The Philosophy of Higher Education: Nature and Scope

Since higher education systems are part of the overall education system of a society, the discussion of issues related to this part from a philosophical perspective should come under the philosophy of education. In this regard, the present paper is an attempt, through analytical-historical approach, to describe the nature and depict the scope and the theoretical framework of the field of knowledge of “philosophy of higher education” and also elucidate particular issues of this field. To this end, in the first place, a number of philosophical studies about higher education are reviewed, and, in the next step, in the light of some viewpoints about the concept of higher education and its relation with other educational programs as well as some viewpoints related to the objectives of higher education, the nature of the philosophy of higher education is studied and analyzed. Furthermore, through elucidation of some issues about basic studies of science and technology in higher education and political-social philosophy of higher education as well as explanation of some philosophical aspects of the status of religion and ethics in higher education, the scope of the field of studies of philosophy of education is depicted.