Ever Learning

Ever Learning: The Fundamentals and History of Western Philosophy is the first high school philosophy course for homeschool students we've seen. Author Robert Watson (creator of the Smarr Literature Guides) designed the program as a way to acquaint students with important terminology and figures of the Western philosophical tradition. This is not an attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of the history of Western thought, but rather to familiarize high schoolers with the general landscape.

How Does This Work?

There are two main components to this course: the novel Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder, and the student study guide by Robert Watson. Students read a chapter in the novel and the corresponding section in the study guide, then answer questions concerning both texts. The novel was written by a Norwegian high school teacher to introduce his students to the great themes in the Western philosophical tradition, and is the fictional account of a young girl who is led by a mysterious letter writer through the works and ideas of everyone from Plato to Sartre. The novel is written from a humanist perspective, and takes for granted some secular ideas that many Christians reject (evolution, etc.), but is nonetheless an excellent non-technical introduction to philosophy.

The course is designed for use over a one-year period, though the content could easily be made to cover two. A packet of quizzes, tests, a final exam and an answer key for all tests/quizzes and study guide questions is included with the course. All test/quiz and study guide questions are objective; there are no essay or interpretive questions. Students are only responsible for the actual philosophical information in the novel (not the characters or plot), and for all the information in the study guide (including the supplemental readings).

Each study guide lesson is divided into several parts. In the beginning the era under discussion is identified, followed by a "definition of terms" list and a "personalities to know" list. The appropriate Sophie's World reading assignment is identified next and followed by open-book questions about the reading. Supplemental material follows, and then the longest part of the leson, "Developing a Biblical Response" in which students aim to understand the Christian view of the particular philosophy they're studying.

Mr. Watson's chief goal for the course is to guide students through Scriptural analysis of all the ideas they encounter in the material. Each study guide lesson includes Scripture readings and questions requiring students to compare philosophical ideas to the Bible. These questions require more thought than the objective ones, and will make students think critically about what they read. Watson designs the Scriptural analysis questions so that students end up answering all the questions the philosophers bring up in the novel from the pages of the Bible itself.

Our Honest Opinion:

In the introduction to the study guide, Mr. Watson reveals his animosity toward philosophy, and indicates the only reason Christians should study it at all is to know how to combat it. While there are anti-christian ideas and concepts found in much of secular philosophy, this seems like an odd premise for a philosophy course. Generally we devote our time to studying things we should know and that will improve us as people, not wayward disciplines we only intend to take up arms against.

That's not to say that Watson's course is a waste of time. While he does subscribe to some radically minority views (even among Christians), there is plenty of straightforward information here to give kids a good jumping-off place for more in-depth study of philosophy.