Tina Adamou – Fikas works at the Academy of Athens.

-She received a degree in Philosophy from the University of Crete

-a Master Diploma in Cultural Management from Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences and

-a doctorate of philosophy (Ph.D.) from the University of Athens.

She is the author of the book, Ideal Societies. From Plato to Campanella, Academy of Athens, Athens, 2005.

The Mission of Education according to Plato and Confucius

Plato

The primary role of education is emphasized in Plato’s writings – the Republic, the Laws and the Statesman . Discussing education in the Laws, Plato claims that it should begin from very early on. As to whether the newborns and babies should exercise, it is highlighted that education should start from very early, even since babies are in their mothers’ wombs ¹.

According to Plato, the main goal of education is the physical, psychological and spiritual development of humans and especially the molding of their moral character. In the Laws, he mentions: « For in the case of every creature-plant or animal, tame and wild alike- it is the first shoot, if it sprouts out well, that is most effective in bringing to its proper development the essential excellence of the creature in question. Man, as we affirm, is a tame creature : none the less, while he is wont to become an animal most godlike and tame when he happens to possess a happy nature combined with right education, if

¹ PLATO, Laws, 789a: “…even earlier than that , -we shall prescribe it for those nourished inside the bodies of their mothers”.

his training be deficient or bad, he turns out the wildest of all earth’s creatures» ².

Moreover, another significant role of education is acquiring the knowledge required so that citizens would be able to join in t he universal wisdom. However, the acquisition of this knowledge should not under any circumstances sideline the acq uisition of social and other moral values.

A further important goal of education, not basic though, is providing society with individuals wh o are highly skilful and willing to work. To this end, the inclinations and skills of children should be taken seriously into consideration when choosing a profession and theoretical education should be combined with practical training. Also, it is pinpointed that education should not aim for the acquisition of money or power, because such education is unfree and does not deserve to be called education in the first place ³.

Nevertheless, the second most important goal of education for Plato is molding rightful citizens and politicians. This goal is interwoven with its other goals and mainly the ethical one, because justice and state unity are put under th reat only by the imperfections of its citizens.

The importance of education as a prerequisite for the safekeeping of unity and justice in a state is underlined by Plato in the Republic , the Statesman and the Laws. In the Statesman , Plato mentions that through education citizens are molded within the ideas of good, justice and beauty and hence, they learn to cooperate harmoniously for the common good ⁴.

In the Laws , the importance of education for the molding of rightful, just and virtuous citizens is praise d. According to Plato, the only real education is the one that has led citizens to virtue since

² Ibid, 765e-766a.

³ PLATO, Laws, 644a: “… an upbringing which aims only at money-making or physical strength or even some mental accomplishment devoid of reason and justice, it would term vulgar and illiberal and utterly unworthy of the name education”.

⁴ PLATO, Statesman, 308 e˙ 309 c.

childhood and has t aught them to govern and to be governed following the law ⁵.

For Plato, education is compulsory and is intended for all citizens without exception ⁶, because when the goods of education are reserved only for a few individuals, there is no substantial benefit for the state; whereas, on the contrary, the b enefit for the state is great when all citizens are educated ⁷. There is of course some kind of superior education which is offered only to certain people ⁸; obviously, to those that are extremely zealous and are going to undertake state positions.

Specified in all its details, the educational curriculum is common for both men and women. The men get not only the same academic and professional training as women do but the same military one, as well. This declaration of gender equality and the provision of equ al educational opportunities for both sexes is one of the most remarkable characteristics of the educational system that Plato puts forward. The selection of suitable educational means is always made taking into account i ts moral and spiritual contribution to the youngsters’ education. Thus, at first education involves gymnastics for the body and music for the soul ⁹.

Gymnastics, in other words athleticism, is beneficial for young people’s education as it contributes not only to the strength and the health of their body but to the development of their willpower and fortitude. Plato clarifies that it is not the sound body that by its excellence makes the soul good but on the contrary, i t’s the good soul

⁵ PLATO, Laws, 643e-644a: “…the education we speak of is training from childhood in goodness, which makes a man eagerly desirous of becoming a perfect citizen, understanding how both to rule and be ruled righteously. This is the special form of nurture to which, as I suppose, our present argument would confine the term “education”.

⁶ Ibid, 770 d∙ PLATO, Statesman, 308 e – 309 b˙ 311c. Cf. J. M. COOPER, Plato’s Statesman and Politics, Reason and Emotion, Princeton, Univ. Press, 1989, pp. 184-185.

⁷ PLATO, Laws, 641 b.

⁸ Ibid, 817 e – 818 a.

⁹PLATO, Laws, 795d: “The lessons may, for practical convenience, be divided under two heads-the gymnastical, which concern the body, and the musical, which aim at goodness of soul”, PLATO, Republic, 376e: “What then is our education? Or is it hard to find a better than that which long time has discovered? Which is, I suppose, gymnastics for the body and for the soul music”.

which by its virtue renders the body as good as possible ¹⁰. The other constant value of education is music. For Plato, music is a signif icant educational means, because it contributes to the moral education of youth ¹¹. The contribution of music to the cultivation of virtue is highlighted not only in the Republic ¹² but also in the Laws ¹³. In the latter, the positive or/and negative influence that music may have on the human character and ethics depending on i ts use is stressed as well as the consequences of its excessive use or complete lack . Whoever is brought up exclusively with music is in danger of becoming softy and weak- willed, whereas whoever does not get any m usical education at all is in danger of becoming cruel and savage. Thus, gymnastics and music should be combined harmoniously for the molding of the human soul ¹⁴.

The main pedagogical process continues with arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, harmony and culminates in dialectic ¹⁵. The study of these fields aims at revealing their interconnections. Nevertheless, above all is dialectic. Only through dialectic are humans able to reach the Good ¹⁶ (the idea of the good, the Agathon ) and only those that are aware of the Good and devote themselves to it will be capable of undertaking the governance of the s tate ¹⁷.

Plato introduces an educational system of different levels and tests respectively in order to detect the most worthy and competent individuals. Hence, at the age of twenty the young men who stand out are chosen depending on their eagerness to work, study and face dangers. The next stage lasts 10 years, in which they should l earn to distinguish  how  sciences  are  interconnected  and  how  they  are

¹⁰ PLATO, Republic, 403d.

¹¹ Ibid, 400 e˙ 401 e – 402 a.

¹² Ibid, 402 c˙ 404 e.

¹³ PLATO, Laws, 656 c˙ 673 a.

¹⁴ PLATO, Republic, 410d: «I have observed that the devotees of unmitigated gymnastics turn out more brutal than they should be and those of music softer than is good for them».

¹⁵ PLATO, Laws, 818c: «a man certainly would be far from becoming godlike if he were incapable of learning the nature of one and of two, and of even and odd numbers in general, and if he knew nothing at all about counting and could not count even day and night as distinct objects, and if he were ignorant of the circuit of the sun and moon and all the other stars», PLATO, Republic, 521d-534e.

¹⁶ PLATO, Republic, 536d.

¹⁷ Ibid, 517 c˙ 518 d˙ 519 c-d.

connected with the nature of the true being. At the age of thirty, among those that stand out for their const ancy in studies, warfare and other obligations, the ones that are capable of e levating themselves to the being itself without using their senses should be chosen. The chosen ones should practice in dialectic for the following five years. Those that qualify once more will be introduced to the last stage of practical education and testing for fifteen years. Then at the age of fifty, those that pass this stage successfully, are ready to be in charge of the governance of the state and to become aware of the Goo d itself and according to it, to rule their life and the l ife of the state ¹⁸.

Confucius

The crucial role of education in the molding and cultivation of citizens and politicians was emphasized by Confucius as well in the 6 ^th century BC in the East: “ There are only the wise of the highest class, and the stupid of the lowest class, who cannot be changed ” ¹⁹. He was the one to dedicate his life to the acquisition of knowledge ²⁰ and the transmission of i t to his students. Actually Confucius was the first one in China who rendered the goods of educat ion accessible to ordinary people ²¹. Before Confucius education was a privilege of just a few noblemen. It was with Confucius that everyone started acquiring equal rights in education ²² and their right to it was constrai ned only by their zeal for learning. Although Confucius was involved mainly in the education  of  the  future  rulers,  he  believed  that  i t  was  notably

¹⁸ Ibid, 537a, 537c, 537d, 539d-e και 540a-b.

¹⁹ CONFUCIUS, Analects, 17.3.

²⁰Cf. ibid, 7, 19: “The Duke of She asked Zi Lu about Confucius, and Zi Lu did not answer him. The Master said: Why did you not say to him, ‘He is simply a man, who in his eager pursuit of knowledge forgets his food, who in the joy of its attainment forgets his sorrows, and who does not perceive that old age is coming on?'”, 7.20: “The Master said: I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there” and 5.28: “The Master said: In a hamlet of ten families, there may be found one honourable and sincere as I am, but not so fond of learning”∙ 9.2: “Great indeed is the philosopher K’ung! His learning is extensive”.

²¹ Cf. F. YU-LAN, A History of Chinese Philosophy, V.I, engl. transl. D. Bodde, Princeton, Univ. Press, 1952, p. 48.

²² Cf. CONFUCIUS, Analects, 15.39: “In teaching there should be no distinction of classes”.

significant that all citizens get some basic education and learn to cooperate with each other for the common good. The most competent and virtuous among them were chosen to pursue their studies and undertake governmental positions ²³.

Thus, with Confucius a new class is established, that of the scholars (shih) ²⁴. The mission of the members of this class was to assume governmental offices after bei ng educated appropriately for this cause: “ The student, having completed his learning, should apply himself to be an officer ” ²⁵. The primary, of course, role of education is the moral edification of humans, meaning the cult ivation of virtues such as honesty, good faith, justice, politeness etc.

Similar are Confucius’ views on the power of music to urge humans towards good or evil. For Confucius music along with Ritual Propriety (li) ²⁶ constitute important elements of the ed ucation of citizens. Music brings harmony and Ritual Propriety order. For the individual music harmonizes knowledge, feelings and will and in this way, comes inner tranquility, while Rituals ensure the appropriate behavior in all circumstances. At social level, music brings peace and tranquility within society, because all humans learn to live and cooperate with one another harmoniously; while with Rites comes order upon chaos as everyone learns to obey laws and institutions.

In conclusion, according to Pl ato as well as Confucius the mission of education has two reference levels, which are, nevertheless, interdependent; the one is personal and the other one political. In other words, along with the importance of education on on e’s personal growth, i ts role in the state is also emphasized; i. e. how knowledge is transformed into action, how theory leads to practice, how each individual’s moral or spiritual abilities, which develop through education, unfold within society.  Thus, th e goal of education is to

²³ Cf. H.G.CREEL, Confucius and the Chinese Way, New York, Harper, 1960, pp. 286-289.

²⁴ Cf. A. WALEY, The Analects of Confucius, New York, Vintage Books, 1989, pp. 33-34˙ R.T.AMES and H. ROSEMONT, The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation, New York, Balantines Books, 1998, pp. 60-62.

²⁵ CONFUCIUS, Analects , 19.13.

²⁶Cf. R.T.AMES and H. ROSEMONT, op.cit., pp. 51-52.

ensure that that there are active and conscious citizens that will contribute to the common good.

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