The Great Philosophers as Teachers of Mankind

Philosophy Teaching in the Schools of the World

[Quoted from Bulletin 59 ] 

[Abstract] The question is, of whether alongside a theme and method concentrated philosophy teaching it would be sensible for young people to have a teaching form where great  philosophers themselves are the centre of interest and are presented as personalities engaged in philosophical research. As an illustration the philosophers Plato, René Descartes, John Locke and Immanuel Kant, who essentially laid down the foundations of modern scientific thinking, would be presented in relationship to teaching practice. This train of thought can be extended without exception for all nations and all forms of culture so long as the conditions of peaceableness and civilizing productivity are met with. Exemplary biographies could play a large role for young people with regard to their psychological development.

Within the bounds of philosophical didactic for schools there are naturally many paths that can be taken. One can deal with material problems ‑ for example the conservation of the environment and the Earth, the usual concepts that arise from the traditions of philosophy - freedom, happiness and right amongst others ‑ can be taken as the central themes. One can also choose the gateway to philosophy using different methods. Therefore, it is undoubtedly important to use not only one but several quite different approaches that have emerged during the history of philosophy in order to avoid the one‑sidedness of a specific philosophical direction.

Ekkehard Martens (Hamburg) analysed five methods for teaching philosophy. Amongst, these was the phenomenal approach, whereby the everyday world minutely observed, described in detail and on the basis of this explained. A second method is the hermeneutic which consists of understanding different philosophical teaching opinions and using the explanations which they provide to understand ones own everyday world anew. Speech being the universal instrument of thought the analytical method helps us, through its deep understanding of speech itself, to comprehend the world. The dialectic method is a very old one whereby different standpoints are brought together and compared one with another with regard to the strength of their statement. Lastly the speculative method opens up the possibility to outline ones own interpretations of existential life conditions, to playfully try them out and throw them open for discussion.

Now all these methods were developed and presented by individual great men. Whether it was Edmund Husserl who took the things seriously again and subjected them to a new method of approach, whether H‑C Gadamer investigated and established the process of understanding, or whether Ludwig Wittgenstein made language as a way his theme, it was always individual intensive thinking men who, in specific historically restricted communication situations, opened up new ways and so helped many others to understand their own personality and to orientate themselves in the world around them. Not without reason Socrates himself, as a much admired person with his dialectic and critical polarization, belongs to the ranks of the creators of philosophy.

Therefore it is clear that texts or extracts of texts by individual philosophers or concerning specific philosophers should be read and discussed. The question is now whether ...

ALEXANDER N. CHUMAKOV Ph.D. Professor (Moscow, Russia)

Social aspects of globalization

[Quoted from Bulletin 60 ] 

The contemporary process of globalization is a concern to the lives and interests not only of humankind in general but also of individuals, independent of their social or racial status. That is why there is now a reason to add one more concept to the multitude of philosophies and scientific theories where man and his problems occupy priority positions connected with the philosophical understanding of nature and the trends of globalization. We already have a corresponding sphere of interdisciplinary fields of knowledge that emerged in the last quarter of the last century, collectively termed global studies. As a result, the contemporary world is seen as a complex dynamic system where human economic activities based on achievements of science and technology (but not nature and the development laws of the biosphere) have become the main acting force.

Besides the growing understanding of how scientific and technological progress changes our living conditions, we are also becoming aware of the many dangers this poses, not only for human health but for the existence of life in general. The times have passed when science could be regarded as value-neutral and an indisputable human

good, beyond good and evil. Of course, science gives people the fruits of its revolutionary discoveries and attracts them by the new perspectives, but it also causes deep trouble for their future, demanding timely and adequate actions of scholars, philosophers and politicians. Having the ability to complexly study the world, society and human beings, contemporary science orientates politicians and scholars towards a “dialogue,”

the co-evolution of society and nature. This is the science way where it acquires a new—human—dimension when the interests of people are directly connected with the sustainable development of the biosphere and an analysis of human activity begins to occupy a priority position in the understanding of the contemporary world and its most important characteristic—globalization.

It is important to note that globalization is a result of centuries-old quantitative and qualitative transformations, both in social development and in the system “society-nature.” That is why in trying to understand the essence of contemporary globalization, many scholars connect it with cultural and civilizational changes; by this, the terms “culture” and “civilization” find themselves in one line with the term “globalization.”

Being the most important categories of social philosophy, these terms are links of ...

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