Philosophy of Education

Al Farabi’s Philosophy of Education

BIOGRAPHY

Al Farabi was a leading, philosopher, Muslim intellectual, linguist and educationist born on 870AD and died in Damascus 950 at the age of 80. He was given a bright mind that helped him to write on different branches in science and philosophy. Al Farabi’s works reached more than 100 of several sizes enriched with his experience; however his philosophy was neither completely Greek nor completely Islamic. He translated many Greek comments on Aristotle, where he was known as the “second teacher” while Aristotle was the “first teacher”.  

AIMS OF EDUCATION

According to Al Farabi, education is one of the most essential social phenomena where it deals with human soul and assures that the individual is being prepared from an early stage to become an effective person in the society. It is to achieve his stage of perfection to deliver the message he was sent for in this world. In Al Farabi’s opinion, the complete educational process can be summarized up as the acquisition of values, knowledge and practical skills in a particular period and culture. The purpose of education is to direct the individual towards perfection because human was born for this purpose. The presence of humanity in this world is to gain happiness and reach the highest perfection, where a perfect person is the one who has practical moral values and intellectual knowledge in which he become a role model for others. Al farabi joins moral and aesthetic values such as beautiful are good and beauty is good, in which beautiful valued by scholars. So, the perfection that al farabi expects form education combines knowledge and behavior. It is also goodness and happiness at the same time. Al farabi also adds that proficiency is another aim related to education, where perfection in practical and theoretical arts is an expression of wisdom. Al farabi states that education is the sum of learning and practical action. The aim of knowledge is to apply it, al farabi mentions that “whatever by its nature should be known and practiced, its perfection lies in it actually being practiced”. So sciences are nothing and void unless they are applied, the practical sciences are related to readiness for action and absolute perfection is the total achievements of a human that he requires through knowledge and applied actions.
   

TEACHER’S CHARACTERISTICS

In Al Farabi’s view, a teacher must have morality and learning as two important conditions. The teacher should have a good character and say the truth under any situation. Ethical people should be employed for educating students. The teaching career should be done freely without obligation. In addition, Al Farabi states here some characteristics a teacher should meet: he must have his own personality and rules; he should know how to discover students’ abilities and improve them, must be honest all the time, he should also be able to let others understand everything he knows without allowing any fault to occur in his art.

CURRICULUM

According to Al farabi the learning process must start with learning a specific language where the student will be able to express himself for people who speak the same language as him. Without this ability a student will not be able to communicate with others, so his personality will not develop properly. From here al farabi mentioned the big importance of learning language as a first step in the educational process. Next to languages comes logic which gives reflection to science and related to language. After language and logic, mathematics comes. Arithmetic comes in the top of the pyramid of theoretical sciences, where learning theoretical arts starts with numbers then magnitudes. Al farabi divides mathematics into seven parts and said that the student must keep on identifying the levels and stages of mathematics. Metaphysics follows sciences. Briefly, al Farabi’s curriculum is a group of sciences, ranked as follows:  science of language, logic, mathematics, natural science, theology, civics…he thought there is a link between natural sciences and theology. Al Farabi’s mathematical curriculum was similar to Plato’s ones, where he said “the demonstrations used in geometry are the soundest of all demonstrations”.

Al farabi mentioned another theory in which education starts with reforming morals. He states that “for he who cannot reform his own morals cannot learn any science correctly”. Another theory begins with natural science which is closer to us and can be caught by senses.

Al farabi admits that it’s possible to sum up these theories. In real, a student should improve his own ethical values before studying philosophy; he must also support the rational mind through training in scientific demonstration which is geometry the key of logic.