Education: a priceless and powerful commodity. The human race has attempted to understand the role of education and how we digest information for centuries. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle devoted much of their lives to analyzing the foundations of education and how to teach subsequent generations. Socrates attempted to find the true meaning of education through a constant attempt to discover the truth in all aspects of life. Plato, on the other hand, viewed education as a way to attain the perfect society, hoping that educating the youth would improve future generations. Believing that education was necessary for intellectual virtue, Aristotle sought out a well-rounded education that created a balanced human being. Unfortunately, education …show more content…
He was also correct in his idea of experiencing education rather than passively listening. A good thing about education today is that students are encouraged to try themselves, and homework is a perfect example of how we learn best by doing. I disagree completely, however, with his thoughts on equal access to education. An elitist society is exactly what education should be teaching us to avoid. If Socrates was allowed to comment on Aristotle’s theory, I’m sure he would say that those of high class with power are often the least wise because their egos blind them from the importance of continuous learning. I agree most with Socrates’ view of education; the foundation of education is self-awareness. Education gives us choice in what we believe and how we live. Education isn’t solely about understanding mathematics or becoming a decent writer; it’s also about becoming a mature human being that gives back to society and helps those who aren’t as fortunate. We must learn to make choices not just for individual betterment, but also for the betterment of those who don’t have the knowledge, status, or power to make …show more content…
Are we utterly lost with our education system today? There is no concrete answer to these questions, and I don’t believe there ever will be. What we do know is that there are many current problems with education. Education is like wax, constantly morphing to the social constructs of humanity at the time. We currently live in an individualistic time, unaware of the power education holds. While many might think that social money and family determine classes; the class structure is built mostly around education. The difference between these three philosopher’s theories and today is that they all worked to uncover the true meaning of education. In the future, I hope that we will move toward an education system similar to Socrates theory. Today, many students see little to no meaning at all to education and merely see education as a means to success, wealth and power. We must encourage the study of these philosophers in our schools to help students understand how much power education holds. As Socrates described best, we, as students, must be the gadfly, and awaken our society to injustices and constantly question the world around us. Education is ultimately the best gift we could be given, and we should appreciate it and attempt to understand its foundations. By uncovering the truth behind education, I have found that education should be offered to all, encourage curiosity, and lead to a well-rounded
...d of the students to work. The mind will be given concepts to engage with so that it will become engrained in the students for life. The subjects will become useful to the students because of what they have learned through reading and writing combined with the instruction of their teachers, who do not make them only read and write, but also give the students time to discuss and struggle with the various subjects. This is what Socrates and Phaedrus were doing, and of this is what excellent education consists.
	In Plato’s mind, the value of an education is to clear one’s mind of impure thought, bring it to a higher lever than at the start, and attain a certain level of righteousness. This may have been a good idea 2300 years ago, but today, I see it as very limiting and impractical. In his time, only the rich aristocrats went to school. It’s purpose was not for the students to learn skills or ideas that would help them later in life, but to expand their minds, thus making them into ‘better people.’ There was no need for them to learn any job skills. Back then, if you came from a rich family, you were rich. Working at simple jobs was for the peasants and slaves. Today, life is different. Our society is completely unlike that of the ancient Greeks. We have no caste system limiting the wealth and prominence of any citizen, we have no slavery to handle all the manual labor, our army is proportionately smaller and much less honored, and religion is a part of one’s private life, not a dominating public force as it was to the Ancient Greeks. Most people today have a regular, day to day job, whether it be in an office, store, factory, or anywhere else. We have to earn our wealth by working, not inheritance. That is why most people go to school today.
Education has always been in existence in one form or another. As each child is born into this world regardless of who or where they are born, life lessons immediately begin. He/she will learn to crawl, walk, and talk by the example and encouragement of others. Although these lessons are basic in the beginning they evolve as the child grows. However, the core learning method of a child does not change. Learning from others, they will watch, listen, and then act for themselves. Thomas Jefferson believed that an education would lead men and women to the ability to be self-governed and become positive contributors to society (Mondale & Patton, 2001). Today, we can see how true this is by the examples of others. Those that are given the opportunity for education are more likely to find jobs and develop skills that not only improve a community, but influence the economic growth of their nation (Ravitch, Cortese, West, Carmichael, Andere, & Munson, 2009, p. 13). On the other hand, if an education is not provided to individuals, they can become a hindrance to that nation’s growth.
Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher that was born in Athens, Greece around 470/469 BC. He served in the Athenian army and fought in many battles. When Socrates retired from fighting in the army, he began focusing on expressing his beliefs. He wasn’t the typical “teacher” or “preacher”; he was a very critical and analytical thinker that helped guide his students and the Athenians during his time. Through his teachings and beliefs, Socrates had positive and negative influence on the people during his time and modern time. Although he is credited as one of the founders of Western Philosophy, Political Philosophy, and Ethics, his teachings was in disagreement with the teachings of the democracy of Athens, which led to him being put to death. Along with his philosophical beliefs, Socrates’ great thinking led to the creation of the Socratic Method and the Socratic Paradoxes.
In reading The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides, one is struck by the two major political education ideals described in the book: the Spartan regime, praised by the Lacedaemonian king Archidamus, and the Athenian ideal, supported by Pericles, the Athenian ruler. Socrates discusses both of these regimes in Plato’s Republic in an attempt to make a statement about what constitutes true and effective education. After close analysis, it is clear that Socrates does not support either educational ideal. Instead, Socrates rejects both regimes—the Athenian because it has no real guidance and thus cannot produce wise and just people, and the Spartan because despite all its rigidity, it still does not truly train people to be wise and just. In The Republic, it is also apparent that Socrates is giving his own idea of what real education is as opposed to the Spartan and Athenian ideals: Learning under a true moral authority.
As a youth Socrates was the pupil of Archelaus and studied scientific theories of Anaxagoras. Later in life Socrates abandoned physical studies and focused on the building of moral character. He believed that to do wrong is to damage the soul and that it is worse to do wrong than to be wronged, so you should never do wrong to right a wrong.
Socrates ,a great philosopher, is not a corruptor of the youth of Athens or atheist, but an educator and guide. He believes that truth and reasoning can only be gained through dialogue and therefore he formulates a political philosophy established on the idea of forming a city on principles of reason. He sees the search for truth as a process of examining claims. Socrates encourages his audience and leads them to follow his course of thought by asking them questions. He leads discussions with youth to help them find the distinction between justice and injustice, which can lead to a better life. Socrates is accused of corrupting the youth and not believing in the Gods of the state. However ,he is a lover of wisdom ,a seeker of truth and his essential mission is to teach. He wants only to discover what is true and good about human nature.
...teaching the youth moral values in society (Taylor 23). Socrates also had a considerable role to play as an educational midwife in society. Philosophers have used knowledge and theories developed by Socrates in the explanation of different phenomena in society. The Socratic Method is significantly used in education and philosophical derivations have been made from the Socratic teachings (Rudebusch 34). Socrates focused on the moral aspects; virtues, law, justice, friendship, courage, love and piety. These factors are considerably emphasized in philosophical education. In the modern society, there is no person who can be singled out as a true philosopher. In the present society, there are no wise people who have attained a comprehensive and systematic elaboration of life principles. Therefore, lack of principled men in society indicates the lack of true philosophers.
In the apology Socrates applied philosophical ethics saying “self knowledge is a sufficient condition to the good life. He identifies knowledge with virtue. If knowledge can be learned, so can virtue” meaning virtue can be taught. He believes that “the unexamined life is not worth living” one must
Early thought processes concerning education laid the groundwork for the modern philosophy of education, including university structures and frameworks. What our ancients have advocated is said to be the cause of every century’s success in continually gaining knowledge. But Plato and Aristotle had very different opinions when it came to the education branch of life.
Philosophy can be defined as the pursuit of wisdom or the love of knowledge. Socrates, as one of the most well-known of the early philosophers, epitomizes the idea of a pursuer of wisdom as he travels about Athens searching for the true meaning of the word. Throughout Plato’s early writings, he and Socrates search for meanings of previously undefined concepts, such as truth, wisdom, and beauty. As Socrates is often used as a mouthpiece for Plato’s ideas about the world, one cannot be sure that they had the same agenda, but it seems as though they would both agree that dialogue was the best way to go about obtaining the definitions they sought. If two people begin on common ground in a conversation, as Socrates often tries to do, they are far more likely to be able to civilly come to a conclusion about a particular topic, or at least further their original concept.
Plato (420-348 BC) has been called one of the greatest mind thinkers of all time. Plato came from a wealthy and influential family in Athens. Plato was taught by the great philosopher Socrates and Plato 's pupil was Aristotle. Plato cover a great variety of subjects such as justice, politics, leadership, and education. Plato 's ideas have been called great, however, some critics have said he 's ideals were unrealistic. This paper will look at four different authors and their critiques of Plato 's philosophy of education. Most of the authors agree with Plato 's philosophy of education, but the major criticism is Plato calls for censorship in education. The first author that this paper will talk about is Edward Power.
Once someone has a firm decision, and takes action, no one can tell them that they cannot. They also must know their limitations and understand that they do not know everything. It is okay for one to say that they do not know the answer to a specific question, but they must know that they will find the answer eventually. People should also expand their horizons by educating themselves and furthering their knowledge. He believed education increased the nothingness around us and helped solidify the things in our life that were real. He also taught people that whatever they have in their life was enough and to make the mistake of looking for happiness from some far off goal. . One of his most famous quotes is, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” This quote says a lot about his character because Socrates believed the purpose of life was personal and spiritual
Education is a vital part of society. It serves the beneficial purpose of educating our children and getting them ready to be productive adults in today's society. But, the social institution of education is not without its problems. Continual efforts to modify and improve the system need to be made, if we are to reap the highest benefits that education has to offer to our children and our society as a whole.
I think it’s important to first examine the circumstances of what was going on when Socrates stated “the unexamined life is not worth living.” To really get a sense of how critical the situation