From Aristotle to John Locke

(Philosophical issues in education, DePaul University, Professor Cunningham)

return to Aristotle

We can categorize Plato as an "idealist": "generally, idealists believe that ideas are the only true reality. It is not that all idealists reject matter (the material world). Rather, they hold that the material world is characterized by change, instability, and uncertainty while some ideas are enduring." (Howard Ozmon and Samuel Craver, Philosophical Foundations of Education (Merrill; 1995), p. 1)

We can categorize Aristotle and Locke as "realists": "Perhaps the most central thread of realism is what may be called the principle of thesis of independence. This thesis holds that reality, knowledge, and value exist independently of the human mind. In other words, realism rejects the idealist notion that only ideas are real. The realist asserts, as facts, that the actual sticks, stones, adn tress of the universe exist whether or not there is a human mind to perceive them" (Ozmon and Craver, p 39).

This page also contains some notes on the history of education from the ancient Greeks to the Enlightenment.

Review of Aristotle (see here for detailed notes)

politics is master science
good of politics is good of mankind
ultimate good is "that toward which all things aim"
politics aims toward "eudaimonia" as ultimate aim of life
"eudaimonia" literally translated is "living in harmony with higher/better self"
moral education has two phases: first is "moral" (habits); second is "intellectual" (practical wisdom)
first stage involves training: we become good by DOING good
second stage involves conversation, dialectic, development of moral reasoning
"practical wisdom" or phronesis is situated, dynamic, applied, as opposed to "sophia" which is theoretical wisdom
virtue consists in making good choices
to act virtuously means to have the right habits, to know what is right, and to choose right willingly
the principle of the "mean" is used to continue moral education as an adult
"all in moderation"
similar to cybernetics (control system theory)

Influence of Aristotle

Taught Alexander the Great, who established libraries throughout his empire, and included works of Aristotle's
Influenced educational ideas of Romans
After Rome's fall, when Greek literacy waned, Aristotle's works were "lost." These works were re-discovered during the Crusades around 1000 A.D.
Rediscovery of Aristotle helped re-invigorate thinking, leading to the Renaissance
Heavily influenced Jewish thought (through Maimonides, 1135/8?1204, whose Commentary on the Mishnah, sets out to explain to the layman the meaning and the purpose of the Mishnah, and whose Guide to the Perplexed related Aristotle to Jewish Theology)
Through Maimonides, influenced the medieval school of "scholasticism," which attempted to reconcile Aristotle and Christian thinking. Most prominent person: Thomas Aquinas, who wrote Summa Theologica
With Renaissance, increase in use of observation as means for studying reality.
Rise of "humanism"

Greek Education (400-250 B.C.)

    Free elementary education for all citizens
        Focused on grammar, rhetoric, and logic (later called the "trivium")
    Secondary education available at a cost
        Focused on arithmetic, music, astronomy, and geometry (later called the "quadrivium")

    Post-secondary education
        Plato's school, the "Academy," was first organized university in Western world; focused on
        drama, poetry, philosophy, mathematics, law
        Aristotle founded the "Lyceum," which expanded the curriculum to include biology,
        taxonomy, physics
        Most post-secondary education was private tutors (sophists), focused on art of rhetoric or
        so-called "virtue"

Roman Education (100 B.C.-476 AD)

    Copied Greek ideals and systems
    Upper classes educated by Greek tutors; read Greek writings
    Masses educated primarily in the home, by the father (pater familias)
    Struggle between Roman authorities and Christianity
    In 306, Constantine converts to Christianity, and it becomes a state religion
    Spread of Christianity results in increased use of Latin by churches
    Around 476, Rome "falls" to the "barbarians"

Roman Views of Virtue

Quintilian (35-95 AD): first rhetorician to set up public school and receive a state salary

Influenced by Cicero's ideals of a "good man skilled at speaking"

Quintilian defined five duties of a rhetorician:

[protecting the innocent
defending the truth
deterring crime and criminal activities
inspiring the military
inspiring the public

Wrote Institutio Oratorio, a description of the education of a rhetorician

Christian Views of Virtue

Augustine (354-430 A.D.)

born to Pagan mother and Christian father
torn by mixed allegiances
wrote "Confessions," a letter to God which detailed spiritual autobiography
developed devotion to "play" over discipline, study, or virtue
believed it was possible to rationally prove the existence of God (based on the order of the universe, which indicates a creator, and on "universal" belief in God)
believed the only possible standard of Truth would be God
Knowledge is not adequate to understand God
Love of God is most important (search for God is emotional)
Mystical experience is best "proof": when we feel the presence of a divine light within us
Believed in immortality of the soul
Soul is like the Trinity: memory, understanding, and will (father, son, holy ghost)
Soul is superior to the body
Soul identified with "reason"
Authority of church comforts us, gives us grace and salvation, guides us, gives us freedom
Sacraments of church mediate between man and God
Believed individualism was bad; church authority should be absolute and universal
wrote "City of God" which compared earthly existence to divine existence, the "city of the devil" to the City of God
The world seems dominated by the devil, but the city of God will eventually triumph, and members of the city of the devil will be punished
believed in predestination of who will be "saved" and who will be punished
Original sin comes from Adam; any sexual relations with a woman revisits that sin; moral purity for men only possible through abstinence
agreed with Plato that truth was only possible by disregarding sensory awareness and focusing on pure reason
agreed with Plato that only a few were capable of knowing highest truth only through purification by prayer and contemplation was true knowledge possible
felt "classical learning" was a trap, full of error and falsehood and overemphasizing rationality
learning must be associated with discipline: child must learn to control evil impulses to overcome original sin
Influence
church accepted Augustine's ideas almost entirely, especially his faith in the authority of the
church and hatred of heresy, the sovereignity of God, the depravity of man, and predestination (including the idea of heaven and hell as real "places")
summary: virtue is possible only by overcoming temptation and accepting God's authority in all things, and by placing faith (experience of the divine) above sensory knowledge
education subordinated to indoctrination

Education during the Early Middle Ages (600-1050 AD)

    After "fall of Rome (in 476 A. D.), organized education outside of the Church began to
    disintegrate
    (During this time, Islam, founded by Mohammed [570-632], is dominant force in Mediterranean;
    assimilated learning from all areas conquered, including Greece, India, China; reach into
    Europe…Spain, Southern France; rebuffed by Franks in 732 in Tours)
    Some post-secondary schools in law and medicine survived in Salerno, Bologna
    Masses were denied any education
    Wealthy educated through private tutors or being sent to monasteries for training for priesthood
    In monasteries, students learned Latin and Greek, and spent many hours copying manuscripts
    (mostly the bible, church history, commentaries); their primary purpose was to preserve ancient
    learning (which was considered more reliable than new ideas)
    In 800, Charlemagne, a Frank, declared himself "Holy Roman Emperor"
    This lead to realignment of church and political hierarchies
    Charlemagne saw himself as a "reformer" and visionary; he also appreciated the existent
    "classics" (mostly Roman writers such as Ovid and Cicero and some fragments of Greek
    playwrights). Also appreciated Augustine's The City of God.
    Promoted a conscious revival of classical learning, and a organized attempt to preserve secular
    ancient writings
    His advisors established a "Model School" in the palace, which resurrected the "trivium" and
    "quadrivium" (run by Alcuin, an advisor)
    Establishes "bishops schools" in all bishoprics and monasteries under his control
    invention of Carolingian miniscule, developed at abbey of Corbie. This script is characterized
    by clear, neat letters, with each word clearly separated from one another, rather than all run
    together as Merovingian script often was (see image here)
    spreads ideal of "Christian Knight" who knew Bible, classics, and ideals of chivalry/virtue
    Developed idea of the "crusades" as a way to unify Europe against a common enemy (the
    "infidel"; Islam)

Rediscovery of ancient texts; High Middle Ages (1050-1300

AD)

    Gradually, Charlemagne's model school is replicated, with trivium and quadrivium, at "Cathedral
    Schools" throughout Europe
    Once the Franks got their act together, they launched the crusades
    This included kicking the Moors (Muslim Arabs) out of Southern Spain (which took until 1492)
    During crusades the Europeans gained access to several libraries (in Spain, Byzantium,
    Jerusalem), which had copies of ancient Greek manuscripts (including Euclid, Archimedes, more
    Plato, more Aristotle)
    This lead to an intellectual renaissance as these texts were translated (under church direction and
    control)
    Translators of these texts came into demand as teachers of the contents of the texts; students
    traveled from throughout Europe to "hear" texts read by these instructors; thus were born first
    universities, and the development of scholars based at universities.

people are amazed that pagans could have such insights (especially Aristotle on Politics and Ethics, Galen and Hippocrates on Medicine)

"The translation of Aristotle's work into Latin proved particularly influential. Western men found in Aristotle's pages a reasoned, complete, and persuasive view of the entire universe whcih was, however, pagan. The task of reconciling Aristotelian doctrine with Christian truth became critical for those --a nd they were many -- who refusted willingly to surrender any part of their intellectual inheritance, whether it be the new Aristotelian Logic of the old Christian faith" (William McNeill, A World History, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press; 1971, p. 261).

The rise of universities

towns where translators work become magnet for interested intellectual from northern Europe
as potential students gather in Italian towns, they band together to protect their interests (town vs. gown split)
thus first universities are established in Salerno, Bologna, Padua
University of Paris (Sorbonne) established in 1200-1210 by imperial authorities: undergraduate plus professional schools (medicine, law, theology)
Oxford splits from Paris
Cambridge splits from Oxford

elan

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1270) was greatest of the "scholastic" philosophers who tried to reconcile the ancient writers (especially Aristotle) with the Bible

Aquinas's writings (especially Summa Theologica) represent "semi-official" church doctrinel Aristotle's login was used to uphold Christian truth; held that divine revelation imparted truth that was beyond reason

"The ultimate beatitude of man consists in the use of his highest function, which is the operation of his intellect...Hence...the blessed see the essence of God."

Education during the Late Middle Ages (1300-1500 AD)

During the period 1300-1500, two important developments combined to create the foundations of
modern education: humanism and commercialism.

Humanism

Popularization of ancient texts (Aristotle, Plato, Euclid) spread idea that human thinking did not begin with Christianity, but that humans had been thinking about the nature of the universe and about the nature of virtue since the beginning.
Peter Abelard (1079-1142), "by doubting we come to enquiry, and through enquiry to the truth"
Eventually, Erasmus (1460-1536) developed a comprehensive plan for education of the elites which stresses classic languages and texts; concerned especially with the training of teachers (wanted professionalism and empathy with students). Schooling is seen as a phase of education

Tenets of Humanism

    "Humanism never was defined formally by its adherents, and so it is possible to find it
    applied to quite a range of people. Humanism must be understood in two fundamental
    aspects: as a programme of study, and as a motivation.

    "For the former, humanism was an interest in and a study of rhetoric, literary criticism,
    grammar, philology, poetry, and history. This list is akin to what we call today the liberal
    arts. The parallel is instructive. Our term "liberal arts" does not have anything to do with a
    political position (liberal vs. conservative). Rather, "liberal" means "free." The liberal arts
    are what are studied by free people and in turn are those arts whose studies make one free.

    "For the humanists, the studia humanitatis was pre- eminently the course of study
    undertaken by free men. They came to this conclusion because this was the course of study
    followed by the ancient Romans, and the citizens of Republican Rome were the ideal of the
    free citizen. The humanists, following their hero Cicero, believed ardently that there was a
    close relationship between freedom and a citizenry educated in the liberal arts.

    "They also believed, again following Cicero and other classical writers, that public service
    was a right and duty of the educated citizen. In the days before mass communication, the
    ability to write well and to speak effectively in a public form were crucial to political
    success. Rhetoric and grammar were foundations of this. A good knowledge of the past
    was likewise important, for the humanists idolized the Romans and Greeks. They sought
    not only information about the past, but also they sought to know the past
    accurately--hence their interest in literary criticism, by which one can closely examine texts,
    both for forgeries and for inadvertent errors.

"The admiration of the past was the motivation, emulation of the past was the ideal, and
studia humanitatis was the means for achieving this." (source)

Commercialism

    "1050-1200 CE: Medieval Europe - The first agricultural revolution of Medieval Europe
    begins in 1050 CE with a shift to the northern lands for cultivation, a period of improved
    climate from 700 CE to 1200 CE in western Europe, and the widespread use and perfection
    of new farming devices, some previously discovered by the Carolingians and the Romans.
    Technological innovations include the use of the heavy plow, the three-field system of crop
    rotation, the use of mills for processing cloth, brewing beer, crushing pulp for paper
    manufacture and many other advantages that before were not available, and the widespread
    use of iron and horses. With an increase in agricultural advancements, Western towns and
    trade grow exponentially and Western Europe returns to a money economy." (source)

Humanism provided the intellectual motivation for studying non-religious topics; commercialism
provided the economic motivation. Together, they created the possibility that modern school systems
could develop.

During the period 1300-1500, two competing ideals existed: Christian holiness and "human satisfaction" (partly influenced by Aristotle's "eudaimonia"); these would never be reconciled

The Early Modern Period (1500-1750)

Protestant Reformation

In 1517, Martin Luther (1483-1546) posts 95 thesis on door of church in Wittenburg, Germany; challenges church authority
against "indulgences" in which Church sells "time off" from purgatory to those with money
Luther said reading of bible and personal experience is enough to reveal God's will; church hierarchy irrelevant: "the priesthood of all believers"
no differnence between secular and spiritual power because all belong to the "spiritual estate"
rejected sacraments (except biblical ones: baptism and eucharist)
Luther calls for public education for all, including indoctrination into Christian belief; inspiration to do good: songs, prayer; anti-classics; education is tool against the devil; a standard curriculum administered by local churches; generally conservative; denounces peasant revolts on taxes and rents
Luther translated Bible into German
Luther has desire to keep reading (inculcation) separate from writing (free thoughts, which is discouraged); eventually leads to local schools everywhere
Luther stresses "true repentance", justification by faith rather than deeds; God determines who will be saved
England breaks with pope in 1534 (Henry 8th); Church of England (Anglicanism) remains fairly catholic to this day
John Calvin, 1509-1564 (French/Swiss), establishes headquarters in Geneva in 1541 (moral dictatorship). Leads to Protestant movemnet in Scotland, Netherlands, New England; appeals to urban, commercial groups; idea of "elect" who are predestined to heaven and earthly success; stresses self-control, self-denial, shunning of physical pleasures; stresses catechistic method of learning
Puritans, in England, are protest against Anglicanism and its roman rituals and beliefs; desire for direct access to texts; forced schooling; emphasis on vernacular instead of Latin; sciences, vocational skills; leads to political battle in England, with Puritan victory for a time (Oliver Cromwell, d. 1658), followed by reinstatement of Monarchy under James II
Leads to expansion of schooling in different catechisms; spread of literacy and interest in religions doctrine
Catholic church sponsors "Counterreformation" (1645063); attempts to get back to indoctrination into Catholic beliefs; development of religious societies with educational agendas. Society of Jesus (Jesuits, founded in 1530) favor a bureaucratized system of education, dominates schooling in Spanish America and Catholic Europe. FIRST EDUCATIONAL 'SYSTEM'; hierarchically structured; flourishes by 1750 (then national states get suspicious and take it over): 13 years of school; 6 elementary, 3 on philosophy, 4 on theology.
Religious wars in Europe (including 30 years war, 1618-1648), and failure of revolution in England caused desire for strong monarchies to maintain order. This sets up opportunity for strongly controlled state systems; idea was mass-education run by state would hold societies together. (Actually, spread of education increases individualism and anti-monarchy fervor)
Religious wars also reinforced idea that there is no absolute truth, that men will disagree; idea that is was OK to disagree; disputes could be "intellectual" and not "capital" Leads to RISE OF SCIENCE.

NOTE: The following section repeats much of the foregoing. To skip to John Locke, click here.

Key events in history of Europe, 1 - 1600 A. D.

c. 1     Birth of Christ
c. 306   Christianity becomes state-favored religion
c. 476   Fall of Rome
570-632 Muhammed (of Mecca) lives
732      Islam reaches southern France
800      Charlemagne becomes Holy Roman Emporer
c. 1100 Aristotle rediscovered (with Euclid, Plato, etc.)
             This causes:
                    Italian Renaissance (art, music, literature, philosophy)
                    Humanism
                    Scientific Revolution
1054 Great Schism separates Rome from Byzantium

900-1100 Great increase in agricultural production
                      Three-field rotation system
                      Horses used instead of oxen (dev. of horseshoes)
                      Increased use of water wheels for irrigation
1100-1300 Refinement of ocean-going vessels
                      Use of money for exchange of goods
                       New Arithmetic -"zero" introduced as from India by Arabs

             This all leads to increase in COMMERCE
                      Rise of "middle class"
                      Increased importance of towns
                      New Christian doctrine to replace idea that making money
                          is a sin: three ethics: poor relief, just price, usery

1321 Death of Dante (beginning of Italian Renaissance)
1519 Death of Leonardo da Vince (end of Italian Renaissance)
1517 Martin Luther posts 95 Theses on door of church
                    in Wittenburg: anti-Catholic hierarchy, indulgences
                    proposes "priesthood of all believers"; universal
                    literacy; wants Bible translated to vernacular
1534 Henry 8th breaks with Catholic Church (--> Anglicanism)
1541 John Calvin founds church at Geneva (--> Puritanism)

             --> Protestant Reformation
             --> Counter-Reformation
             --> Religious Wars
             --> Desire to escape Europe

             Commercialism leads to development of GUILDS:
                master craftsmen, journeymen, apprentice
             Development of new areas of learning
                mathematics (accounting, geometry, navigation)
                philosophy (not just theological)
                medicine
                law
             "Guilds" develop in learned professions, same model as trades
                "master" teachers set up shop in towns
                "apprentices" congregate in tows to take classes
                students reviled by locals; band together for protection
             New "universities" are guilds: Salerno, Bologna, Padua
             In Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, teachers band together to share
                facilities

             Universities begin to have entrance examinations
                Latin, Greek, writing, arithmetic
             This drives the development of grammar schools
                Much attention to Latin
             Growing middle class means more MONEY for private schools
             Some rich people set up "colleges" as place for students to stay
                while at university
             Middle classes require new skills: numeracy, banking, law,
                languages, negotiation, "systems" thinking
             Trade schools as alternatives to universities

             Aristotle had great effect on "natural philosophy"
             Tendency to "read Aristotle" instead of "doing science"
             Aristotle's four elements: earth, air, fire, water
             Alchemy: changing anything into gold by heating, cooling
             Development of scientific apparatus (and discovery of Brandy!)

             Practical discoveries:
               spinning wheel, wheelbarrow, treadles for lathes and looms
               magnetic compass (from China), reading spectacles, water wheels
               windmills, mechanical clocks

             New philosophy of science
               Robert Grossteste (chancellor of Oxford), 1168-1253
                 first-hand observation; empirical evidence to invalidate
                  hypotheses
               Roger Bacon, 1220-1292: against acceptance of authority

             Nicholas Copernicus, d. 1543: New model of solar system
                (didn't dare publish until after he was dead)
             Galileo Galilei, 1564-1642; popularized Copernicus' theory
                challenged church authority (threatened with excommunication)
                used telescope to provide evidence: Jupiter's moons, craters
                 on Earth's moon, sun spots
             Johannes Kepler, d. 1630; new formula for planetary orbits

Inventions: telescope 1608, microscope 1590, thermometer 1654
pendulum clock 1656, barometer 1643

             Francis Bacon, 1561-1626: scientific method; notion that science
               should be center of school curriculum (experimentation);
               experience and induction as center of pegagogy

Rene Descartes, d. 1650: Doubt as pathway to certainty; "cogito"

Francis Bacon, 1561-1626; school as laboratory
"exercise" the mind; use fewer books, more experiments

             Rene Descartes, 1596-1650; "Discourse on Method"
               emphasis on creating certainty through doubt
               natural gift of reason; criteria: "clear and distinct"

John Locke (1632-1704)

key figure in "enlightenment"
physician
empiricist: knowledge through atomistic sensations, combined into ideas by thinking faculties
child is tabula rasa, or dry wall into which experiences, or sense experiences, carve ideas
attack on speculative rationalism (Descartes, Spinoza) and idea of revelation from God
practical reason as antidote to dogma
environment and experience key to education
emphasis on moral education; development of virtue; character development
anti-classics
influential in France, Enlightenment, US (Franklin)
in political exile in 1680s (not friendly with house of Stuart)
returned to England with William of Orange
while in exile, wrote letters advising a cousin and her husband, Edward Clark, on the upbringing of their son; becomes "Some Thoughts Concerning Education" (1693)
written for a specific social class and specific historical context: the Country Gentleman

Key passages in reading

p. 145: 1. A sound mind...
p. 145: 32. environmentalism
p. 145: 33. denial of desires; following reason; aslo p. 146: 38
p. 145: 34. mental discipline
p. 148: 44 compliance
p. 150: 54: how to discipline (children are rational; also p. 154: last paragraph)
p. 150: 56-58: esteem and disgrace
p. 151: 58: virtue as social approval
p. 152: 64: rules
p. 153, first full paragraph, training over and over again
p. 156: 135 virtue as most important educational goal
p. 159: last full paragraph; usefulness of learning
child as "tabula rasa"; all knowledge through experience

Notes on "environmentalism" as a philosophy of education

"environmentalism" here is NOT concern for the ecological environment; it is a focus on environment as the key educator.
opposed to "hereditarianism"
includes belief that potentialities are primarily an effect of environmental conditions, not genetic inheritance
leads to belief that human beings are "perfectible," can be made virtuous through an appropriate environment, or through the efforts of parents and educators
includes 2 correlaries:

"average child concept": the "average child" is educable, can learn almost anything given the right education, can become virtuous; that MOST children are "average" in terms of their abilities and potentials; different outcomes primarily due to different experiences
"social deprivation hypothesis": the view that children who do NOT achieve average educational outcomes, or who are not virtuous, were "deprived" by their social environment as children, and that negative outcomes can be reduced by "compensating" for deprivation through special programs, funding, methods of teaching. (Head Start is an example of a compensatory program the wisdom of which depends upon an environmentalist view of education.)

development of habits through positive/negative reinforcement
notion of each child's "natural genius" or "character"
good and evil only motivations of rational creatures
children have love of credit and apprehension of shame
reward and punishment replaced with affection (praise) and neglect
attempt to place agreeable consequences with agreeable behavior
teach habits through practice
keep rules to a minimum
observe native constitution and work with it
Also wrote An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690)
"our business here is not to know all things, but those which concern our conduct"