The Necessity of Reform in Philosophical Education Imagine to yourself, that You have to study physics by original texts! Worse than that, imagine, that the majority of material consists of erroneous theories!! That is the situation in philosophical education--the study of philosophy is substituted for the study of its history.
An opinion based on a laymans quick take. Mabye the reason that so much philosophical education is based on the history of philosophy, is that the field of philosophy can no longer me legitimized by claiming to understand the full spectrum of human knowledge. In earlier era's, philosophy was a kind of disclipine in which one combined science, religion, and various other fields of knowledge into an unified sphere of understanding that could be contemplated in such a way that new perspectives could be gained by illuminating the implicit connectivity of the basic truths that governed mans understanding of the world around him/her. Truth may be impervious to the destructive forces of time, but in the past few centuries so much data and knowledge has been accumulated, that it is quite impossible for a single person to know so much about so many subjects that he/she can form a cohesive perspective that encompasses it all. However, it can be quite illuminating to gain a understanding of how some men and women, given the knowledge about the world that they had access to, formed accurate and logical conclusions about the world. Modern philosophers, I believe, are now challenged with unearthing the truths that remain constant regardless of new knowledge gained. I think that it would be a great asset to be able to discern exactly how critical thinking affects ones perspective through the study of men and women who have practiced it throughout history. I am certainly not an expert, and could be wrong. That is merely my opinion, and if you can offer me information which would make my opinion more sound and correct please do. I welcome informed clarification by those who possess a surperior education than mine(self-education). Thank you.
