P Philosophical Idealism Plato and Educational Theory An ancient tradition records that above the MarkJoyal entrance to Plato’s Academy was displayed the UniversityofManitoba,Winnipeg,MB,Canada inscription,“Letnooneenterwhodoesnotknow geometry.” The earliest surviving evidence for thisinscriptionisinaworkbytheEmperorJulian Introduction (AgainstHeracliustheCynic237d),writtensome 750 years after Plato established his school, and Among ancient discussions of Greek education, there is good cause to believe that the story is philosophical idealism makes itsfirstappearance apocryphal. Nevertheless, the tradition reflects in Plato’s Republic, within his formulation of an important realities about Plato, his philosophical ideal state. Here the mathematical sciences and priorities,andhiseducationalgoalsbothintheory dialectic are presented as affording the student a (inhis writings) andinpractice (intheAcademy path to the apprehension of unmediated reality, itself). Drawing philosophical inspiration espe- which,inPlatonictheory,iseducation’ssupreme cially from his Pythagorean predecessors, Plato goal. Most subsequent discussion or activity looked to mathematical sciences (arithmetic, among Greeks and Romans which attempts to planeandsolidgeometry,astronomy,harmonics) integrate philosophical idealism either develops as providing the most compelling evidence for or responds to Plato’s thinking on this subject. intelligible, immaterial, unchanging reality – the Plato’s speculation also succeeded in finding transcendent“Forms,”whichheconsideredtobe accommodationinmorewidespreadviewsabout thestudent’shighestobjectofstudy. ancient educational curricula and in the thinking Plato describes and discusses his theory of ofsomemoderneducationists. Forms in numerous dialogues, but it is in his most famous work, the Republic, that he applies their contemplation to the system of education Synonyms which he formulates for his Utopian society. Here, in Book 7, Socrates explains at length the shapewhicheducationtakesforthe“Guardians” Dialectic; Divinization; First principle; Idealism; of this ideal society and the purpose of this edu- Mathematics; Reading order; Reality; Theory of cation(Annas1981,pp.272–293).TheGuardians forms;Wisdom havealreadycompletedtheirculturalandphysical trainingwhentheycometothestudyofnumbers, #SpringerScience+BusinessMediaSingapore2016 M.A.Peters(ed.),EncyclopediaofEducationalPhilosophyandTheory, DOI10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_1-1 2 PhilosophicalIdealismandEducationalTheory whichtheywillpursuetotheageof30.Thisstudy dialogueMeno(81e–85d).HereSocratesinterro- servesthegeneralpurposeofdevelopingtheintel- gates a young, unschooled household slave who lect and training people how to think, but much has no previous knowledge of mathematics. more importantly (in Plato’s view) it turns the Through a long series of carefully framed ques- mindawayfromourworld, theworld ofbecom- tions he leads the slave to the correct solution to ing(genesis),towardstruthandreality(ousia),the the problem of doubling the area of a square. worldofForms(525a–c).NumbersarenotForms, Socrates conducts the interrogation as one who of course, but in our world of becoming their (like the slave) does not know the answer to the study is the closest that we can come to Forms problem he has set, in other words, as an “intel- themselves (Cornford 1932, pp. 38–39). The lectual midwife” who possesses no body of orderinwhichthemathematicalsubjectsarestud- knowledge himself but is expert in bringing to iedisimportanttoo.Arithmeticpreparestheway birththeintellectualoffspringconceivedbyothers for geometry, which requires us to think in two (cf.Theaetetus150b–151c).Theinquiryisthere- and three dimensions. Astronomy comes after foreviewedasanonempirical“commonsearch.” geometry; now the student’s eyes are raised up Its success is achieved through a solution that is fromtheearthtowardstheheavens.Thecelestial basednotonvariableopinion(doxa),aboutwhich bodies, nevertheless, are material and of this people may well disagree, but on secure knowl- world. The heavenly music which they create edge(epistêmê),whichisderivedfromimmutable (originallyaPythagoreanbelief),however,brings numericaltruths.Dialectic,moreover,elevatesthe us closer to immaterial reality, and it is direct, particular geometrical solution which Socrates unmediated apprehension of reality that should coaxes from the slave to a general truth whose bethegoalofeducation. existencedoesnotrelyonthesenses. Just how can the student achieve this direct There are, then, two stages in the process by contemplationofreal,unchanginggoodness,jus- which,toPlato’sthinking,thestudentmayappre- tice,courage,andsoon?Toanswerthisquestion hendpurereality:first,thestudyofthemathemat- Plato invoked his doctrine of anamnesis, “recol- ical sciences, and then, the learning and lection,” which presupposes that the soul, in dis- application of dialectic (Cornford 1932, carnate state, has had direct apprehension and pp.173–190).Weknowfromsurvivingevidence knowledge of the Forms before a person’s birth. that the practice of dialectic – the processes of Its subsequent incarnation and contact with the collection, division, and classification – was an body cause the person in whom the soul has activitycentraltoPlato’sAcademy. been embodied to forget this knowledge, but it canbe“recollected”whenthispersonisgiventhe Aristotle right promptings, especially through skilful questioning. A problem with the doctrine of anamnesis, however, is that it explains why, not Inhisresearchandteaching,Aristotlepursuedthe how,peopleareabletogainaccesstotheForms. dialectical activity of classification with great Moreproblematicstillisthatthedoctrinerequires energy. As is well known, however, he broke proof of the soul’s immortality. Plato therefore decisivelyfromhisteacherPlatobyrejectingthe saw greater potential for explaining how the theoryofForms.UnlikePlato,hewasanempiri- study of numbers could lead to apprehension of cist, unwilling to exclude the role of perception reality in the application of dialectic (Republic andthesensesfromtheacquisitionofknowledge. 532a–535a), which Socrates calls “the capstone Aristotle observed that experience and memory of the curriculum” (534e) (Annas 1981, enable us to collect related instances of things pp.276–293). and events, and “from many notions that come The use of dialectic to accomplish this goal fromexperience,oneuniversalsuppositionabout (anditsconcomitantpotentialtoexemplifyrecol- similar things is produced” (Metaphysics lection) is demonstrated most vividly in Plato’s 981a5–7). The procedure which leads to this PhilosophicalIdealismandEducationalTheory 3 result is called induction; through its application for the preliminary stage of education, which people are able to apprehend universals which, would later acquire the name enkyklios paideia, whenanalyzed,yieldfirstprinciples.Butourdis- animportantdesignationoftentranslatedas“stan- covery of first principles depends on sense per- dardeducation.”Theformerlogoiaretheconcern ception,sodisputesmaybeexpectedtoariseover of advanced students, whose object of investiga- theauthenticityofafirstprinciple.Inthesecases, tion would be philosophia, which is concerned itisthetaskofdialectictodefend(ordisprove)its withtranscendent,theologicalprinciples. authenticity (Topics 101a25–b4). According to Aristotle, the knowledge of first principles and first causes is “clearly” sophia, i.e., “wisdom” LaterPlatonistsandEarlyChristians (Metaphysics981b25–982a3). The fact that Aristotle refused toendow these ItremainsdifficulttodeterminehowfarAristotle firstprincipleswiththeirownseparateexistenceis may have been dependent upon Plato – even if offundamentalimportanceforunderstandinghis only by reaction against him – in formulating an breakfromPlatoandtheirdisagreementoverthe educational curriculum which was designed to goalofeducation.ForPlato,apprehensionoffirst bringthestudenttothecontemplationofimmate- principles – of his Forms, in other words – is rial existence. About numerous other ancient impossible when the soul is incarnate, since it is thinkers, however, we need not be in any doubt thenincontactwiththebody,whichisimplicated (Hadot 2005, pp. 263–293). For instance, in fallible sense perceptions. For Aristotle, it is the Alexandrian (Jewish) Platonist Philo onlythroughthesenseorgansthatfirstprinciples (ca. 25 B.C.–ca. A.D. 40), best known for his canbeapprehended. commentaries on the Pentateuch, often referred Precisely where Aristotle’s thinking on ideals toenkykliospaideia,especiallythemathematical belongs in his educational activity is far from sciences,asanimportantbutpreliminarystagein clear, but the evidence of ancient commentators the curriculum, subordinate to the pursuit of onhisworks(writingmainlybetweenthesecond philosophia; hence his characterization of this and the sixth centuries A.D.) may provide some early stage as the “handmaid of wisdom” help. Some of these commentators distinguished (Intercourse with the Preliminary Subjects two kinds of Aristotelian writings, the exoterikoi 73–76). Yet just as enkyklios paideia contributes and the enkyklioi “discussions” or “arguments” to the pursuit of philosophy, so philosophy then (logoi). Just what the adjectives exoterikoi and contributestothepossessionofwisdom(sophia), enkyklioi refer to in these phrases is open to which is the knowledge of divine and human some basic disagreement. Many have believed mattersandtheircauses(79).ClementofAlexan- that exoterikoi logoi are popular works which dria(ca.150–ca.215)adoptedPhilo’sevaluation Aristotle intended for wider consumption, espe- of the relative places of enkyklios paideia, cially philosophical dialogues not unlike Plato’s, philosophia, and sophia (even quoting Philo), whereasenkyklioilogoiareworkswhichwerenot but Clement went further by defining wisdom as meant for publication but, being of a more tech- “knowing God” (Miscellanies 1.5.30.1–2). nicalnature,reflecttheteachingwhichtookplace Lactantius (ca. 240–320) characterized wisdom inhisschool.Butthereareflawsinthisargument, inasimilarwaybutdeniedthatthepathtosophia andanalternative proposalhasbeenputforward ranthroughphilosophia,since“knowingGod”is (Bos 1989, pp. 111–152): exoterikoi logoi are somethingthatallpeople–notonlyphilosophers discussions which deal with the things outside but “workmen, peasants, women, and all who (taexo)thephysicalrealm,whileenkyklioilogoi have human form” – are capable of by nature, deal with physical reality, the things within (en) andthesepeopleshouldthereforereceiveinstruc- the circle (kyklos) of the universe. These latter tion(TheDivineInstructions3.25–26). logoi, being nearer to the experience to which The opinions on education of St. Basil of people can easily relate, are the subject matter Caesarea (329/330–379) demonstratea profound 4 PhilosophicalIdealismandEducationalTheory ChristianengagementwithPlato’swritingonthe understood;fromthefifteenthcenturyonitgained subjectanddeservespecialattention.Earlyinhis enormous popularity in western Europe through essayTotheyoung,onhowtheymaybenefitfrom the Latin translation of Leonardo Bruni pagan literature (2), delivered ostensibly before (1370–1444). anaudienceofyouths,Basilmakesabasicpoint St.Augustine(354–430)similarlybelievedthat emphatically: Christiansconsiderthislifeandits theproductsofpaganlearningcouldbepresented goods to be nothing, and believe the soul to be to students in order to prepare them to acquire infinitelymorevaluablethanthebody. knowledgeof“theoneGodhimself”(OnChristian Teaching 144). The liberal arts, especially the Solongasyouareunable,becauseofyourage,to understandthedepthoftheHolyScriptures’mean- mathematical subjects, condition the student for ing, in the meantime ... we give a preliminary contemplation of higher things (On Order trainingtotheeyeofthesoul....Wemustrecog- 2.12–16). The influence of Plato, crucial in nizethatacontestissetbeforeus,thegreatestofall Augustine’s conversion to Christianity contests, to prepare for which we must do every- thingandperformeverytask,asfaraswecan,and (Confessions Bks. 7–8), is evident everywhere in we must associate with [the writings of] poets, hiswritings.LikeBasil,heappliedPlato’simageof prose-writers,orators,andallmenfromwhomwe “theeyeofthesoul”todescribetheapprehension arelikelytoderivesomebenefitforthecareofthe ofintelligiblereality(VariousQuestions46.2). soul.Justasdyersfirstpreparebycertaintreatments that which is going to receive the dye, and then apply the colour, whether it be purple or some othershade,inthesamewaywillwe,iftheglory Divinization ofthegoodisdestinedtoabidewithusasindelible, thenunderstandthesacredandmysticalteachings after we have received preliminary initiation by Philo’s goal to “know divine matters,” and the those external [i.e. pagan] means. And like those aspiration of learned Christians to “know God,” who have become accustomed to seeing the bothreflectaviewaboutphilosophythattracesits [reflected]suninwater,sowillwedirectoureyes originstoPlato’sTheaetetus,whereSocratestells tothelightitself. his interlocutor Theodorus that “we must try to The dominant theme here is that of “prepara- escapeasquicklyaspossiblefromheretothere,” tion” for apprehension of the ideal: Our study of andthatthisescapeis“assimilationtogod,asfar paganauthorshelpsustoprepareforthegreatest as possible” (176a–b). Assimilation to god, or ofallstruggles.Paganliteratureisliketheunseen “divinization,” is an ideal that was understood preparatory material that dyers use before they and sought indifferentways by differentancient apply the glorious color that is the Holy Scrip- people.EarlyChristians,forinstance,couldstrive tures; it provides a preliminary initiation, but the foritthroughlifeinthedesertorinthemonastery. Scripturesaresacredmysteries.TheScripturesare For Platonists from the third century the light itself; pagan literature is reflected light A.D. on – i.e., Plotinus and his Neoplatonist thatpreparesustolookupontherealthing.These successors – divinization was the supreme goal, imagesalltracetheiroriginbacktoPlato’sRepub- progresstowardswhichwasaffordedbythestudy lic(Döring2003):the“eyeofthesoul”whichis oftexts. raisedupthroughdialectic(533c–d),thesimileof Naturallyenough,thetextswhichtheystudied dyers and their wool (429d–e), and the progress above all were the Platonic writings – not all of fromthevisionofreflectedimagestocontempla- them but rather those that were considered most tion of the light itself (515e–516b). Basil’s usefulandrelevanttotheirgoal.Onceagreement assumptionisthatintelligible,unchangingreality wasreachedontheidentityofthesefundamental iscontainedintheScriptures,notPlato’sworldof dialogues, two further developments occurred: Forms;the“eyeofthesoul”gainsunderstanding certainscholars proposed the “correct” organiza- oftheScripturesthroughascentupapedagogical tionandreadingorderofthesePlatonicwritings, ladder.Basil’sworkwaswidelyreadandadmired andcommentariesoneachofthemwerewrittenin throughout the Middle Ages where Greek was order to facilitate their study. The surviving PhilosophicalIdealismandEducationalTheory 5 evidence for these reading orders shows a clear pp. 5–7). Yet it was central to Schleiermacher’s desire to draw students progressively to works project, too, to determine the order in which the thatdealwiththecontemplationoftranscendental dialogues were composed and should be read being,inparticulartheTimaeusandtheParmen- (Lamm 2013). The sequence which he decreed ides, which were (in that order) the final two in would find no acceptance from any Platonic mostreadinglists(Koch2013;Tarrant2014).For scholar today, but Schleiermacher’s purpose was asimilarreason,Platonistsalsoincludedsomeof apedagogicalone,andhissolutiondemonstrates Aristotle’swritingsintheircurriculum,mostnota- the same concern that much earlier thinkers had blytheCategoriesandMetaphysics. showntoraisethestudent’smindthroughdialec- tictocontemplationoftheidealwhichtrulyexists. IntheRepublic,whichisamongthelastdialogues TheLaterTradition thatSchleiermacherprescribed,thatobjectofcon- templationis“theGood.” ThroughouttheMiddleAges,arithmetic,geome- At about the same time that Schleiermacher’s try,astronomy,andharmonicspreservedtheirrole translationswerefirstappearing,JohannGottlieb as preparation for the study of philosophy and Fichte (1762–1814), follower and interpreter of theology. Boethius (ca. 480–ca. 524), who had Immanuel Kant, published the Addresses to the confidencethatthesesubjectscould leadthestu- GermanNationwhichhehaddeliveredinBerlin dent to comprehension of what really exists, in 1806 when the city was under occupation by appearstohavebeenthefirsttoapplythemedie- Napoleon. The second and third Addresses deal val title quadrivium to this set of subjects directly with education. Fichte’s idealism (TraininginArithmetic1). represented a radical development of Kant’s and For350yearsafterthereintroductionofPlato’s isunmistakableinbothoftheseAddresses,espe- worksintowesternEuropearound thebeginning ciallyinhisassertionofhumanfreedom.Obvious ofthefifteenthcentury,“Platonism”impliedespe- tooistheinfluenceofPlatonicidealism.Onlyone cially the emphases and preoccupations of the extract can be provided here, but many others, Neoplatonistsoflateantiquity.Itisunsurprising, equally illustrative, could be presented without therefore,tofindthatwhenthegreatRenaissance difficulty(Address3,29;trans.G.H.Turnbull): humanist Marsilio Ficino came to select and [Thestudent]isalinkintheeternalchainofspiri- arrange the first ten works of Plato which he tuallifeinahighersocialorder.Atrainingwhich would translate into Latin and later incorporate has undertaken to include the whole of his being into his 1484 edition (the first printed edition of shouldundoubtedlyleadhimtoaknowledgeofthis Plato’s complete works in any language), this higherorderalso.Justasitledhimtosketchoutfor himselfbyhisownactivityanimageofthatmoral selection and arrangement aimed to provide for world-orderwhichneveris,butalwaysistobe,so the ascent of the reader’s mind to the vision of mustitleadhimtocreateinthoughtbythesame God, just as the Neoplatonic sequences of late self-activityanimageofthatsupersensuousworld- orderinwhichnothingbecomes,andwhichnever antiquity had done (the Parmenides and the hasbecome,butwhichsimplyisforever;allthisin Philebus occupy the ninth and tenth places). suchawaythatheintimatelyunderstandsandper- Ficinomakesthisintentionclearinhisprefaceto ceivesthatitcouldnotbeotherwise.Underproper the 1464 collection of these ten works which he guidancehewillcompletehisattemptsatsuchan addressedtoCosimode’Medici(Toussaint2013). image,andfindattheendthatnothingreallyexists butlife,thespirituallifewhichlivesinthought,and It is a common belief that the Neoplatonic thateverythingelsedoesnotreallyexist,butonly interpretation of Plato lost its dominance as a appearstoexist. resultofthetranslationsandexegesesofthedia- Theeffectofphilosophicalidealismoneduca- loguesbyFriedrichSchleiermacher(1768–1834). tionaltheoryisapparentinother,mainlyGerman, Thisbelief isoverstated,butthere isno question thinkers of the past 250 years (especially Kant, thatthesepublications(1804–28)didmarkaturn- Hegel and Schelling). Nowhere, however, is it ing point in the study of Plato (Tigerstedt 1974, 6 PhilosophicalIdealismandEducationalTheory expressedsoforcefullyanddirectlyasitisinthese Döring,K.(2003).VomNutzenderheidnischenLiteratur works, and never during this time did it exercise f€ur eine christliche Erziehung. Die Schrift Ad such influence as it did on the development of adolescentes delegendis librisgentilium des Basilius vonCaesarea.Gymnasium,110,551–567. GermannationalismthroughFichte’sAddresses. Hadot, I. (2005). Arts libéraux et philosophie dans la pensée antique: Contribution à l’histoire de l’éducationetdelaculturedansl’Antiquité(2nded.). Cross-References Paris:Vrin. Koch, I. (2013). L’exégèse plotinienne des dialogues. In A.Balansard&I.Koch(Eds.),Lirelesdialogues,mais ▶AnOverviewofEducationalTheorists lesquelsetdansquelordre?Définitionsducorpuset ▶FriedrichSchleiermacher interprétationsdePlaton(pp.59–83).SanktAugustin: ▶HegelonMoralDevelopmentandEducation AcademiaVerlag. Lamm,J.A.(2013).Plato’sdialoguesasasingleworkof ▶IntellectualVirtuesandEducationalPractice art: Friedrich Schleiermacher’s Platons Werke. In ▶LiberalArtsEducation A. Balansard & I. Koch (Eds.), Lire les dialogues, ▶Nationalism, Curriculum, and the Making of maislesquelsetdansquelordre?Définitionsducorpus et interprétations de Platon (pp. 173–188). Sankt Citizens Augustin:AcademiaVerlag. ▶PlatoandPhilosophyofEducation Tarrant, H. (2014). Platonist curricula and their influ- ▶Socratic Dialogue: A Comparison Between ence. In P. Remes & S. Slaveva-Griffin (Eds.), The AncientandContemporaryMethod Routledge handbook of neoplatonism (pp. 15–29). ▶TheFormationofSchoolSubjects London/New York: Routledge. Tigerstedt,E.N.(1974).Thedeclineandfalloftheneo- platonicinterpretationofPlato:Anoutlineandsome observations(Commentations,HumanarumLitterarum, References vol.52).Helsinki:SocietasScientiarumFennica. Toussaint,S.(2013).DeDialogorumcongruasuccessionis serie:retoursurFicin,CosmeetPlaton.InA.Balansard Annas, J. (1981). An introduction to Plato’s Republic. &I.Koch(Eds.),Lirelesdialogues,maislesquelset Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress. dansquelordre?Définitionsducorpusetinterpréta- Bos, A. P. (1989). Cosmic and meta-cosmic theology in tionsdePlaton(pp.133–147).SanktAugustin:Aca- Aristotle’s lost dialogues. Leiden/New York/ demiaVerlag. København/Köln:Brill. Cornford,F.M.(1932).Mathematicsanddialecticinthe RepublicVI–VII.Mind,41,37–52,173–190. P Philosophical Idealism Plato and Educational Theory An ancient tradition records that above the MarkJoyal entrance to Plato’s Academy was displayed the UniversityofManitoba,Winnipeg,MB,Canada inscription,“Letnooneenterwhodoesnotknow geometry.” The earliest surviving evidence for thisinscriptionisinaworkbytheEmperorJulian Introduction (AgainstHeracliustheCynic237d),writtensome 750 years after Plato established his school, and Among ancient discussions of Greek education, there is good cause to believe that the story is philosophical idealism makes itsfirstappearance apocryphal. Nevertheless, the tradition reflects in Plato’s Republic, within his formulation of an important realities about Plato, his philosophical ideal state. Here the mathematical sciences and priorities,andhiseducationalgoalsbothintheory dialectic are presented as affording the student a (inhis writings) andinpractice (intheAcademy path to the apprehension of unmediated reality, itself). Drawing philosophical inspiration espe- which,inPlatonictheory,iseducation’ssupreme cially from his Pythagorean predecessors, Plato goal. Most subsequent discussion or activity looked to mathematical sciences (arithmetic, among Greeks and Romans which attempts to planeandsolidgeometry,astronomy,harmonics) integrate philosophical idealism either develops as providing the most compelling evidence for or responds to Plato’s thinking on this subject. intelligible, immaterial, unchanging reality – the Plato’s speculation also succeeded in finding transcendent“Forms,”whichheconsideredtobe accommodationinmorewidespreadviewsabout thestudent’shighestobjectofstudy. ancient educational curricula and in the thinking Plato describes and discusses his theory of ofsomemoderneducationists. Forms in numerous dialogues, but it is in his most famous work, the Republic, that he applies their contemplation to the system of education Synonyms which he formulates for his Utopian society. Here, in Book 7, Socrates explains at length the shapewhicheducationtakesforthe“Guardians” Dialectic; Divinization; First principle; Idealism; of this ideal society and the purpose of this edu- Mathematics; Reading order; Reality; Theory of cation(Annas1981,pp.272–293).TheGuardians forms;Wisdom havealreadycompletedtheirculturalandphysical trainingwhentheycometothestudyofnumbers, #SpringerScience+BusinessMediaSingapore2016 M.A.Peters(ed.),EncyclopediaofEducationalPhilosophyandTheory, DOI10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_1-2 2 PhilosophicalIdealismandEducationalTheory whichtheywillpursuetotheageof30.Thisstudy dialogueMeno(81e–85d).HereSocratesinterro- servesthegeneralpurposeofdevelopingtheintel- gates a young, unschooled household slave who lect and training people how to think, but much has no previous knowledge of mathematics. more importantly (in Plato’s view) it turns the Through a long series of carefully framed ques- mindawayfromourworld, theworld ofbecom- tions he leads the slave to the correct solution to ing(genesis),towardstruthandreality(ousia),the the problem of doubling the area of a square. worldofForms(525a–c).NumbersarenotForms, Socrates conducts the interrogation as one who of course, but in our world of becoming their (like the slave) does not know the answer to the study is the closest that we can come to Forms problem he has set, in other words, as an “intel- themselves (Cornford 1932, pp. 38–39). The lectual midwife” who possesses no body of orderinwhichthemathematicalsubjectsarestud- knowledge himself but is expert in bringing to iedisimportanttoo.Arithmeticpreparestheway birththeintellectualoffspringconceivedbyothers for geometry, which requires us to think in two (cf.Theaetetus150b–151c).Theinquiryisthere- and three dimensions. Astronomy comes after foreviewedasanonempirical“commonsearch.” geometry; now the student’s eyes are raised up Its success is achieved through a solution that is fromtheearthtowardstheheavens.Thecelestial basednotonvariableopinion(doxa),aboutwhich bodies, nevertheless, are material and of this people may well disagree, but on secure knowl- world. The heavenly music which they create edge(epistêmê),whichisderivedfromimmutable (originallyaPythagoreanbelief),however,brings numericaltruths.Dialectic,moreover,elevatesthe us closer to immaterial reality, and it is direct, particular geometrical solution which Socrates unmediated apprehension of reality that should coaxes from the slave to a general truth whose bethegoalofeducation. existencedoesnotrelyonthesenses. Just how can the student achieve this direct There are, then, two stages in the process by contemplationofreal,unchanginggoodness,jus- which,toPlato’sthinking,thestudentmayappre- tice,courage,andsoon?Toanswerthisquestion hendpurereality:first,thestudyofthemathemat- Plato invoked his doctrine of anamnesis, “recol- ical sciences, and then, the learning and lection,” which presupposes that the soul, in dis- application of dialectic (Cornford 1932, carnate state, has had direct apprehension and pp.173–190).Weknowfromsurvivingevidence knowledge of the Forms before a person’s birth. that the practice of dialectic – the processes of Its subsequent incarnation and contact with the collection, division, and classification – was an body cause the person in whom the soul has activitycentraltoPlato’sAcademy. been embodied to forget this knowledge, but it canbe“recollected”whenthispersonisgiventhe Aristotle right promptings, especially through skilful questioning. A problem with the doctrine of anamnesis, however, is that it explains why, not Inhisresearchandteaching,Aristotlepursuedthe how,peopleareabletogainaccesstotheForms. dialectical activity of classification with great Moreproblematicstillisthatthedoctrinerequires energy. As is well known, however, he broke proof of the soul’s immortality. Plato therefore decisivelyfromhisteacherPlatobyrejectingthe saw greater potential for explaining how the theoryofForms.UnlikePlato,hewasanempiri- study of numbers could lead to apprehension of cist, unwilling to exclude the role of perception reality in the application of dialectic (Republic andthesensesfromtheacquisitionofknowledge. 532a–535a), which Socrates calls “the capstone Aristotle observed that experience and memory of the curriculum” (534e) (Annas 1981, enable us to collect related instances of things pp.276–293). and events, and “from many notions that come The use of dialectic to accomplish this goal fromexperience,oneuniversalsuppositionabout (anditsconcomitantpotentialtoexemplifyrecol- similar things is produced” (Metaphysics lection) is demonstrated most vividly in Plato’s 981a5–7). The procedure which leads to this PhilosophicalIdealismandEducationalTheory 3 result is called induction; through its application for the preliminary stage of education, which people are able to apprehend universals which, would later acquire the name enkyklios paideia, whenanalyzed,yieldfirstprinciples.Butourdis- animportantdesignationoftentranslatedas“stan- covery of first principles depends on sense per- dardeducation.”Theformerlogoiaretheconcern ception,sodisputesmaybeexpectedtoariseover of advanced students, whose object of investiga- theauthenticityofafirstprinciple.Inthesecases, tion would be philosophia, which is concerned itisthetaskofdialectictodefend(ordisprove)its withtranscendent,theologicalprinciples. authenticity (Topics 101a25–b4). According to Aristotle, the knowledge of first principles and first causes is “clearly” sophia, i.e., “wisdom” LaterPlatonistsandEarlyChristians (Metaphysics981b25–982a3). The fact that Aristotle refused toendow these ItremainsdifficulttodeterminehowfarAristotle firstprincipleswiththeirownseparateexistenceis may have been dependent upon Plato – even if offundamentalimportanceforunderstandinghis only by reaction against him – in formulating an breakfromPlatoandtheirdisagreementoverthe educational curriculum which was designed to goalofeducation.ForPlato,apprehensionoffirst bringthestudenttothecontemplationofimmate- principles – of his Forms, in other words – is rial existence. About numerous other ancient impossible when the soul is incarnate, since it is thinkers, however, we need not be in any doubt thenincontactwiththebody,whichisimplicated (Hadot 2005, pp. 263–293). For instance, in fallible sense perceptions. For Aristotle, it is the Alexandrian (Jewish) Platonist Philo onlythroughthesenseorgansthatfirstprinciples (ca. 25 B.C.–ca. A.D. 40), best known for his canbeapprehended. commentaries on the Pentateuch, often referred Precisely where Aristotle’s thinking on ideals toenkykliospaideia,especiallythemathematical belongs in his educational activity is far from sciences,asanimportantbutpreliminarystagein clear, but the evidence of ancient commentators the curriculum, subordinate to the pursuit of onhisworks(writingmainlybetweenthesecond philosophia; hence his characterization of this and the sixth centuries A.D.) may provide some early stage as the “handmaid of wisdom” help. Some of these commentators distinguished (Intercourse with the Preliminary Subjects two kinds of Aristotelian writings, the exoterikoi 73–76). Yet just as enkyklios paideia contributes and the enkyklioi “discussions” or “arguments” to the pursuit of philosophy, so philosophy then (logoi). Just what the adjectives exoterikoi and contributestothepossessionofwisdom(sophia), enkyklioi refer to in these phrases is open to which is the knowledge of divine and human some basic disagreement. Many have believed mattersandtheircauses(79).ClementofAlexan- that exoterikoi logoi are popular works which dria(ca.150–ca.215)adoptedPhilo’sevaluation Aristotle intended for wider consumption, espe- of the relative places of enkyklios paideia, cially philosophical dialogues not unlike Plato’s, philosophia, and sophia (even quoting Philo), whereasenkyklioilogoiareworkswhichwerenot but Clement went further by defining wisdom as meant for publication but, being of a more tech- “knowing God” (Miscellanies 1.5.30.1–2). nicalnature,reflecttheteachingwhichtookplace Lactantius (ca. 240–320) characterized wisdom inhisschool.Butthereareflawsinthisargument, inasimilarwaybutdeniedthatthepathtosophia andanalternative proposalhasbeenputforward ranthroughphilosophia,since“knowingGod”is (Bos 1989, pp. 111–152): exoterikoi logoi are somethingthatallpeople–notonlyphilosophers discussions which deal with the things outside but “workmen, peasants, women, and all who (taexo)thephysicalrealm,whileenkyklioilogoi have human form” – are capable of by nature, deal with physical reality, the things within (en) andthesepeopleshouldthereforereceiveinstruc- the circle (kyklos) of the universe. These latter tion(TheDivineInstructions3.25–26). logoi, being nearer to the experience to which The opinions on education of St. Basil of people can easily relate, are the subject matter Caesarea (329/330–379) demonstratea profound 4 PhilosophicalIdealismandEducationalTheory ChristianengagementwithPlato’swritingonthe understood;fromthefifteenthcenturyonitgained subjectanddeservespecialattention.Earlyinhis enormous popularity in western Europe through essayTotheyoung,onhowtheymaybenefitfrom the Latin translation of Leonardo Bruni pagan literature (2), delivered ostensibly before (1370–1444). anaudienceofyouths,Basilmakesabasicpoint St.Augustine(354–430)similarlybelievedthat emphatically: Christiansconsiderthislifeandits theproductsofpaganlearningcouldbepresented goods to be nothing, and believe the soul to be to students in order to prepare them to acquire infinitelymorevaluablethanthebody. knowledgeof“theoneGodhimself”(OnChristian Teaching 144). The liberal arts, especially the Solongasyouareunable,becauseofyourage,to understandthedepthoftheHolyScriptures’mean- mathematical subjects, condition the student for ing, in the meantime ... we give a preliminary contemplation of higher things (On Order trainingtotheeyeofthesoul....Wemustrecog- 2.12–16). The influence of Plato, crucial in nizethatacontestissetbeforeus,thegreatestofall Augustine’s conversion to Christianity contests, to prepare for which we must do every- thingandperformeverytask,asfaraswecan,and (Confessions Bks. 7–8), is evident everywhere in we must associate with [the writings of] poets, hiswritings.LikeBasil,heappliedPlato’simageof prose-writers,orators,andallmenfromwhomwe “theeyeofthesoul”todescribetheapprehension arelikelytoderivesomebenefitforthecareofthe ofintelligiblereality(VariousQuestions46.2). soul.Justasdyersfirstpreparebycertaintreatments that which is going to receive the dye, and then apply the colour, whether it be purple or some othershade,inthesamewaywillwe,iftheglory Divinization ofthegoodisdestinedtoabidewithusasindelible, thenunderstandthesacredandmysticalteachings after we have received preliminary initiation by Philo’s goal to “know divine matters,” and the those external [i.e. pagan] means. And like those aspiration of learned Christians to “know God,” who have become accustomed to seeing the bothreflectaviewaboutphilosophythattracesits [reflected]suninwater,sowillwedirectoureyes originstoPlato’sTheaetetus,whereSocratestells tothelightitself. his interlocutor Theodorus that “we must try to The dominant theme here is that of “prepara- escapeasquicklyaspossiblefromheretothere,” tion” for apprehension of the ideal: Our study of andthatthisescapeis“assimilationtogod,asfar paganauthorshelpsustoprepareforthegreatest as possible” (176a–b). Assimilation to god, or ofallstruggles.Paganliteratureisliketheunseen “divinization,” is an ideal that was understood preparatory material that dyers use before they and sought indifferentways by differentancient apply the glorious color that is the Holy Scrip- people.EarlyChristians,forinstance,couldstrive tures; it provides a preliminary initiation, but the foritthroughlifeinthedesertorinthemonastery. Scripturesaresacredmysteries.TheScripturesare For Platonists from the third century the light itself; pagan literature is reflected light A.D. on – i.e., Plotinus and his Neoplatonist thatpreparesustolookupontherealthing.These successors – divinization was the supreme goal, imagesalltracetheiroriginbacktoPlato’sRepub- progresstowardswhichwasaffordedbythestudy lic(Döring2003):the“eyeofthesoul”whichis oftexts. raisedupthroughdialectic(533c–d),thesimileof Naturallyenough,thetextswhichtheystudied dyers and their wool (429d–e), and the progress above all were the Platonic writings – not all of fromthevisionofreflectedimagestocontempla- them but rather those that were considered most tion of the light itself (515e–516b). Basil’s usefulandrelevanttotheirgoal.Onceagreement assumptionisthatintelligible,unchangingreality wasreachedontheidentityofthesefundamental iscontainedintheScriptures,notPlato’sworldof dialogues, two further developments occurred: Forms;the“eyeofthesoul”gainsunderstanding certainscholars proposed the “correct” organiza- oftheScripturesthroughascentupapedagogical tionandreadingorderofthesePlatonicwritings, ladder.Basil’sworkwaswidelyreadandadmired andcommentariesoneachofthemwerewrittenin throughout the Middle Ages where Greek was order to facilitate their study. The surviving