tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597088413189792702.post4820271531580117128..comments2024-03-22T00:23:22.548-07:00Comments on Philosorapt[E]rs: Committee on Philosophy in Education (High School)William Parkhursthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07441198744386150525noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597088413189792702.post-91292561040355282982011-02-18T10:02:31.120-08:002011-02-18T10:02:31.120-08:00Here are two comments from another blog I thought ...Here are two comments from another blog I thought were interesting<br /><br /> " I am a middle-aged man who achieved a PhD in science and have only recently begun to discover writers from Camus to Marcus Aurelius with a wealth of ideas and thoughts that for some reason were not thought important enough to expose students to while I went to school. I have also taught courses and found freshmen ill prepared to do any thinking at all - but why have we been disconnected from centuries of thinkers? Creating factory workers doesn't require much - no doubt, but to make citizens and PEOPLE we need to better think our expectations"<br /><br />"Philosophy is a type of double-edged sword: it simultaneously gives you the ability to think through complex problems no matter what they are, and also gives you no practical job skills whatsoever. This concern is alleviated, however, by keeping in mind that proponents of philosophical education in public school are not arguing that education in more practical skills should be abolished; just that these more practical skills should be supplemented with the ability to reason through some of life's bigger questions that go beyond mere practicality. This makes for a well rounded person instead of a corporate drone."<br /><br />http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/278292/should_philosophy_be_taught_in_public_pg3.html?cat=4William Parkhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07441198744386150525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597088413189792702.post-60789355389219245772011-02-18T09:56:42.396-08:002011-02-18T09:56:42.396-08:00I agree that there are some hyperbolic claims but ...I agree that there are some hyperbolic claims but I think if toned down a bit they could be defended. <br />" the arguments against are (mostly) worse"<br />I agree here as well. Actually I think these are almost straw man arguments. Although I haven't seen any better ones yet I could think of a few that were better than these.William Parkhursthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07441198744386150525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597088413189792702.post-10147310150847852011-02-18T04:58:45.047-08:002011-02-18T04:58:45.047-08:00I think the benefits here are likely overstated--I...I think the benefits here are likely overstated--I'm not sure philosophical thinking necessarily makes people "better people and better citizens," for instance--but the arguments against are (mostly) worse.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10330667233540328879noreply@blogger.com