Regarding Teaching Philosophy in Schools
Regarding the Teaching of Philosophy in Schools
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. We have learned that there is an intention to teach philosophy to our children in Jordanian schools. We are unable to express our gratitude for this step, but please allow us to ask some questions that we believe are very legitimate: Is this what our students really need?
I will not speak today about the corruption of philosophy, but it is our right to ask: Has the one who chose philosophy actually chosen it for the benefit of the students? I would like to share with you the results of a survey about schools that we conducted two years ago, in which approximately twenty thousand people from around the world participated. I will share with you the results specifically from Jordan.
The purpose of the survey was to understand the role of schools in building the human person: Are our children receiving real knowledge? Is there real education and upbringing, or is there not? There are details about the results of this survey in the episode "Schools: Roots of the Problem and Features of the Treatment," and we will provide you with a link to it in the video description.
The survey consisted of thirty components of building the human person: intellectually, mentally, psychologically, emotionally, and socially. Allow me to review with you the responses of the participants regarding questions related to only seven of these components.
What we did with each component was to ask: Do you think the schools that you attended, O survey respondents, did the schools in general achieve this component sufficiently, or insufficiently, or not at all, or did the schools have a negative effect on you regarding this component? Let us take seven examples.
Teaching Thinking
- Teaching the boy or girl or young man or young woman how to think. Twenty-two percent of the respondents' answers ranged from the schools not teaching them this at all, or insufficiently, or that the schools had a negative effect on this educational and upbringing component.
Critiquing Ideas and Identifying Fallacies
- Teaching the student how to critique the ideas presented to them, how to identify fallacies in discussions, how to ask the right questions, and how to express themselves. Only five percent said they learned this in schools.
Seeking Knowledge and Verifying Information
- Teaching them how to seek knowledge from its appropriate sources, how to verify information, and how to distinguish between true knowledge and false knowledge. Only seven percent said they learned this in schools.
Achieving Happiness and Managing Life's Pressures
- Teaching them how to achieve happiness and balance, and how to manage life's pressures. How many do you think learned this? What is the percentage? Only four percent learned this in schools.
By the way, those who chose that schools not only did not teach them this component but also had a negative effect on this educational component, what do you think their percentage is? Ten percent. That is, the schools harmed them more than they benefited them in this educational component, which is what again? Teaching them how to achieve happiness and balance and how to manage life's pressures.
Because in schools, we pressure the boy and the girl, and the school, along with incorrect parenting, becomes a cause of imbalance and failure in other aspects of life, and the loss of happiness often.
Answers to the Great Existential Questions
- Teaching them convincing and comprehensive answers to the great existential questions. Only thirteen percent.
Answers to Questions of Islamic Identity
- Teaching convincing and comprehensive answers to questions such as: Why am I a Muslim? What are the evidences that the Quran is from Allah? What are the evidences of the prophethood of Muhammad, peace be upon him? How is the Quran and the Sunnah, to which I refer in my life, preserved? Only fourteen percent learned this in schools.
And they mentioned that some of those who learned these things in schools did so through the efforts of teachers in Islamic schools. Otherwise, if the matter is left to the curricula and the official training of teachers, do not expect them to learn them.
Intellectual, Psychological, and Ideological Immunity
- Teaching immunity against doubts, and that the student knows how to respond to them. How many learned this in schools? Only four and a half percent said they acquired this immunity in schools.
Results of the Absence of Real Education
Therefore, do not be surprised when a tall and broad-shouldered young man, who has not only finished school but also university, watches a video for a few minutes on one of the channels that cast doubt on religion, and suddenly he becomes anxious and begins to doubt the religion, and comes to tell you: By Allah, I saw convincing speech. Why is the speech convincing? Because he did not learn how to respond to these doubts.
It is not strange after all this talk that when our children do not learn all that they need, you see cases of family failure, divorce, weakness of affection and mercy in homes, suicide, mental illnesses, crimes, and so on. Are you afraid of viruses? Viruses are weak and cannot be seen with the naked eye, but they destroy those who do not have immunity. A small pool of water drowns those who do not know how to swim.
Critique of Philosophy
Can you tell me how philosophy has benefited humanity in this world and the hereafter? By Allah, if the books of philosophy were used as fuel for heating in the winter, they would be more beneficial than this nonsense that fills the books. Philosophy is one of the sciences that our Prophet, peace be upon him, taught us to seek refuge from by saying: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowledge that does not benefit."
So who teaches the children philosophy and the nonsense of philosophy? As if we are a group of humans who do not have an answer to the great existential questions, neither from the revelation of the Quran nor from the revelation of the Sunnah, so we need to hear the ramblings of Descartes, Hume, the suggestions of John Locke, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and others.
That is, the matter is that our children must study anything but the knowledge that is truly beneficial to their souls, selves, nature, worldly life, and hereafter. We have not finished with the subject of the child protection law so that they bring us the subject of philosophy.
Call to Action
Therefore, esteemed ones, raise your voices demanding the teaching of our children what benefits them and not philosophy. Write on the hashtag "Philosophy is a Waste of the Generation" #الفلسفة_عبث_بالجيل.
And remember that we must take upon ourselves the upbringing, awareness, and building of the personalities of our children. Yes, two paths go together: we protect them from what happens in schools, and at the same time, we take upon ourselves their upbringing.
Our Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "There is no servant whom Allah has entrusted with a flock and has not guided them with his advice" or "has not guided them with his advice" according to a narration, "except that he will not find the scent of Paradise." We must guide our children with our advice and protect them from what corrupts their religion, worldly life, and hereafter.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.