ABSTRACT
I THEphrase'philosophyofeducation'occurscommonlyin writingsaboutthetheoryandpracticeofeducation.Itishowevernotalwaysobviouswhatitmeans.Often,indeed,ifwe lookcriticallyattheusesofphraseslike'thephilosophyof education','thephilosophicalbasisofeducation','philosophical presuppositionsofeducationaltheory'andsoon,itbecomes clearthattheyarenomorethanvaguethoughhigh-sounding titlesformiscellaneoustalkabouttheaimsandmethodsof teaching.Suchusagescouldwellbedroppedintheinterests ofclarity.ButIcertainlydonotwanttosuggestthatlanguage ofthissorthasnoproperandusefulfunction.Phraseslike 'philosophyofscience','philosophyofhistory'or'philosophy ofart'arealsousedfromtimetotimeinapretentiousor muddle-headedway.Yettheycanbeusedtorefertogenuine andimportantfieldsofenquiry.
