Chapter 4: Philosophy: Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, Existentialism

By reading chapter 4 in “Foundations of American Education,” I learned a significant amount about 4 major philosophies: idealism, realism, pragmatism, and existentialism. Idealism holds that there is an absolute truth or higher authority on what is knowledge or worth knowing. Idealists believe that the focus of life is in the mind and that reality is spiritual. Realists also believe there is an absolute truth but that the focus of life is the body and reality is the physical universe around us. Both theories believe that true ideas that were relevant thousands of years ago are relevant to today, time is of no object, and truth is truth. Pragmatism believes that the world is continually changing and evolving. There is no absolute spiritual truth or universal natural laws governing or directing the world. Idealism and realism focus on a set of facts or information people should know; pragmatism focuses on using information and problem solving with it. Since there is no knowledge that is constant, the way a pragmatist understands the world is that knowing occurs by the transaction of information between the questioner and the environment. It is in the process of applying knowledge that is gained by experience. Existentialists basically believe in nothing. There is no absolute truth, spiritual or natural, nor is change a fact either. The only reality is the one that is the lived experience of the individual. What is worth knowing is what an individual thinks of the world and his or herself. Everything a person does is based on a choice, including the choice of refusing to choose. The ability to make a choice that is personally satisfying is the ultimate goal of the existentialist.

I think I’m a pragmatist. Idealists and realists seem quite closed minded and I don’t like that approach to life at all. I understand that there are skills every person should acquire in order to be able to exist in society. I do not think that everyone should have to know the same things because people need to specialize in order for our economy to work. Also ideas and knowledge that were relevant a long time ago for the most part have nothing to do with the realities of life today. Especially in the fields such as science, math, and health, there are new discoveries every year that changes what is known about the world. In some of these discoveries what was held as truth a long time ago is proven to be false. I like the idea that knowledge is only useful if we can solve day to day problems with it. Discovery and experience is an important part of pragmatist thought. I know that I believe facts about a situation much more intensely than if the information is simply relayed to me. I like the reflective piece of existentialism but as a whole the philosophy is quite hopeless sounding. So I don’t think it quite applies to me.