PHILOSOPH

Y AND THE
MANAGER
CHAPTER IV
PHILOSOPHY
• the sum of the ideas and convictions of an individual or group
• a basic theory concerning a particular subject or sphere of activity
• According to Carl Stover, philosophy is "a system of ideas which does three things:
defines what is true
determines what questions are important to ask and rules out others (natural law,
casuistic, utilitarian),
describes a set of values
PHILOSOPHY
• is used in many ways.
• Thus, we might say that a particular person has a
"philosophy of life" or that a manager has a "philosophy of
management.“
• We can also say "philosophy of education" or "company
philosophy”.
TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
• There are two notions of "philosophy of education."
• The first notion is that it is a set of beliefs about education
and that as such, it is a systematic guide to action on the part
of the educational worker
TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
•A person's philosophy of education usually contains two distinct kinds of beliefs –
EMPIRICAL BELIEFS and PHILOSOPHICAL BELIEFS.

• An EMPIRICAL BELIEF is a belief that in principle can be confirmed by reference to

• The PHILOSOPHICAL BELIEFS that accompany empirical beliefs in a person's

• EPISTEMOLOGICAL BELIEFS are beliefs concerning the nature, limits, or conditions of

• LOGICAL BELIEFS are beliefs about the criteria for strong reasons.

• NORMATIVE BELIEFS are beliefs that some- thing is good or bad, right or wrong, or ought or
ought not to occur or be done.
 TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
• Another sense of "philosophy of education" is also important. This is the
notion of philosophy of education as an activity of justification.
• Both as a set of beliefs about education and as an activity of justification, a
philosophy of education has a profound influence on the teacher, in the same
way that a philosophy of educational administration has a strong impact on
the school administrator. Graff and his associates describe the behavior of a
school administrator without adequate philosophic orientation as follows:
TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
• Without philosophic orientation, educational leadership takes one of several
directions.
• As a second alternative, the administrator develops an opportunistic pattern
of operation. He learns to be a manipulator of people and builds personal and
professional strength by surrounding himself with satellites and yes-men.
Pseudo-democracy, personal charm, favors for his satellites in return for their
unquestioning loyalty, and fear and confusion for others are some of his tools
in trade.
TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
•There is yet a third alternative, one that is engaged in by a
larger and more important group of administrators - the ones
who lack philosophic orientation.
TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
• Despite his honest and intelligent motivation, however, he finds it difficult to make adequate
judgments, to stimulate and direct the proper development of the schools, to take an intelligent stand
on the important issues of the day, and like matters. It is not because he is unintelligent. Nor is it
because he lacks skills, facts, knowledge, proper motivation.

• Most of such school administrators have had no opportunity to develop a basic philosophical
orientation (Graff, et al., 1966, pp. 10-11).
TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
• How may the school administrator develop a personal philosophy of educational administration (and
a philosophy of education as well) that is consistent, comprehensive, and workable? To assist the
school administrator in doing this, Graff and his colleagues have suggested the process they call
"theorizing," which has among its objectives "the achievement of an intellectualized system of beliefs
and values, de- rived from philosophical concepts, that is appropriate for administrative behavior in a
democratic society" (p. 307). The philosophic theorizing" suggested by Graff and his col- leagues may
be considered the equivalent of Fitzgibbons' "activity of justification." It has three facets:
TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
•Philosophic theorizing has three facets:
First, there is the process of seeking a personal philosophy that is satisfying, consistent,
comprehensive, and workable.
Second, there is the process of seeking out and understanding the various and sometimes conflicting
philosophical concepts that are influential in our culture.
Third, there is the process of attempting to relate various philosophical concepts. This is a process in
which one tries to reconcile daily living with the problems that confront all of us. It is an effort to
make one's behavior as intelligent as possible (Graff, et al., 1966, p. 16).
TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
•The rationale for philosophic theorizing is the contention that a
school administrator may unconsciously reflect conflicting or
inconsistent philosophical assumptions in his behavior.
TWO NOTIONS OF PHILOSOPHY
OF EDUCATION
• People with reflective philosophies are those who:

(1) evaluate a situation independently before deciding whether or not to adopt another person's
criterion for handling it;

(2) have beliefs that support rather than conflict with one another;

(3) demonstrate their beliefs in all aspects of their lives; and

(4) know their beliefs well enough to express them. It is easy to make the transition from a grassroots
to a reflective philosophy. Toward this end, a discussion of some common philosophical terms and a
brief overview of a few for- mal philosophies will be of great help.
SOME COMMON
PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS
METAPHYSICS

• Metaphysics is the area of philosophy that examines the nature of reality. There are three common
approaches to metaphysics: (1) reality as the physical world, (2) reality as the non-physical world, and
(3) reality as the perceptions of the individual's mind.
SOME COMMON
PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS
• Reality as the physical world. This approach says that physical objects are really
out there and are not figments of our imagination.
• Reality as the nonphysical world. Many people are convinced that the
impermanence of the physical world indicates a reality beyond it.
SOME COMMON
PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS
• Reality as the perceptions of the individual's mind. Supporters of this view
maintain that none of us actually knows what is out there in the world because we
can perceive it only through our mind, distort things.
 SOME COMMON
PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS
•Ethics is the branch of philosophy that examines values and
their relation to human actions.

Aesthetics is concerned with the nature of beauty and with judgments about it.
SOME COMMON
PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS
EPISTEMOLOGY
• this is the branch of philosophy dearest to the hearts of educators because it examines the nature of
knowledge and learning. Three basic epistemological questions have always interested philosophers and
today receive a great deal of attention from teachers, psychologists, and curriculum developers: (1)
How do people learn?; (2) How is truth determined?; (3) What is worth knowing?
FIVE IMPORTANT PHILOSOPHIES

IDEALISM
• Metaphysics. Central to Plato's philosophy theory that ideas (also called forms) constitute the
real world, of which the physical world is only a copy. Ideas were seen as concepts developed
from the collective sensations of our minds and were considered superior to any specific thing in
the physical world.
FIVE IMPORTANT PHILOSOPHIES

REALISM
• Metaphysics. The crucial difference between Aristotle's metaphysics and Plato's lies in the
interpretation of ideas, which Aristotle generally called forms. He maintained that instead of being apart
from the physical world as Plato had thought, forms exist within matter itself and are the directing
forces that make things what they are.
FIVE IMPORTANT PHILOSOPHIES

PRAGMATISM
• Metaphysics. Pragmatism pays little attention to traditional philosophical problems. It assumes that
reality lies in our view of the physical world and that the only fixed order within the universe is change.
Far from being an uncontrollable force, change can be directed by using human intelligence, although it
is impossible to stop. John Dewey explained that we live in a transactional relationship with our
environment: as we alter our situation, we ourselves are made different by the altered condition.
FIVE IMPORTANT PHILOSOPHIES

EXISTENSIALISM
• Metaphysics. Existentialism focuses its attention almost entirely upon the individual. Although it
considers traditional philosophical questions irrelevant, its individualistic approach maintains that there
is no universal reality. Reality is simply what you alone perceive it to be. This individualistic orientation
is in keeping with the subjective nature of existentialism. It maintains that we are all prisoners of our
own minds.
FIVE IMPORTANT PHILOSOPHIES

BEHAVIORISM
•Metaphysics. Behaviorism asserts that the only reality is the physical world that we discern through
careful observation. It has little use for speculation about religion or any other nonphysical reality. Its
devotion to physical reality has led it to view all living things as being largely under the control of the
physical environment. Both people and animals are seen as complex combinations of matter that act
only in response to internally or externally generated physical stimuli. Consequently, behaviorism
maintains that there is no such thing as free will or the autonomously acting per son. Such ideas, it
maintains, are only myths that may make us feel better but do not correspond to scientific observations.
PHILOSOPHY OF MANAGEMENT
• Philosophy of management refers to those general concepts and integrated attitudes that are
fundamental to the cooperation of a social group. These concepts and attitudes evolve into the particular
way in which the organization perceives itself. Generally, the philosophy of a given firm (or
organization) can be learned only through, close and continuous association with it. It is uniquely
determined for the individual firm (or organization) and is affected by a group of factors that, together,
may be called the concept of the firm. The concept of the firm is the total of how the firm got where it
is, the place it occupies in the industry, its strengths and weaknesses, the viewpoints of its managers,
and its relationship to social and political institutions. Philosophies differ among firms. One philosophy
might be good for Firm A but not useful to Firm B.
HOW PHILOSOPHY HELPS THE
MANAGER
• A wise man, according to Cahn (1987), is one who possesses philosophical understanding. Cahn
argues that such a man cannot be intimidated by dogmatic statements, and he is prepared to strive
against those who would control his thoughts, and that the study of philosophy serves as a bulwark
against mental servitude and provides the framework within which we can think and act intelligently.

To put it another way, philosophy provides a person a strong foundation in meeting the demands of his
profession and in facing the problems of life. It also guides him in making important day-to-day
decisions from a broader perspective because philosophy affords a person an integrated wholistic view
of human experience and of life itself.