Parte 2, Le education

(Languages of this post: Interlingua, English)

(3) Le education e Socrates, Platone, e Aristoteles

(3a) Socrates

Socrates, ben que ille non esseva de accordo con le detalios del theorias pedagogic del sophistas, possedeva in commun con illes multe partes de lor philosophia. Ille insisteva que le education debe producer citatanos virtuose e gente felice.

Durante que le sophistas incoragiava lor studentes a esser individualistas egoistic (in isto illes appoiava un ethos social simile a illo de multe americanos), Socrates dava plus importantia al ben-esser del gruppo. Ille inseniava que le factor le plus importante pro le education de un homine esseva un systema de cognoscimento virtuose disveloppate gradualmente per questiones e responsas.

Con iste conviction Socrates comenciava a defiar le declarationes e le convictiones de omnes que ille ingagiava in le conversation. Ille monstrava que multe convictiones conventional esseva superficial e false, como illos de multe americanos convincite que illes ha un mission special pro portar le democratia e le felicitate a omne le mundo, mesmo si illes debe torturar e occider multes in le processo.

Durante que Socrates continuava su conversationes, ille examinava le themas de su discussiones plus profundemente usque ille discoperiva lo que, secundo ille, esseva lor veritate essential. Su methodo de instruction se cognosce como le dialectica, que simplemente significa un systema de questiones e responsas in le quales ille, como le sophistas, poteva establir le "veritate" per un serie de trappas rhetoric.

Le studentes de Socrates, naturalmente, admirava su talentos rhetoric e comenciava a rebellar se contra le autoritates politic e social de Athenas. A causa de iste circumstantia, le autoritates eventualmente le assassinava. Tristemente, ille cooperava con su assassination e refusava diverse opportunitates a escappar de Athenas e establir un nove schola alibi.

Plus tarde le gente de Athenas accusava Aristoteles de impietate. Ma ille non voleva sacrificar se al injustitias del citate e escappava a un sanctuario, ubi un pauco postea ille moriva al etate de 62 (sexanta e duo) annos.

(3b) Platone

Como in le societate create per le novelista Aldous Huxley in "Brave New World", Platone credeva que il habeva differentias grandissime inter le diverse gruppos de homines, e ille establiva un systema de education que divideva le humanitate a in tres classes. Durante le prime 18 (dece e octo) annos del vita de un puero, ille apprendeva a leger e a scriber, a jocar in spectaculos, e a participar in multe activities athletic differente.

Al etate de 18 (dece e octo) annos, le pueros qui monstrava talento continuava lor education, durante que le alteres deveniva carpinteros, ceramistas, muratores con briccas, e commerciantes. Le pueros con talento recipeva duo annos extra de instruction.

Al etate de 20 (vinti) annos, illes qui non monstrava assatis talento pro continuar lor education deveniva soldatos.

Le alteres continuava lor education, studiante le philosophia, le mathematica, le musica, le scientia, e altere themas cultural. Eventualmente illes se integrava a in le classe regente del societate.

Pro Platone, le education esseva un systema pro appoiar le necessitates del stato, e ille credeva que si un stato adoptava su proprie systema de education, le producto final esserea un societate ideal in le qual omnes travaliarea felicemente in le occupationes que esserea le plus convenibile pro illes.

(3c) Aristoteles

Aristoteles, como Socrates, insisteva que le scopo del education debe esser producer personas virtuose. (Omne le philosophos grec voleva producer personas virtuose, ma illes non esseva de accordo sur le characteristicas de personas virtuose o le natura exacte del virtute. Simile disputas sur altere themas domina le philosophia e nunquam termina.)

Pro ille, durante le periodo desde le nascimento usque le etate de septe annos, le education debeva esser un kindergarten prolongate dedicate al exercitio del corpore pro preparar un puero pro su education formal.

Un secunde periodo, desde le etate de septe usque 11 (dece un) annos, se dedicarea principalmente al litteratura, musica, e gymnastica.

Como Platone, Aristoteles credeva que le education debeva esser controlate per le stato. Ille anque permitterea que le stato occideva infantes deformate. Pro ille, il anque esseva importante que le stato controllava qui poterea maritar se e con qui, de maniera que illo poterea assecurar se de prole que poterea defender lo efficacemente e meliorar lo.

Aristoteles es admirabile pro haber anticipate le methodos moderne del scientias. De su studios de animales ille anticipava le travalio de Charles Darwin e notava un fluxo evolutionari in le mundo natural, ben que su biologia esseva miscite con superstitiones vitalistic. Ille credeva in un serie de reificationes vacue, como le principio vital, instinctive in plantas e animales, le qual deveniva le anima in le animales human, qui pro ille occupava un position specialmente importante in le natura.

Con discoperimentos recente in le astronomia e le biologia, e etiam plus recentemente in le neurologia e le microbiologia, nos ha discoperite que le characteristicas neurologic del homine es forsan un pauco plus complicate que illos del altere simias e le altere hominides, ma nos es solmente un epiphenomeno in le natura que possibilemente devenira extincte como multe altere formas de vita usque nunc, lassante un numero parvissime de tracias documentante nostre vitas sur iste planeta in le milliones de annos post nostre extinction in un processo que duplicarea le sorte del altere hominides.

Como scientistas contemporanee, ille non credeva que su cognoscimentos esseva final. Ille sapeva que investigationes ulterior poterea confirmar o negar le discoperimentos que ille e su studentes habeva facite.

Le theorias pedagogic de Platone e Aristoteles non habeva multe influentia sur su contemporaneos grec. Le philosophia del sophistas que le education debeva esser pro le formation del individuo esseva le plus dominante in lor theoria del education.

Ben que le populo de Athenas credeva que ascoltar lor philosophos esseva un diversion excellente, illes insisteva que illes non habeva le derecto de controlar le education e prefereva un systema de education que assecurarea lor successo economic e civic e lor felicitate personal. Illes esseva como le americanos qui aspira a matricular se in le Harvard Business School pro attinger un M.B.A.

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Education and Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

(3a) Socrates

Socrates, though he did not agree with the details of the teaching theories of the sophists, shared with them many parts of their philosophy. He insisted that education should produce virtuous citizens and happy people.

While the sophists encouraged their students to be selfish individualists (in this they supported a social ethos similar to to the the one of many Americans), Socrates gave greater importance to the welfare of the group. He taught that the most important factor for the education of a man was a system of virtuous knowledge gradually developed by questions and answers.

With this conviction Socrates started to defy the statements and convictions of everyone he engaged in conversation. He showed that many conventional convictions were superficial and false, like the ones of many Americans convinced that they have a special mission for bringing democracy and happiness to the entire world, even if they have to torture and kill a lot of people in the process.

As Socrates continued his conversation, he examined the subjects of his discussions more deeply until he discovered what, according to him, were their essential truth. His method of instruction goes by the name of dialectic, which simply means a system of questions and answers in which he, like the sophists, could establish the "truth" through a series of rhetorical traps.

Socrates' students, naturally, admired his rhetorical talents and started to rebel against the social and political authorities of Athens. Because of this circumstance, the authorities eventually killed him. Sadly, he cooperated with his assassination and refused several opportunities to escape from Athens and establish a new school somewhere else.

Later on the people of Athens accused Aristotle of impiety. But he did not want to sacrifice himself to the injustices of the city and escaped to a place of safety, where he died soon afterward at the age of sixty-two.

(3b) Plato

As in the society created by the novelist Aldous Huxley in "Brave New World," Plato believed that there were very great differences between different groups of men, and he established a system of education that divided humanity into three classes. During the first eighteen years of a boy's life, he learned to read and write, to act in plays, and to participate in many different athletic activities.

At the age of eighteen, the boys who showed talent continued their education, while the others became carpenters, ceramists, bricklayers, and merchants. The boys with talent received two extra years of instruction.

At the age of twenty, the ones who did not show enough talent to continue their education became soldiers.

The others continued their education, studying philosophy, mathematics, music, science, and other cultural subjects. Eventually they became integrated into the ruling class of society.

For Plato, education was a system for supporting the needs of the state, and he believed that if a state adopted his own system of education, the final product would be an ideal society in which everyone would work happily in the occupations that would be most suited to them.

(3c) Aristotle

Aristotle, like Socrates, insisted that the goal of education should be to produce virtuous people. (All the Greek philosophers wanted to produce virtuous people, but they did agree on the characteristics of virtuous people or the exact nature of virtue. Similar disputes on other subjects dominate philosophy and never end.)

For him the period between birth up to the age of seven years should be a prolonged kindergarten dedicated to the exercise of the body to prepare a boy for his formal education.

A second period, from the age of seven up to eleven years, should be dedicated principally to literature, music, and gymnastics.

Like Plato, Aristotle believed that education should be controlled by the state. He also would allow the state to kill deformed infants. For him, it would also be important for the state to control who could get married with whom so that it could assure itself of offspring who could defend it efficiently and improve it.

Aristotle is admirable for having anticipated the modern methods of the sciences. From his studies of animals he anticipated the work of Charles Darwin and noted an evolutionary flow in the natural world, though his biology was mixed with vitalistic superstitions. He believed in a series of vacuous reifications, such as the vital principal, instinctive in plants and animals, which became the soul in human animals, who for him occupied an especially important place in nature.

With recent discoveries in astronomy and biology, and even more recently neurology and microbiology, we have discovered that the neurological characteristics of man are perhaps a bit more complicated those of other simians and other hominids, but we are only an epiphenomenon in nature that will possibly become extinct like many other forms of life up to now, leaving a very small number of traces documenting our lives on this planet in a process that would duplicate the fate of the other hominids.

Like contemporary scientists, he did not believe that his knowledge was final. He knew that further investigations could confirm or deny the discoveries that his students had made.

The teaching theories of Plato and Aristotle did not have much influence on his Greek contemporaries. The philosophy of the sophists that education should be for the development of the individual was the most dominant one in their educational theory.

Though the population of Athens believed that listening to their philosophers was a lot of fun, they insisted that they did not have the right to control education and preferred a system of education that would assure their economic and civic success and their personal happiness. They were like the Americans who aspire to matriculate into the Harvard Business School to graduate with an M.B.A.