Process Philosophy and its Effect on Education

Education is a valuable tool in the hands of those who wish to change a nation.  As

Herbert Schlossberg said in his book Idols for Destruction, “One of the most useful tools in the

quest for power is the educational system” (1983, p209).  Process Philosophy has undoubtedly

controlled our educational system for  some time.  Its fundamentals have changed our way of

thinking and unwittingly altered the worldview of Christians and non-Christians alike.  As Glenn

Martin states in his book, Prevailing Worldviews, “For the last century and a half, it has been

process philosophy which has been filtering down from the intellectual community into the

general culture” (2006, p153).

Since this philosophy is prevalent in our culture, how did it come to dominate our

academic system?  In the 1830’s, Horace Mann was very influential in bringing education under

state control in Massachusetts (Krause, 2014, Module 4.3).  This soon spread over the nation,

making public education a powerful tool in the hands of any movement that would seek to

promote a worldview. 

            State controlled education is an essential part of Marxist thought.  As Marx and Engels

said in The Communist Manifesto, “The education of all children, from the moment that they

can get along without a mother's care, shall be in state institutions at state expense” (1848,

p49).  Theoretically, Marxist thought applied to state education would result in a more

egalitarian society where class conflict would be mitigated through more equal opportunities

for students.

After state controlled academic institutions were implemented, Fabian socialists used the

system to establish process philosophy in the institutions.  The method they utilized to

dominate the academic system was “top down”, starting from the prominent intellectual

community and working its way from the larger, well esteemed institutions to the rest of

academia (Martin, 2006, p233). 

            However, this newly gained power of process philosophy is only as good as the method

used to maintain it.  The method used in the United States today is manipulating the flow of

information by controlling how people think, what they talk about, and which issues are the most

important (Martin, 2006, p234).  This method is very effective because most Americans go 

through the public school system without thinking about the reason information is presented 

to them in a particular way.

            Process philosophy’s teaching results in relativism because of the absence of God from

its fundamentals.   Students are taught the “truth” that what’s right for you is right for you and

what’s right for me is right for me, regardless of whether our opinions are contradictory or not. 

When reading literature, the interpretation is relative and not based on the author’s intended

meaning.  Trace Embry (2012), describes relativism in current American education as follows,

“Relativism and postmodern thought have blinded [American children] to the fact that they’ve

even made mistakes at all—giving them no transcendent point of moral reference beyond their

own subjective ideas, presuppositions and lusts.”

            The impacts of process philosophy on the family through education are devastating. 

Marx and Engels held the position that the family would be abolished as a consequence of the

absence of private property (1848 p24).  They also believed the rest of the familial bonds would

be negated by the replacing of home education by social education (1848).  This second aspect

can be seen in America today.  Children are separated from their families most of the day

because of school and then return home only to separate again into sports and other activities. 

Some semblance of this can be seen in the church as well, where public education has

affected the structure of the church, separating families into their respective grades or age

groups (“A Biblical Confession For Uniting Church And Family” 2009) .

            Ultimately, the teaching of process philosophy leads to a meaningless worldview where 

life has no purpose.  As Ravi Zacharias states in his book The End of Reason (2008) “If life is random, 

then the inescapable consequence, first and foremost, is that there can be no ultimate meaning and 

purpose to existence.”  Such is the predicament of a worldview where God is completely removed. 

References

A Biblical Confession to Uniting Church and Family, (2009), retrieved from: https://ncfic.org/about/confession/

Embry, T. (2012), You have a license to parent, retrieved from: http://stevedeace.com/news/national-politics/you-have-a-license-to-parent/

Engels, F. & Marx, K. H. (1848), The Communist Manifesto, 49

Krause, M. H. (2014, February), Module 4.3

Martin, G. R. (2006), Prevailing Worldviews, 153, 233-234

Schlossberg, H. (1983), Idols for Destruction, 209

Zacharias, R. K. (2008), The End of Reason [Kindle version]