history of the world and in education has been
significant, this chapter focuses on the role of Western philosophy in shaping the educational
philosophies prevalent in the United States. It is important to understand how philosophy and
education are interrelated. To become the most effective teacher you can be, you must
understand your own beliefs, while at the same time empathizing with others. Developing your
own educational philosophy is a key part of your journey to becoming a teacher.

To understand the foundations of educational philosophies, it’s necessary to first examine

philosophy’s four main branches. Understanding educational philosophy will contribute to the
understanding of how these foundations have given rise to what is commonly practiced and
believed in the classroom today. The four main branches of philosophy are metaphysics,
epistemology, axiology, and logic.

BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY
The branches of philosophy are as follows:

(1) Epistemology. Philosophy is the search for knowledge. This search is critical. Hence,
the first problem which arises before a philosopher is about the nature of knowledge
 and its limitations. Therefore, epistemology is the most fundamental branch of
philosophy. It discusses philosophically truth, falsehood, validity of knowledge, limits
of knowledge and nature of knowledge, knower and known etc.
Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that considers how people come to learn
what they know. Derived from the Greek word episteme, meaning knowledge or
understanding, epistemology refers to the nature and origin of knowledge and truth.
Epistemology proposes that there are four main bases of knowledge: divine revelation,
experience, logic and reason, and intuition. These influence how teaching, learning,
and understanding come about in the classroom.
(2) Metaphysics. Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that considers the physical
universe and the nature of ultimate reality. It asks questions like, What is real? What
is the origin of the world? What is beyond the stars? Your consideration of reality as
an external creation or an internal construct can influence your metaphysical beliefs
and perspectives and your teaching. Regardless of your definition of reality, the
exploration and categorization of the physical universe form the foundation of several
school subjects. This is the study of existence, reality or essence. Its main branches
are as follows:
(i) Cosmogony. This is a study of creation. Is the world created, or is it
eternal? How was world created? Why was it created? Who created the
world? What is the purpose in creation? All these are the problems of
cosmogony.
(ii) Cosmology. The main problems of cosmology are: Is the world one or
it many, or is it both one and many?
(iii) Ontology. Ontology is the study of ultimate reality. Is the reality one
or is it many or is it both one and many? If reality is many, what is the
relation between these many elements? All these are ontological
questions.
(iv) Philosophy of self. This is mainly concerned with the philosophical
analysis of self. What is self? What is its relation with the body? Is it
free of does it depend on the body? Is it one or many? All these are
problems of philosophy of self.
(v) Eschatology. The discussion of the condition of soul after death, the
nature of the other world, etc., form the subject matter of this branch of
philosophy.
(3) Axiology. Axiology is the branch of philosophy that considers the study of principles
and values. These values are divided into two main kinds: ethics and aesthetics.
Ethics is the questioning of morals and personal values. Aesthetics is the examination
of what is beautiful, enjoyable, or tasteful. In axiology education is more than just
about knowledge but also quality of life. This branch of philosophy philosophically
studies value. It has been divided into the following three branches:

(i) Ethics. Ethics discusses the criteria of right and good.

(ii) Aesthetics. Aesthetics discusses the nature and criteria of beauty.

(iii) Logic studies truth. The subject matter of logic includes the methods of
judgment, types of proposition, hypothesis, definition, comparison,
division, classification and fundamental laws of thoughts, etc.

(4) Philosophy of Sciences. This branch of philosophy is concerned with the

philosophical examination of the postulates and conclusions of different sciences.

(5) Philosophies of Social Science. The philosophical problems in different social

sciences give birth to different branches of philosophy of which the main are as
follows:

(i) Philosophies of Education. This is concerned with the aim of education

and the basic philosophical problems arising in the field of education.

(ii) Social Philosophy. This branch of philosophy discusses the

philosophical basis of social processes and social institutions.

(iii) Political Philosophy. This branch of philosophy is concerned with the

forms of government, forms of state and other basic problems arising in the
political field.

(iv) Philosophy of History. The subject matter of this branch of philosophy

is the nature of historical process, its purpose and its relations with the cosmic
process.

(v) Philosophy of Economics. This branch of philosophy studies the aim of

man's economic activities and the fundamental problems arising in the
economic field.
 Besides the above mentioned branches of philosophy based on sciences, there
may be certain comparatively lesser branches of philosophy such as philosophy
of physics, philosophy of commerce, philosophy of physical education,
philosophy of marriage, philosophy of family etc. These, however, are not
sufficient to form independent branches of philosophy.

(6) Semantics. The most important branch of philosophy, according to the contemporary
school of Logical Positivism, is semantics which is concerned with the determination
of the meanings of different words used in different languages (Shivendra, 2006).
Logic is the branch of philosophy that seeks to organize reasoning. Students of logic
learn how to think in a structurally sound manner. Logic has two types: deductive
and inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning involves examining a general case,
deducing a general set of rules or principles, and then applying these rules to specific
cases. Inductive reasoning involves taking specific examples and considering the
general principles, rules, or cases that caused them.

Q.2 Describe the curriculum designed on the basis of idealism.

Ans: 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, which is changing, imperfect, and disorderly. This division is often referred to
as the duality of mind and bodyii. 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 (The fallacy of composition arises
when one infers that something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of some
part of the whole) are used to bring to consciousness the forms or concepts which are
latent in the mind. Character is developed through imitating examples and heroes.

Explaining the idealist bases of curriculum as the imparting of spiritual and cultural
heritage to the child along with his self and personality development, Herman H. Horne
writes, "It is better to centre education in ideals for children and the race rather than in
children themselves. After all children are immature, dependent and plastic members
of the race. They are often irrational in their individuality." As Socrates said in effect
to the sophists, "Not man but reason is the measure of all things, not individuality but
universality, not percept, but concepts. Ideals are the norms for all human experience,
including that of children. After all, it is still true that obedience to just law is a virtue,
that following physical laws leads to health, that truth is something to be discovered,
rather than made, that conformity is a large element even in creativity, that repression
is a necessary phase of expression. Under the influence of paid centrism (what a
hybrid), self-expression may easily become self-explosion."

Idealists insist on emphasis being placed on the study of humanities such as literature,
art, religion, morality, etc., along with the teaching of science. All the elements
necessary for attaining God are included in the curriculum suggested by idealistic
followers of Plato, who laid down that education must aim to realize the ideals of truth,
beauty and goodness. Hence, he has suggested the inclusion of all those subjects or
disciplines which help in the realization of these ideals. Most significant among man's
activities are the intellectual, the aesthetic and the moral. The teaching of language,
literature, history, geography, mathematics and science will encourage intellectual
activity while the aesthetic impulse can be reinforced through art and poetry. Moral
activities can be taught and instilled in the educand through the teaching of religion,
ethics, etc. This curriculum is determined on the basis of the goals to be realized through
education and by the criterion that it must reflect the experience, culture and glory of
the human race. Man's experiences relate not only to his physical or natural
environment but also to his social experiences, knowledge of which can be obtained
through a study of the natural and the social sciences.

James Ross, the educationist, has classified human activity in two groups—physical
actions and spiritual activity. Physical activity includes the entire range of actions
relating to bodily welfare and to motor skills. The teaching of these must also be a part
of education and they can be taught through physiology, exercise, medicine, hygiene,
etc. Spiritual activity comprehends all intellectual, ethical, aesthetic and religious
activity, all of which can be taught through history, geography, science, mathematics,
language, ethics, art and religion. Herbart, the idealist philosopher of education, grants
these subjects the main place in the curriculum because these subjects can contribute
more than any other to the spiritual progress of man. But this is the shortcoming of the
idealistic philosophy because it does not attach any significance to the teaching of
science. Herbart points out that the part that literature and history can play in the
spiritual development of man, cannot be played by science.

For that reason, scientific subjects such as the natural sciences, mathematics and even
history and geography are granted a secondary role.

T.P. Nunn, another educationist, has glanced at the idealistic conception of the
educational curriculum, and has remarked, "The school is to consolidate the nation's
spiritual strength, to maintain its historic continuity, to secure its achievements, and to
guarantee its future".4 In order to achieve all these goals, education in the school should
consider two kinds of activities. In the first group fall such activities which create
conditions by which the individual and social life is ensured and maintained, and this
can be done through physical health, customs, social organisations, ethical conduct,
etiquette, religion, etc. Education must provide opportunities, therefore, for physical
training, ethics, religion, etc. The second group of activities is the one which is more
important outside the sphere of the school. In this group lie those activities which
maintain the cultural life of the community because they are creative. In order to evolve
 skills for such activities, educationists advocate teaching of literature, art, music,
various kinds of handicrafts and manual skills, sciences, mathematics, history, etc.
Hence the curriculum must be so designed that it can help to acquaint the individual
with his social and cultural heritage and also to enable him to make some positive
contribution to this heritage. Nunn writes, "In the school curriculum all these activities
should be represented. For these are the grand expression of the human spirit, and theirs
are the forms in which the creative energies of every generation must be disciplined if
the movement of civilization is to be worthily maintained".

Q.3 Which philosophy is behind the child centred classroom/ Justify with examples.

Ans: Child-centered philosophies are another essential philosophy that educators should be
aware of. By focusing on the needs of students, teachers are able to assist and teach students
within the classroom ensuring a higher level of student success. In this article three types of
student-centered philosophies will be discussed which are progressivism, social
reconstructionism, and existentialism.

Student-centered philosophies focus more on training individual students. These philosophies

place more emphasis on the individuality of students and helping them to realize their potential.
A student-centered classroom may be less rigid or structured, less concerned about past
teaching practices and drilling academics, and more focused on training students for success in
an ever-changing world. Students and teachers typically decide together what should be
learned, as well as how this can best be achieved.

Progressivism is based on the positive changes and problem-solving approach that individuals
with various educational credentials can provide their students. Progressivist educators are
outcome focused and don’t simply impart learned facts. Teachers are less concerned with
passing on the existing culture and strive to allow students to develop an individual approach
to tasks provided to them.

John Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) and John Dewey (1859–1952) are the guiding minds of
progressivism. Rousseau maintained that people are basically good and that society is
responsible for corrupting them. He supported education in nature, away from the city and the
influences of civilization, where the child’s interests (as opposed to a written set of guidelines)
would guide the curriculum.

John Dewey proposed that people learn best by social interaction and problem solvin. Dewey
developed the scientific method of problem solving and experimentalism. As a result of the
varied opinions emerging from the movement, progressivism was not developed into a
formalized, documented educational philosophy. Progressivists did, however, agree that they
wanted to move away from certain characteristics of traditional schools. In particular, they were
keen to remove themselves from the textbook-based curriculum and the idea of teachers as
disseminators of information, in favor of viewing teachers as facilitators of thinking.

The progressivist classroom is about exploration and experience. Teachers act as facilitators in
a classroom where students explore physical, mental, moral, and social growth. Common sights
in a progressivist classroom might include: small groups debating, custom-made activities, and
learning stations. Teachers typically walk freely among the groups, guiding them using
suggestions and thought-provoking questions.

Social reconstructionism is an educational philosophy that views schools as tools to solve social
problems. Social reconstructionists reason that, because all leaders are the product of schools,
schools should provide a curriculum that fosters their development. Reconstructionist not only
aim to educate a generation of problem solvers, but also try to identify and correct many
noteworthy social problems that face our nation, with diverse targets including racism,
pollution, homelessness, poverty, and violence. Rather than a philosophy of education,
reconstructionism may be referred to as more of a remedy for society that seeks to build a more
objective social order.

Outraged at the inequity in educational opportunities between the rich and the poor, George
Counts wrote Dare the School Build a New Social Order? in 1932. He called on teachers to
educate students to prepare them for the social changes that would accompany heightened
participation in science, technology, and other fields of learning, without compromising their
cultural education. This text was important in the development of social reconstructionist
schools in the United States. For social Reconstructionist, the class becomes an area where
societal improvement is an active and measurable goal.
The Reconstructionist classroom contains a teacher who involves the students in discussions of
moral dilemmas to understand the implications of one’s actions. Students individually select
their objectives and social priorities and then, with guidance from the teacher, create a plan of
action to make the change happen.

For example, a class may read an article on texting while driving and watch a documentary on
the need for awareness in school systems. In addition, a police officer or a loved one of someone
who has been affected by texting while driving may speak to the class and describe dangerous
and/or fatal events that have resulted from choosing to text while driving. If the article, the
movie, and the speaker inspire them, the students may take on a long-term awareness project.

One group may choose to analyze the regional news coverage on texting while driving, while
another may choose to conduct a survey, analyzing student viewpoints on the subject. Either or
both groups may schedule meetings with political leaders and create programs or legislation.
Alternatively, they might create a web page and present it to the media. All the while, the
teacher advises on research techniques, writing skills, and public communication methods,
building core skills that will be applicable across a broad range of topics.

An excellent example of social deconstructionism is the 2007 movie Freedom Writers. In the
movie the teacher was determined to get the students interested by requiring them to write.
Students were allowed to write about anything they wanted and were free to express themselves
in their journals however they pleased. The journal writing not only taught basic writing skills;
in some individual instances, it helped to bring students out of a life of crime.

Existentialism promotes attentive personal consideration about personal character, beliefs, and
choices. The primary question existentialists ask is whether they want to define who they are
themselves, or whether they want society to define them. Although freedom and individuality
are highly valued American principles, existentialists argue that there is an underlying message
of conformity. Rather than the belief that the mind needs to understand the universe,
existentialists assume that the mind creates its universe. Their beliefs incorporate the
inevitability of death, as the afterlife cannot be experienced personally with the current senses,
focusing on the fact that the experience we have of the world is temporary and should be
appreciated as such.
Education from an existentialist perspective places the primary emphasis on students’ directing
their own learning. Students search for their own meaning and direction in life as well as define
what is true and what is false, what is pleasant and satisfying, what is unpleasant and
dissatisfying, and what is right or wrong. The goal of an existentialist education is to train
students to develop their own unique understanding of life.

An existentialist classroom typically involves the teachers and school laying out what they feel
is important and allowing the students to choose what they study. All students work on
different, self-selected assignments at their own pace. Teachers act as facilitators, directing
students in finding the most appropriate methods of study or materials, and are often seen as an
additional resource, alongside books, computers, television, newspapers, and other materials
that are readily available to students.

By focusing on student-centred philosophies school systems and educators will be able to make
necessary changes to create effective and life transforming environments for students.

Q.4 Compare the aims of education proposed by naturalism and pragmatism.

Ans: NATURALISM

Naturalism explains all the natural phenomena on the basis of natural laws. According to this
view, Nature itself is the ultimate reality. Nature has been explained by means of motion and
energy. The different phenomena in nature occur due to the motion and waves of electricity.
Naturalism also accepts the principle of motion. It is also known as energism because of its
acceptance of energy. According to energism, all the natural things are only different forms of
energy. Naturalism is also known as positivism. Positivism means that the natural phenomena
come within the scope of some or the other positive sciences and can be explained by means
of scientific laws. In modern times, positivism was established by a French thinker August
Comte.
Aims of Education

Concerning the aims of education, naturalists adopt a biological and evolutionist attitude. Even
among the different forms of naturalism one finds a variation in the objectives assigned to
education. Mechanical naturalism suggests that education should aim at the efficiency and
perfection of the human machine. But this concept does not represent completely the naturalist
school. Biological evolution uses education to ensure the proper adjustment or adaptation of
the child to his environment. McDougall points out that education aims at the transformation,
synthesis and sublimation of instincts. Darwinists argue that education must train the individual
to struggle successfully for his own survival. Lamarck and his followers agree with the concept
of biological evolution, because for them also the aim of education is to adapt to the
environment. On the other hand, Herbert Spencer believed education to be a preparation and a
training for the complete life. Bernard Shaw believed that education must aim not only at the
individual's development but also at making the individual capable of stimulating and
sustaining social development, for this will add to the social heritage of the succeeding
generations. T.P. Nunn prefers to use education as a means of making the individual capable
of developing his own individuality and of contributing to society. Naturalists of the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries believe that education should achieve a synthesis and adjustment
between individual and society and also between man and nature. Rousseau believed that
education should develop the child according to his natural ability. And it is accepted today
that education should conform to the child's abilities. To quote Rousseau's words, "Now of the
three factors in education, nature is wholly beyond our control; things are only partly in our
power; the education of men is the only one controlled by us, and even here our power is largely
illusory, for who can hope to direct every word and deed of all with whom the child has to do.

What is the goal? As we have just shown it is the goal of nature since all three modes of
education must work together, the two that we can control must follow the lead of that which
is beyond our control"1 The naturalist approach to the aims of education is rather narrow in
that it fails to include the spiritual aspect of man's nature. Its inclusion would almost naturally
remove the distance between idealism and naturalism and this is what is being attempted now.

PRAGMATISM

One of the most important schools of philosophy of education is pragmatism. The term
pragmatism has been derived from the Greek term pragma which means use. Thus pragmatism
is an ism according to which use is the criteria of reality. Pragmatism as a philosophical
tradition began in the United States around 1870. Charles Sanders Peirce, generally considered
to be its founder.

The Aims of Education

The various characteristics of the pragmatic concept of education clearly indicate the aims of
education as conceived of by pragmatists. Pragmatic thinking is opposed to all kinds of
dogmatism, blind faith, narrow mindedness, etc. It objects to imposing some particular ideal
on the child against his wish. Besides, it is not prepared to accept an ideal as correct or good
merely because it has been so accepted in the past and because some famous educationists have
propounded it. Pragmatism favours frequent experimentation in the field of education in order
to determine more modern ideals which accord with present-day social life. In the words of
Brubacher, "The progressive education has no fixed aims or values in advance. Educational
aims, no matter how well authenticated by the past, are not to be projected indefinitely into the
future. In a world rendered precarious and contingent by a compound of the novel and the
customary, educational aims must be held subject to revision as one advances into the future.
If education has any general aim in the light of which their successive revisions can take place,
it is only that of pupil's growth. But growth itself has no end beyond further growth. In other
words, education is its own end." It is apparent, thus, that pragmatists accept growth or
development as the aim of education. The various ramifications of this aim are not discussed
in detail, for they are to be discovered in the future. The pragmatist refuses to lay down any
aim or ideal which can be permanently valid, its validity unchallenged by changes in time and
space. All the aims of education must be concerned with the present and the future, and must
be subject to modification. As John Dewey puts it, "Education, as such has no aims; education
is an abstract idea. Only persons have aims. And the aims of persons are indefinitely varied,
differing with different children, changing as children and their teachers grow. Stated aims,
such as we are about to make, will do more harm than good unless they are taken only as
suggestions as to how to look ahead for consequences, to observe conditions and to choose
means in the liberating and directing of children's energies." Obviously, then, the aims of
education are mere suggestions, not to be taken literally. They are to be taken as guides by the
educator so that he is assisted in this task of educating the child. He is primarily concerned with
training the educand in facing those situations which are likely to arise in his future life. In
providing such a training, the educator is to take advantage of any aim that helps his effort.
John Dewey believes that in fact these aims are to be determined by the educator himself.
Despite this, he points out, that the educational aim must possess the following three elements
in order to be a good or proper aim:

1. Such aims are based on the educand's actions and needs.

2. They elicit the educand's co-operation.

3. They are specific and temporary, not permanent and general.

Keeping in mind the above directive principles, it is easy to arrive at the aims of education. But
this does not imply that the pragmatic thinkers have not adduced any aim of education
themselves. If one glances at the criterion of good educational objectives one can see that by
thinking along the lines suggested by it, the pragmatist does arrive at some conclusions. Dewey
points out, "Education is all one with growing even as growing is all one with living". Thus,
the aim of life is growing, and hence education aims at growing. Put differently, it implies, that
education aims at the comprehensive development of the educand.

Q.5 Comment on the statement: ‘Intuition is a source of subjective knowledge’.

Ans: Intuition is hard to define. According to Helen Fisher, intuition is a form of unconscious
reasoning or reasoning from within, whereby we recognise patterns as we accumulate
knowledge. This has also been called "chunking" by social scientist Herbert Simon (Huffington
Post). In this respect, one might argue that intuition does not constitute a separate way of
knowing. Intuition is indeed, to some extent, based on reason as a way of knowing. Intuitive
people are also known to be good at reading emotions; it may come as no surprise that intuition
was previously covered under 'emotion' as a way of knowing within TOK classes.

Opinions regarding the definition and classification of 'intuition' do diverge, but it remains
important to question how and why we possess intuitive knowledge, or 'knowledge from within'
and what kind of knowledge intuition can give us. Intuition is sometimes defined as 'immediate
cognition', i.e. knowledge which is immediately evident without interference or evidence (TOK
guide). But how do we get to to this cognition? As mentioned previously, to some extent,
intuition finds its origins in pattern seeking behaviours. This can be very useful, especially
when we need to make quick decisions. But sometimes, the patterns we form are wrong and
we may need to check our intuitions. This can be illustrated by, for example, situations where
we need mathematical calculations to check our (wrong) intuitions regarding the likelihood of
the occurrence of scenarios, such as is the case in the Gambler's Fallacy and the Birthday
Problem (see below). The natural sciences can also offer a check on our erroneous intuitions
regarding the natural world. Studies have shown, for example, that around the world children
intuitively feel that the earth is flat, regardless of one's culture, gender and language. So, whilst
intuitive knowledge can be very useful, the methodologies of areas of knowledge as well as
other ways of knowing may be necessary to keep a check of wrong intuitions. You have
probably already experienced that some people are more intuitive than others, especially when
it comes to understanding the emotions of others. Why might this be the case? According to
the Huffington Post, these are the 10 things highly intuitive people do differently. Being
mindful, perceptive and creative seems to enhance our intuitive capacity. It has been claimed
that intuition is dependent on gender, whereas, for example, female ancestors used to rely on
intuition to enable the survival of their children (Fisher). One could argue, however, that nurture
rather than nature plays a role here. After all, we talk about female 'intuition' and not female'
instinct' in this case. Intuition and instinct are not the same thing, but because there are
similarities regarding the immediacy of cognition, the concepts are sometimes used
interchangeably. So what is the difference? Instinct belongs to the realm of nature, the hard
wire, the 'animal' in us. Intuition, on the other hand, refers to a subconscious knowing, which
is the result of the processing of a range of experiences and past knowledge. Intuition is,
nevertheless, partly driven by our innate instinctive capacities. Survival instinct, for example,
being one of them. Our intuitions are shaped by this instinct and it is important to listen to
(good) intuitions when you have to make quick decisions which may or may not guarantee your
survival. In this respect, it is perhaps not surprising that the US Navy is researching the power
of intuition, as can be seen in this article.

In the context of TOK, it may be worth exploring the role of and value attached to intuition
within a range of knowledge communities. For example, indigenous knowledge systems seem
to place more value on intuition as a source of knowledge than knowledge communities which
are heavily influenced by the scientific revolution. The relationship between shared and
personal knowledge becomes fascinating once we unravel how our intuitions are shaped by our
knowledge communities.
The collective unconscious also plays a role in understanding and defining intuition on a shared
and personal level. The TOK guide states that: 'Jung (Psychological Types, 1923) famously
referred to intuition as a perception via the unconscious, highlighting the idea that intuition is
often seen as beliefs which are known without understanding how they are known.' In addition
to reason (as mentioned before), other ways of knowing, such as one's language, emotions and
memory may play an important role in shaping our intuitions. Intuition can also be related to
several areas of knowledge. It plays a role in the field of Ethics, for example, as we sometimes
intuitively know what is right or wrong. A good processing of patterns of emotion through past
experiences helps us to empathise and intuitively understand what is the right thing to do.
Intuition also enabled many scientific advances, and led to several "Eureka" moments,
especially when intertwined with creative imagination. As seen above, Mathematics can
counter wrong intuitions, yet intuitions can also drive mathematicians, as you may have
experienced in person when tackling a complex maths problem in class.

Everybody has got this ability and we have experienced in our life this gut feeling, knowledge
from somewhere, which you cannot really make out what it is. How many of you have ever
experienced? See everybody. Somewhere you feel this is the right thing to do and something
happens in your tummy. And that knowledge comes up at that time but then we don’t honor it.
Many times we stick onto the intellect or sensory perceptions.

Sometimes your intellect says this is wrong what I am doing, but you don’t listen to the intellect
you keep doing the wrong things. How many of you have this experience? What you do? You
stick on to the sensory and ignore the intellectual knowledge. And then what happens? You
sometimes go beyond your intellect. Your intellect is saying something but your inner gut
feeling is saying something else. And you’re feeling says no, there is something different,
something more. And we ignore that and we stick onto the intellect. That’s how many times
your judgments have found to be a failure.

How many of you feel your judgments have been wrong? But sometimes, beyond your
judgments you have seen and you have taken a step and have been happy about it. In spite of
your intellect saying ‘no’, something says ‘yes’. Something else triggers and that is what
happens when there is faith and that’s when the faith comes up you know.
Chudn off (1985) said that according to Descartes‘‘we can best learn how mental intuition is
to be employed by comparing it with ordinary vision,’’ and throughout his writings he
characterizes intuition by drawing analogies between it and perception. There are various such
analogies one might draw: one might, for example, compare intuitive and perceptual
phenomenology, or intuitive and perceptual justification. The intuitive knowledge is beyond
intellect. The intellect plays on it and develops it further. Intuitive knowledge is a belief that
amounts to knowledge because it is based on an intuition.

Intuitive knowledge being highlighted not because of what it comes from but because of what
it leads to-namely, cognition of particular things which can give us an especially powerful hold
on the truth that all things are in God. Intuitive knowledge is supposed to be greater, finer,
higher, than the mere exercise of reason; but we are not clearly told why. It is said that there
are certain truths of which definitions cannot be given; that cannot be demonstrated by
syllogistic reasoning; that must be grasped intuitively. The practicing politician censures the
abstract theorist who lacks a lively intuition of how things actually are. The educational theorist
stresses, first and foremost, the need to assist development by educating the faculty of intuition.

The critics holds himself honor bound to set aside, when confronted by a work of art, all theories
and abstractions and to judge it by intuiting it directly. The practical man, finally, professes to
live more by intuitions than by reasoning. But to this ample recognition that intuitive
knowledge receives in ordinary life there does not correspond an equally adequate recognition
in the field of theory and philosophy. Of intellectual knowledge there is an ancient science-
Logic-the existence of which everybody admits without bothering to debate the matter; but a
science of intuitive knowledge is barely and timidly admitted by only a few. Logical knowledge
has taken the lion’s share, and even when it does not actually kill and devour its companion
outright, it concedes to it only the humble and lowly position of handmaiden or doorkeeper.-
For what on earth could intuitive knowledge be without the light of the intellect? It would be a
servant without a master; and if the master needs the servant, the former is even more necessary
to the latter, if he is to get in life. Intuition is blind: the intellect lends its eyes on it.