Adding philosophy as a subject to our educational curriculum is a necessity, not a luxury or intellectual diversion.
Philosophy provides students with the skills of independent thinking and makes the mind capable of evaluating thoughts and situations objectively and from all visible perspectives.
Modern philosophy gives the learner tools of scientific methods and the proper use of language. Language, according to the modern school of philosophy, is considered the No. 1 tool that thinking process relies on.
In modern philosophy there is no room for an entity to carry more than one meaning. Each entity helps in building the intellectual background that confronts a discussion or an analysis to any intellectual problem open to research. It’s an attempt to rephrase the style of dealing with language. When a person is able to use language according to this foundation, he will earn the skills of scientific thinking that will help him manage all his affairs in all aspects of his life.
Philosophy is a necessity that fulfills different needs. On the level of extreme thinking, a student of philosophy can’t be convinced with illogical arguments. On the level of public life, studying philosophy can define the ideal methods for a person to reach his goals.
The philosophy curriculum can pave the way for the perfect intellectual foundation that makes education the basic element of our lives.
It’s the first and most important step to open the door to many scientific discoveries that will turn our nation from a consuming to a creative one that relies on its innovations. The issue is not about entertaining the mind; philosophy is an essential subject. The question remains: Why hasn’t the study of philosophy helped in Arab countries that teach it as part of the higher-education curriculum?
The answer is that these philosophy courses in Arab countries focus on presenting philosophy as a sealed historical movement, rather than the organic and modern discipline it really is.
The emphasis is on old, crusty schools of philosophy that are no longer credible. What they should be teaching is the history of the movement in relation to its contemporary disciplines. Philosophy, after all, is the mother of all knowledge.
