Philosophy Of Realism

by Sophie Locke-Cooper

Realist art

Philosophy comes from the word 'philos' which means love, and 'Sophia' which means wisdom. So initially Philosophy in its purest form means the The Love of Wisdom. Philosophizing is thinking, but not all philosophical thoughts. Philosophizing is the thinking that has three characteristics - namely radical (which primarily means thinking from the roots (not half-heartedly), systematically (which is thinking logically) and universal (to think overall).

Connecting to education, it is supposedly directly related to the purpose of life, lives of individuals and society education. Education cannot be fully understood without understanding the ultimate goal being sourced to the goal of human life.  The first perception says that the philosophy of education can be composed because of the linear relationship between philosophy and education.

The term realism comes from the Latin 'realist' which is to be really, really real. The philosophy of realism assumes that there is a real external word of which can be recognised. That sensory perception and sensory of an objects existence is what realism holds.  Regardless of the sense of mind that it was God, because the object can be examined, investigated, analysed and studied by science. Realism acknowledges and excepts the unity between esensia and existence, the nature and existence of objects which can be captured by the mind and our five senses.

There are many different parts to realism:

Humanistic realism; is the reaction against the emphasis on form and style of the old classical literature. It has great regard for the ancient literature but it emphasises the study of content and ideas in the ancient classical literature to understand one's present life and environment. The aim is not to study the form and style of old literature to have mastery over it. The study of old literature is a means to understand the practical life.

Social realism: Social realism in education is the reaction against a type of education that producers scholars and professional men to the neglect of the man of affairs i.e. practice. Education should not produce people who are unfit in social life. The purpose of education, according to social realists, is to prepare the practical man of the world.

Sense realism: The sense realism in education emphasises the training of senses. Senses are the gateway to knowledge and learning takes place the operation of the senses. According to sense-realists nature is the treasure house of all-knowledge and this knowledge can be obtained through the training of the senses.

Neo-realism: Is really a philosophical though. It appears in the methods and results of modern development in physics. They do not consider the scientific principles everlasting whilst they express the changeability in them. They support the education of art with the science and analytical system of education with the humanistic feelings.

Weaknesses of Realism

The realist claims to be objective. Objectivity in knowledge is nothing but the partnership of personal knowledge. Knowledge is always subjective. The realist recognises the origin of knowledge from the datum achieved by senses and asserts that only objects are main and it is through their contact that knowledge is acquired. Then how does our illusion arise? How does knowledge become fallacious? Where does the external object go in our dream? The realist is unable to answer these questions satisfactorily.

The realist does not accept the existence of transcendental (not based on experience or reason) being. How could we know the non-existence? Has non-existence got no existence? Voidness and non-existence also are the parts of existence. Here the realist shows a major flaw.

Today the effect of realism has given rise to the wave of science. It is right, but there should be no indifference towards art and literature. The realist supports this negligence.

Realism exacerbates disappointment in students and teachers. No progress can be made by having faith in the facts of daily life and shattering faith in ideals. Life is full of misery and suffering. Sorrow is more predominant than joy in the world. A person becomes disappointed by this feeling. Hence the reason realists appear to be sceptics, pessimists and objectionists.

The doctrine of realism believes that with something or the other way there are things that are just in and of themselves and that not essentially affected by someone or something else.