ABSTRACT
WHAT I would like to try to do is to state, as clearly as I can, after the reflections and discussions of fifteen years as Professor of Philosophy of Education at London, the nature of philosophy of education as I see it, its relation to what is called 'educational theory', and the relation of both to the practice of education. By doing this I hope to be able to answer, in part at least, certain criticisms of philosophy of education which are frequently made from different quarters. It is said, for instance, that education can perfectly well stand on its own feet without the help of philosophy, that educational theory is autonomous and does not need philosophy. Anyhow, philosophers, it is well known, never agree. The progress of philosophy is just stumbling from one bog into the next. Philosophers are sowers of the seed of doubt and uncertainty. Away with them to their ivory towers! Let practical common sense and experience guide our thinking about education.
