Notes on Plato's Philosophy of Education: Idealism

Historical Context (427 - 347 BC): The Golden Age has ended; Plato and other thinkers are
exploring the problem of how to create a good society that will last. Historians blame the demise of
the Golden Age on the Peloponnesian Wars and the plague. Plato blames it on the teaching of the
first professional educators, the sophists. They had come on the scene during the Golden Age and
were noted for their relativistic philosophy (traced back to Protagoras' statement, "Man is the
measure of all things.") Plato said that the relativism of the sophists undermined traditional
Athenian values and was largely responsible for the decline of Athens.

Theory of Reality: Plato had a dualistic theory of reality. He identified two separate "worlds," the
physical world and the world of ideas . The world of ideas is, he argues, more real than the
physical world. He used the allegory of the cave to explain the relationship between the two.

Theory of Knowledge: Absolute, unchanging, perfect Truth exists and is knowable through reason
and intuition. In fact, Plato says, Truth is already in one's mind (innate) waiting to be drawn out
through a dialectical process. The teacher is like a midwife of the mind, drawing out innate Truths
by asking students questions that provoke them to think.

Theory of Value: In the world of ideas there exist moral ideas; hence some values are absolute.
That is, they are not man-made, but exist independent of humankind. Our job is to discover what
the right values are and live by them. Plato believed that knowledge equals virtue, so one achieves
a virtuous life by developing his/her mind and finding Truth.

Theory of Human Nature: Humans are distinguished from other animals because they have mind.
(Note: Mind is a non-physical part of us, a rational soul. Mind is not a synonym for brain.) Mind
is our highest attribute, the part of us that is most important. The human personality has three parts:
the rational part, the spirited part (emotion, courage), and the appetitive part. All of us have all
three parts, but each of us is dominated by only one part. The part that dominates varies from
person to person, and is determined not by choice nor environment, but by inborn predisposition.
Note: this predisposition is not gender specific: that is, men and women are equal and should be
given the same political and educational opportunities.

Political implications: A good society is not one where everyone is equal, but one where each
person performs the function for which he is naturally suited. Rational people are suited to rule;
spirited people are suited to protect; appetitive people are suited to work. Plato is opposed to
democracy, because it gives the appetitive the same political power as the rational.

Aims of Education: Based upon the above philosophical views, the aims of education might be
expressed as 1) the pursuit of Truth, 2) the development of the mind, 3) the development of
character, and 4) the sorting of students into social classes based upon the predispositions of their
souls.

Curriculum: A platonic curriculum would place the highest emphasis on those studies that develop
reasoning skills and lift one's thoughts above the everyday world. Hence, platonic curricula have
tended to emphasize the humanities and mathematics. They have placed substantially less emphasis
on physical education, the natural sciences, and vocational studies, because all of these are rooted
in the physical world rather than the world of ideas.

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