Al-Farabi

1.     Biography

Abu Nasr Mohammad Al-Farabi was born in 870 AD. He belonged to a noble family in Farab in Turkestan. He was Muslim, philosopher, intellectual, and educationist who moved to Baghdad searching for knowledge and education. He studied several domains including philosophy, logic, music, grammar, sciences, and mathematics. Al-Farabi was called the “Second teacher” following Aristotle who was known as the “First teacher”. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

2.     The Aims of Education

One of the most essential social phenomena in Al-Farabi’s system was education. In Al-Farabi’s view, education is the link between the human and the goal he should reach to be an effective member socially. He added that education is specific for a certain culture in a certain period where there is different knowledge, practical skills, and values earning. Thus, its purpose is leading human beings toward perfection and absolute happiness. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

According to Al-Farabi, a perfect human being combines between moral and aesthetic values. Thus, he expected from education to do this combination between knowledge and good behavior to create perfection. He also described education as the combination between learning and practicing. Knowledge cannot be seen by having it, but by applying it. The secret behind perfection is its application. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

3.     Concept of Values

A safe life in any city can be ensured, according to Al-Farabi view, by having citizens with balanced morals. The balance in these morals can be only achieved through education. Thus, a gap in education leads to a decrease in moral values; consequently, citizens won’t trust each other anymore. Similarly, the absence of moral values leads to city life disturbance. However, morals can be classified, according to person’s mood that affects his behavior, to ethical and rational morals. Ethical morals like justice, courage, and satisfaction, whereas rational morals are wisdom, intelligence, and common sense. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

4.     Methodology of Instruction

In Al-Farabi view, there are five teaching methods: description and persuasion, demonstration, discussion, imagination, and habituation. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

Al-Farabi divided people into elite and common people and instruction into special and general that can be achieved through demonstration and persuasion, respectively. Elite people were taught using demonstration method that is based on proofs and evidences since they are not limited to theoretical knowledge and cannot be convinced through description. Those people are tested to find out if they are genius. On contrary, the general public were taught through description and persuasion. They are limited to the general ideas and opinions which are called the theoretical knowledge. Thus, it was enough for them to describe the idea then convince them by it. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

The difference in the methods of instruction is due to the leading role of the elite people. Thus, Al-Farabi suggests an appropriate method of instruction for the elite and common people according to their level of learning. He stressed the importance of education for all people to reach perfection; however, he gave each group of people a convenient method of teaching. In addition, instruction method can vary between demonstration and persuasion according to the subject to be taught. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

Al-Farabi followed Plato’s model and used the dialogue method. Plato used this method to convince people by idealism and go from sensory perception to world of truth using the dialectic method; however, Al-Farabi used it for instruction too. Also, he proposed two methods of discussion: the argument method and discourse method where both can be used orally or in writing with taking into consideration comprehension level of the person-from common people- we’re speaking to. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

Discourse of persuasion convinces the listener to satisfy his mind without reaching certainty unlike the demonstrative discourse that explains the truth until the accurate knowledge is brought out reaching to certainty. However, some people are stubborn and cannot be convinced easily. Al-Farabi dealt with this kind of people through the debating method in which the idea is taken to the furthest part until the opponent is convinced by it. Another type of discourse is the scientific discourse. It is like a deductive where knowledge is obtained by solving a scientific problem. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

Imagination is another instruction method according to Al-Farabi. It is the way to teach common people the ideas that are hard to be understood by using simile and metaphors. Illustrations are beneficial to convince stubborn people by the truth. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

Habituation, in al-Farabi’s view, is a teaching method where a human being repeats and practices a certain action until it creates a deep pattern in his mind. He stated that ethical values can only be acquired through habituation. It is not used only for teaching morals, but can be also used to teach writing and practical arts. Habituation can be taught through persuasion and effective speech. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

5.     Curriculum

The first Muslim philosopher who classified sciences and learning was Al-Farabi. He considered the language as the foundation of everything. For the student to understand any idea, he must understand its language first. Being unable to understand the language can block him from developing himself. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

Following language, comes logic, which is the foundation of science methodology. Then, mathematics comes. Al-Farabi describes mathematics as the vertex of the theoretical sciences, so any science begins with numbers. He divided mathematics into seven categories ranging from the immaterial and immeasurable to the materialistic and measurable ones. Then, geometry follows mathematics, in which it tends to erase all uncertainties and prove all of them. Following it, there is perspectives, astronomy, music, mechanics, and last of all natural sciences in which they depend on matter. (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

6.     Teacher’s Characteristics

Al-Farabi differentiate between two types of teachers: the active intellect which is the first teacher for human being and the real teacher who helps students to learn new thinking through teaching. Active intellect is more powerful than human intellect. Active intellect represents the formal aspects of intelligence like wisdom, logic, and reasons-it is about human thinking. On contrary, human intellect depends on the previous knowledge only. (Shahsavari, 2012) Al-Farabi put some scientific and educational requirements for the teacher like being professional in his field, healthy, able to make students understand, able to prove any information that any student has doubt about, and being able to deal with all students on equal basis. (Shahsavari, 2012) (Rauf, Ahmad, & Iqbal, 2013)

7.     Student’s Characteristics

In order to find all sciences and be happy, Al-Farabi believed that intellect can be divided into three types: the potential intellect that studies human talent, the actual intellect that understands physical object intellect, and the meant intellect that understands abstract forms. Students, in Al-Farabi’s view, must use all his efforts to reach active intellect, cooperate in the social life, and cooperate with their teachers. (Shahsavari, 2012)

8.     References

o   Rauf, D., Ahmad, D., & Iqbal, D. (2013, April). AL-FARABI’S PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION. Educational Research International, 1(2), 85-94.

o   Shahsavari, M. (2012). Al-Farabi Educational Ideas about the Foundations of Education. Journal of Basic and Applied, 2(9), 9569-9572.