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The Neglected Values of Philosophy in Contemporary Society: A Call for Curriculum Review in Ethiopian Higher Education

Received: 20 June 2019     Accepted: 24 July 2019     Published: 12 August 2019
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Abstract

This paper aims at exploring the values of philosophy in the contemporary Ethiopian society. In my view the values of philosophy are overlooked and deemphasized consciously or unconsciously due to various reasons. Philosophy is viewed by some people as insignificant discipline; a discipline too speculative and lacks practical value and no longer valuable in the era of science and technology. However, addressing the following questions is relevant to resolve such misunderstandings: Is philosophy really worthless to the contemporary society? What are the values, if any, of philosophy for contemporary society in general and Ethiopian society in particular? Does philosophy contribute for learners in understanding sciences? To address these questions, therefore, the researcher employed philosophical methods of analysis and phenomenology. The focus of this paper is critically explaining philosophy’s practical impact on contemporary Ethiopian society. It points out that philosophy is significant for multi-faceted human development – social, political, intellectual and spiritual. I believe and recommend that a little dosage of philosophical training is important in general for citizens and students of higher education in particular. Some of the reasons are that philosophy can enable one to develop critical thinking dispositions, equips one to reason correctly and enables to engage in critical examination and analysis of different social issues. Above all, I firmly believe that a proper training in philosophy is essential to contribute to the development of a country. Hence, this paper offers valuable insights and suggestions for ministry of education and higher institutions to re-examine the mission and objective of education policy of Ethiopia whether it supports and promotes the production of critical citizens. All in all, it is a clarion call for curriculum review in Ethiopian higher education which overlooked the values of philosophy.

Published in Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 5, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ash.20190503.12
Page(s) 76-87
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Philosophy, Critical Thinking, Higher Education, Ethiopia

References
[1] Barry, V. (1983) Philosophy: A Text with Readings. (2nd Ed.) Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing com.
[2] Ndubisi, E. J. (2015). The Role of Philosophy in Contemporary Society: The Nigerian Experience. Humanities and Social Sciences Journal 10 (1). 40-46.
[3] Miller, E. D. and Jensen, J. (2009) Questions that Matter: An Invitation to Philosophy. (6th Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
[4] Anjob, T. K. (n. d.). African Philosophy in the 21st Century. https://mafiadoc.com/african-Philosophy-in-the-21st-century_5c9e5911097c4781228b45f6.html.
[5] Krishnananda, S. (1992). The Philosophy of Life. E-book, www.swami-krishnananda.org.
[6] Rand, A. (1982). Philosophy: Who Needs It. New York: New York.
[7] Adebowale, B. A. (2017). Living with the Past: Ancient Greek Philosophy in Twenty-First Century Nigeria, the International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies, Vol 5 Issue 12.
[8] Horkheimer, M. (2002). Critical Theory: selected essay: Continuum: the continuum publishing Company.
[9] Catchings, G. (2015). A Practical Coaching Model for Critical Thinking Skill and Leadership Development. Management and Organizational studies. Vol 2, No. 4http://mos.sciedupress.com.
[10] Rudd, R., Baker, M., and Hoover, T. (2000). Undergraduate Agriculture Student Learning Styles and Critical Thinking Abilities: Is There a Relationship? Journal of Agricultural Education Vol. 41 (3): 1-12.
[11] Cortez, Franz Giuseppe F. (2016). Critical Rethinking of Critical Thinking: A Contribution of Critical Pedagogy in Facing the Challenges of K+12. Kritike 10 (1), 315-330 retrieved http://www.kritike.org/journal/issue_18/cortez_june2016.pdfaccessed July 2, 2017.
[12] Facione, P. A. 2006. Critical Thinking: What it is and Why it Counts. Millbrae, CA, California Acacademic Press.
[13] Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educational Process.
[14] Bloom, B. (1956). Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains http://www.Scirp.org/(S(i43dyn45teexjx455qlt3d2q))/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?Reference ID=883395.
[15] Flores, K., Matkin, G., Burbach, M., Quinn, C., & Harding, H. (2012). Deficient Critical Thinking Skills Among College Graduates: Implications for Leadership. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 44 (2): 212-230.
[16] Browne, M. N. & Freeman, K. (2000). Distinguishing Features of Critical Thinking Classrooms Teaching in Higher Education, Vol. 5, No. 3, 301-308.
[17] Castleton University (2019) http://www.castleton.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/philosophy/.
[18] James Madison University (2019) http://www.jmu.edu/philrel/about/philosophy.shtml.
[19] Addis Ababa University. (2005). Philosophy Department Graduation Bulletin. Addis Ababa.
[20] Russell, B. (1912). The Problems of Philosophy. London: Oxford University Press.
[21] Nussbaum, M. (2010). Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
[22] Lyons, C. W. (2015). Defending Liberal Education: Implications for Educational Policy. Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository, 1-128.
[23] Popper, K. R. (1972). Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
[24] Plato, The allegory of the Cave. https// web.standford.edu// class/ ihum40/cave.pdf.
[25] Lavine, T. Z. (1984). From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest. New York.
[26] Bailin S., Case R., Coombs J. R. and Daniels, L. B. (1999). Conceptualizing Critical Thinking. Journal of Curriculum Studies. Vol. 31, No. 3: 285-302.
[27] Fullerton, J. S. (1915). An Introduction to Philosophy. New York: The MacMillan Company.
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  • APA Style

    Matusala Sundado. (2019). The Neglected Values of Philosophy in Contemporary Society: A Call for Curriculum Review in Ethiopian Higher Education. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 5(3), 76-87. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20190503.12

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    ACS Style

    Matusala Sundado. The Neglected Values of Philosophy in Contemporary Society: A Call for Curriculum Review in Ethiopian Higher Education. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2019, 5(3), 76-87. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20190503.12

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    AMA Style

    Matusala Sundado. The Neglected Values of Philosophy in Contemporary Society: A Call for Curriculum Review in Ethiopian Higher Education. Adv Sci Humanit. 2019;5(3):76-87. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20190503.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ash.20190503.12,
      author = {Matusala Sundado},
      title = {The Neglected Values of Philosophy in Contemporary Society: A Call for Curriculum Review in Ethiopian Higher Education},
      journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
      volume = {5},
      number = {3},
      pages = {76-87},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20190503.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20190503.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20190503.12},
      abstract = {This paper aims at exploring the values of philosophy in the contemporary Ethiopian society. In my view the values of philosophy are overlooked and deemphasized consciously or unconsciously due to various reasons. Philosophy is viewed by some people as insignificant discipline; a discipline too speculative and lacks practical value and no longer valuable in the era of science and technology. However, addressing the following questions is relevant to resolve such misunderstandings: Is philosophy really worthless to the contemporary society? What are the values, if any, of philosophy for contemporary society in general and Ethiopian society in particular? Does philosophy contribute for learners in understanding sciences? To address these questions, therefore, the researcher employed philosophical methods of analysis and phenomenology. The focus of this paper is critically explaining philosophy’s practical impact on contemporary Ethiopian society. It points out that philosophy is significant for multi-faceted human development – social, political, intellectual and spiritual. I believe and recommend that a little dosage of philosophical training is important in general for citizens and students of higher education in particular. Some of the reasons are that philosophy can enable one to develop critical thinking dispositions, equips one to reason correctly and enables to engage in critical examination and analysis of different social issues. Above all, I firmly believe that a proper training in philosophy is essential to contribute to the development of a country. Hence, this paper offers valuable insights and suggestions for ministry of education and higher institutions to re-examine the mission and objective of education policy of Ethiopia whether it supports and promotes the production of critical citizens. All in all, it is a clarion call for curriculum review in Ethiopian higher education which overlooked the values of philosophy.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    AB  - This paper aims at exploring the values of philosophy in the contemporary Ethiopian society. In my view the values of philosophy are overlooked and deemphasized consciously or unconsciously due to various reasons. Philosophy is viewed by some people as insignificant discipline; a discipline too speculative and lacks practical value and no longer valuable in the era of science and technology. However, addressing the following questions is relevant to resolve such misunderstandings: Is philosophy really worthless to the contemporary society? What are the values, if any, of philosophy for contemporary society in general and Ethiopian society in particular? Does philosophy contribute for learners in understanding sciences? To address these questions, therefore, the researcher employed philosophical methods of analysis and phenomenology. The focus of this paper is critically explaining philosophy’s practical impact on contemporary Ethiopian society. It points out that philosophy is significant for multi-faceted human development – social, political, intellectual and spiritual. I believe and recommend that a little dosage of philosophical training is important in general for citizens and students of higher education in particular. Some of the reasons are that philosophy can enable one to develop critical thinking dispositions, equips one to reason correctly and enables to engage in critical examination and analysis of different social issues. Above all, I firmly believe that a proper training in philosophy is essential to contribute to the development of a country. Hence, this paper offers valuable insights and suggestions for ministry of education and higher institutions to re-examine the mission and objective of education policy of Ethiopia whether it supports and promotes the production of critical citizens. All in all, it is a clarion call for curriculum review in Ethiopian higher education which overlooked the values of philosophy.
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Author Information
  • Department of Civics and Ethical Studies, College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Wolaita Sodo University, Wolaita Sodo, Ethiopia

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