Description/Abstract:
ABSTRACT
BERTRAND RUSSELL'S PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION
Philip Stander
The two closely related parts of this work constitute an explication of Russell's design for the reformation of society through education. The interpretation contained therein proceeds from the assumption that there are emotive bases for philosophical systems and their programs of action. In Part I, The Vision of the Good Life, Russell's social and educational aims and prescriptions are related to that emotive base and his philosophical assumptions and conclusions.
The major task of this work, which follows an overview of Russell's vision of the good life and the prescriptions necessary to manifest it, is an examination of Russell's systematic, philosophical treatments of science, mathematics, language and human knowledge in juxtaposition to his views on the traditional subject matter of the public school curriculum. In Part II, The Curriculum, for example, Russell's profound treatment of science, as a philosopher of science, is examined in relation to his views on science in the school curriculum. The same treatment is given Russell's philosophical and educational positions on mathematics, history, literature, and the arts, in succeeding chapters. Each chapter provides a comparison of recent innovations and reforms in curriculum with Russell's own educational programs. Such comparative treatment of his views is intended to provide a comprehensive description of Russell's philosophy of education.