Metaphysics and Education: What is Reality? [Lecture 2 of Philosophy of Education course]

By Professor Stephen R.C. Hicks, Rockford University, USA.

Lecture 2: If education is about basic facts and truths about reality, then what is reality? Is it the natural world—or also a world beyond nature? Is it cause-and-effect—or random or sometimes miraculous? Is it finite in space and time—or infinite spatially and eternal?

Previous lectures in the series:

Part One: What is the purpose of education, and what is philosophy’s relevance?

Other lectures in the series forthcoming:

Part Three: Epistemology: Knowledge and Education

Part Four: Human Nature and Education

Part Five: Ethics: Values and Education

Part Six: Integrated “Isms” and Education

Part Seven: Idealism, Plato, and Kant, and Education

Part Eight: Realism, Aristotle, and Locke, and Education

Part Nine: Pragmatism, Dewey, and Education

Part Ten: Behaviorism, Skinner, and Education

Part Eleven: Existentialism, Sartre, Camus, and Education

Part Twelve: Objectivism, Rand, Montessori, and Education

Part Thirteen: Marxism, Marx, and Education

Part Fourteen: Postmodernism, Foucault, Giroux, and Education

Part Fifteen: Education as One’s Mission, and Conclusion

Related: Stephen Hicks’s other posts and publications on Education.