Philosophy: the currently ignored subject in India
In India right now we don't find any encouragement for the subject philosophy. Yeah it is there as a subject in the field of higher studies but not included in the primary syllabus till the high school level. The departments of the universities are having a vacant leisurely look, the activity part is almost nil. People in the educational profession itself have already considered the subject obscure. With an image of insignificance which has got nothing to do with the modern flow of life, philosophy as a subject is waving its hand to say goodbye from the mainstream courses of education in India.
The subjects taught right from the beginning abruptly start from nowhere, there is no room for general curiosity, quest, reasoning and logic in the system that is prevalent in the current scenario of education, perceived in India. So a fresh mind of a child which we love to call a "tabula rasa" (empty slate) in philosophy is suddenly thrown into a world of unintelligible codes divided under the still unknown categories of science, humanities and commerce. Why on earth one has to study these three things and why not others, the little minds are never given any explanation. They are strictly told not to question, not to talk, not to defy and not to wonder. And all these natural activities of a child's mind is shut up and thrown away with that obscure subject, which was named at times as "philosophy" which means "the way of life".
I know grudges are too many in the list for the government of India to be sorted out. And positive solutions are very few. Even I was doing the same in the above lines, but now I change my mind. Can we rethink and reintroduce philosophy at the grass root level of education? Can we allow our kids to question us, question the entire system, prove them wrong, defy us and go ahead with a fresh line of thought? I am sure an array of problems can be solved if we do this.
In recent days philosophy has marched ahead with the study of consciousness and cognitive science. so, there is huge scope of carrier brighter and happier than many hackneyed jobs we are looking for. It doesn't only pay up bills, it regenerates your own self which is going to be there even if you are not drawing pension.
Today, our world of education has incorporated several subjects, which lead to a profession, and many of them are directly professional courses, which trains the students to develop a certain skill. But we are forgetting one fact that in every stream of education, the basic skill that is required is the thinking capability and better understanding of the acquired knowledge. A particular subject teaches a particular aspect of life, but the overall contribution of that subject in our life is taught by Philosophy. Philosophy makes us think, it reassures us, that the passing thoughts we experience everyday are also worth it. There are many aspects of life, which we ignore, and that makes us suffer the consequences at many points of time. Philosophy teaches us, the way we should think, the thought procedure that will reach a logical conclusion. Once we know the proper ways to think, our life get an inner support within ourselves and we don't feel that helpless any more. We would have the answers to those questions which left us restless in many sleepless nights.
Before we start studying a subject we all need to know, why that subject is existing at all, and what contribution it has and what are its implications. That will never be understood, unless, we know the Philosophy behind it. And once we know it, each of us can find new ways and means to contribute something new to that subject. Nevertheless, we will enjoy studying the subject with its essence.
So, its time that the education system of India realizes the worth of Philosophy as a subject and start introducing it at the very basic level. At the elementary level, the mind of each learner is in its most receptive state, and that is the time, when we need to teach him the basic knowledge of life, encourage him to question the world, answer their relentless questions and quench their thirst for knowledge. And all these can be done only through Philosophy, the currently ignored subject.
In India right now we don't find any encouragement for the subject philosophy. Yeah it is there as a subject in the field of higher studies but not included in the primary syllabus till the high school level. The departments of the universities are having a vacant leisurely look, the activity part is almost nil. People in the educational profession itself have already considered the subject obscure. With an image of insignificance which has got nothing to do with the modern flow of life, philosophy as a subject is waving its hand to say goodbye from the mainstream courses of education in India.
The subjects taught right from the beginning abruptly start from nowhere, there is no room for general curiosity, quest, reasoning and logic in the system that is prevalent in the current scenario of education, perceived in India. So a fresh mind of a child which we love to call a "tabula rasa" (empty slate) in philosophy is suddenly thrown into a world of unintelligible codes divided under the still unknown categories of science, humanities and commerce. Why on earth one has to study these three things and why not others, the little minds are never given any explanation. They are strictly told not to question, not to talk, not to defy and not to wonder. And all these natural activities of a child's mind is shut up and thrown away with that obscure subject, which was named at times as "philosophy" which means "the way of life".
I know grudges are too many in the list for the government of India to be sorted out. And positive solutions are very few. Even I was doing the same in the above lines, but now I change my mind. Can we rethink and reintroduce philosophy at the grass root level of education? Can we allow our kids to question us, question the entire system, prove them wrong, defy us and go ahead with a fresh line of thought? I am sure an array of problems can be solved if we do this.
In recent days philosophy has marched ahead with the study of consciousness and cognitive science. so, there is huge scope of carrier brighter and happier than many hackneyed jobs we are looking for. It doesn't only pay up bills, it regenerates your own self which is going to be there even if you are not drawing pension.
Today, our world of education has incorporated several subjects, which lead to a profession, and many of them are directly professional courses, which trains the students to develop a certain skill. But we are forgetting one fact that in every stream of education, the basic skill that is required is the thinking capability and better understanding of the acquired knowledge. A particular subject teaches a particular aspect of life, but the overall contribution of that subject in our life is taught by Philosophy. Philosophy makes us think, it reassures us, that the passing thoughts we experience everyday are also worth it. There are many aspects of life, which we ignore, and that makes us suffer the consequences at many points of time. Philosophy teaches us, the way we should think, the thought procedure that will reach a logical conclusion. Once we know the proper ways to think, our life get an inner support within ourselves and we don't feel that helpless any more. We would have the answers to those questions which left us restless in many sleepless nights.
Before we start studying a subject we all need to know, why that subject is existing at all, and what contribution it has and what are its implications. That will never be understood, unless, we know the Philosophy behind it. And once we know it, each of us can find new ways and means to contribute something new to that subject. Nevertheless, we will enjoy studying the subject with its essence.
So, its time that the education system of India realizes the worth of Philosophy as a subject and start introducing it at the very basic level. At the elementary level, the mind of each learner is in its most receptive state, and that is the time, when we need to teach him the basic knowledge of life, encourage him to question the world, answer their relentless questions and quench their thirst for knowledge. And all these can be done only through Philosophy, the currently ignored subject.
Very interesting. It's a huge subject, you know. I've heard it said that in the west, philosophy and religion are two separate subjects, but in the east, as in India, philosophy and faith are intertwined. So if we were to bring in philosophy to the curriculum at school level, which approach would it take? Probably the eastern approach. On the other hand, do we really need a new subject? If it began in say, 11th Class as part of a humanities programme, that might work. But new subjects are seldom welcome for kids already overburdened with studies.
ReplyDeleteBut I do follow your point.
Hi Maria,
DeleteYour words were really encouraging.
Philosophy was the mother of all subjects across the world. Religion was the first bifurcation which took place in both Eastern and Western Philosophy. Both the subjects are based on the quest for the reason behind our existence. Religion took up the stream of belief more than logic whereas philosophy stuck to its logical ground. Science came into picture following the logical stream and left Philosophy behind, as it got a flow of investigating methodology. That is the reason why apparently people feel philosophy is not required as a subject any more.
But we need to remember that each child is born with natural instinct. He is the same as the ancient man. He has the same bent of mind with the quests and wonder. And as we cannot teach multiplication without acquainting him with numbers, we cannot teach him any subject without acquainting him with Philosophy. It is the mother's milk which no formula milk can really replace.
So, it has to be there in the very basic level, before introducing a child to any other subject. If we talk about burden, philosophy is the one and only subject which will give the strength and reasoning to pursue those subjects with ease.
I think Philosophy should be taught as a whole, not as Eastern or Western, as the basic ground of philosophy is reasoning. Even faith can be logically explained, and a child should have the right to choose whether he should have faith on any particular stream of thought or he should question the existing ones.