8/19/2023 0 Comments Resolve vs clarify questions![]() Complex thinking goes beyond simply gathering or remembering information. The facts are not enough to provide answers, so we need to use our own reasoning, inquiry and judgment to arrive at an answer. There are no final answers that can be given to philosophical questions because they can always be opposed by contrasting views.īecause philosophical questions are contestable and problematic, they require complex thinking to answer. No matter how much information is gathered about what happens when we learn, this will not be enough to answer our question “What does it mean to understand something?”īecause the facts do not determine the answers to philosophical questions and do not allow us to prefer one answer to another, these questions always remain contestable and problematic. “Philosophy attempts to clarify and illuminate unsettled, controversial issues that are so generic that no scientific discipline is equipped to deal with them” (Lipman, 1988, p. These questions arise even when we have all the settled knowledge. They cannot be given settled answers by gathering empirical facts, consulting expert opinions or doing calculations. ![]() Philosophical questions such as “What does it mean to understand something?” and “What obligations do teachers have to their students?” are answered in a different way. “Does student inquiry lead to improved grades?” requires empirical research. “What subjects are taught in Australian schools?” is answered by collecting information about the school system in Australia. “How has education changed?” invites historical analysis. For example, the question “How does the brain function when we learn?” can be given a settled answer that we discover by scientific research. To begin with, there are a variety of different types of questions that can be asked about education, requiring different ways to answer. The account I present draws heavily on the work of educational philosopher Matthew Lipman and the Philosophy for Children movement he founded. The aim of this essay is to give an account of what is distinctive about philosophical questions on education. We resolve them by making sense of issues that do not seem to make sense even when we have all the information. We do not resolve philosophical problems by discovering new facts, providing accurate information or filling gaps in our knowledge. Philosophical questions are best understood as seeking a distinctly “philosophical” resolution to a distinctly “philosophical” problem. When we take a philosophical approach to these questions, we do not seek to provide settled answers but to develop new perspectives and alternative ideas so we can make sense of issues that are incongruent. Philosophy raises questions that address fundamental issues and beliefs and which require complex thinking rather than empirical research to answer. Philosophical Questions: Their Nature and Function
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