Plato’s Educational Philosophy: Shaping a Just Society
**Plato’s Educational Philosophy**
The Role of Education in a Just Society
Plato believed that the role of education in a just society is, first, to form future leaders, teaching them the love of truth and goodness. In the domain of passions, just as the individual soul must be guided by reason, the social body must be guided by those in whom reason is primary: the philosophers. Education should also focus on the guardians or soldiers, who emphasize the irascible soul. Since the guardians are required to maintain the state, there is a danger that they may not be submissive to the dictates of the philosophers, potentially plunging the state into internal conflict.
Education for Warriors and Philosophers
Plato does not prescribe any special education for the lower class. Instead, he elaborates extensively, in both The Republic and Laws, on the education that warriors and philosophers should receive. Both groups should be excluded from handicrafts and devote themselves exclusively to preparing for the defense and governance of the city.
Early Childhood Education
Education begins in early childhood. Plato argues that fables portraying gods and heroes as being ruled by unbridled passions, killing for revenge, engaging in infidelity, or lying to gain advantage should be excluded. Poets must abide by the rules dictated by the state. Their works should portray God as essentially good, righteous, and true.
Music and Gymnastics
Both music and gymnastics are intended to educate the soul. Music provides softness, courtesy, and dignity, while gymnastics provides courage and strength. Education in music and gymnastics should be provided to both males and females. Gender equality is strongly emphasized in The Republic.
Higher Education for Future Leaders
Future leaders must engage in a wide range of sciences from their youth to determine if their spirits are capable of sustaining further study.
Arithmetic and Calculation
The first sciences that will help them move from the darkness of the mutable and sensible to the light of the intelligible are arithmetic and the science of calculation. These sciences elevate individuals to reason about numbers as they are in themselves, not as visible quantities, thus facilitating the transition from the contemplation of the senses to the eternal Ideas.
Geometry
Along with arithmetic and calculation, the science of geometry must be cultivated. Mathematicians take for granted certain notions, such as odd and even. From these notions, which do not require demonstration (axioms), they deduce conclusions. This process is supported by sensible representations of Ideas. Mathematicians use geometric figures, but they are not thinking about the figures themselves, but rather about the ideal forms they represent. They focus on the square itself, not the one they draw, seeing what can only be perceived by thought.
Astronomy
The third science that future philosophers and statesmen should study is astronomy. The beauty of the sky should be seen as a reflection of the beauty of the intelligible realm.
Dialectic
The new science of the philosopher is dialectic, in which one rises from the sensible to the intelligible, and from ideas to the supreme Idea: the Idea of the Good. At twenty, after completing the course of gymnastic exercises (three years), individuals will begin their study of science, receiving certain honors as an incentive. At thirty, those who have shown the most consistency and natural aptitude for study and war will be chosen and granted new honors, introducing them to dialectic.
Dialectic also starts with hypotheses, such as the notion of justice. However, these hypotheses are considered temporary, like trampolines or steps to ascend to the beginning of everything, a non-hypothetical principle. This ascent does not rely on anything but the ideas themselves. In this way, moving from idea to idea, one reaches the Idea of the Good, the supreme foundation of intelligibility and being in the World of Ideas.
In principle, dialectic is a bottom-up process. However, there is also a descending dialectic, a reverse process to reconstruct the series of ideas without resorting to sensory experience. This allows for the establishment of relationships and hierarchies among Ideas.
Practical Experience and Leadership
After five years devoted to dialectic, these chosen individuals will “fall back into the cave” to gain experience. There, they will be observed to see if they remain firm or wavering. Fifteen years will elapse in this way in the future life of a statesman. Those who have completed fifty years of these tests will, when their turn comes, take on the weight of authority and administration with no other purpose than the public good.