Philosophy in the Curriculum by Raymundo

Philosophy in the Curriculum by Raymundo - August 2015 Scholarship Essay

If I could add a subject to the American high school curriculum it would be Philosophy, my very own college major. Philosophy could be seen by all as the foundation of knowledge. Nicknamed the “the mother of all sciences,” Philosophy as one of my teaching assistants told me my first year of college, “provides the lenses through which one views the world.” It is worth noting as well that the physical sciences were once called “Natural Philosophy.” Philosophy could very easily be called common sense. And I feel that is what is lacking in today’s world. Today’s world, I feel, is too caught up in doing and not thinking about what they are doing and/or why. Philosophy, if implemented in the American high school curriculum could fundamentally change the way coming generations think about their lives and what they want to do with them.
I remember in 11th grade having had a substitute teacher for Algebra 2 on a free day where the teacher had no plans for us. She asked us what good, education YouTube videos we should watch. 99% of people completely ignored her. I was one of the few who raised my hands and she picked on me. I asked, “Can we watch this Moral Philosophy lecture by Professor Michael Sandel from Harvard.” She asked, “What’s it about?” I said, “It’s about morality.” She told me she wouldn’t show the video because it could challenge students’ views or convictions about life and religion. That was one of the most disappointing moments in all of my school years. I had been told many a times that one of education’s many goals was to do just that, challenge what people conventionally think, apparently Philosophy was just too much.
And so I believe Philosophy would be a great department to invest in for the American high school curriculum. It has history, it has logic (math), it has psychology, it has everything I dare say. It is often noted that Science cannot tell us what to do. That it is simply a tool we use to gather data and information. It was Hume who said that you could not derive an ought from an is. Fortunately where Science stops and can’t tell us what we can possibly do with ourselves, Philosophy can start to unravel our worries and can systematically, logically, interpret what it is that we are or should be doing. That is why Philosophy should be added to the American high school curriculum, for if it should be mandatory to learn anything in those twelve years, it should be Philosophy.