Like
a chocolate-enthusiast studying the genius of a Reese’s Peanut butter cup, or a
junkie studying the sinister allure of the speedball[1], scholars
have examined the relationship between education and politics throughout the
centuries. Largely an issue of how to educate a citizenry that is respectful
and conducive to society, those with political might and power deliberate on
the desirable means of education. Such wasn’t always the case. Education (and
its burden) was once concentrated within the family: parents shared the
responsibility of educating their offspring. As civilizations developed,
politics came into fruition, and individual liberties were greatly reduced in
favor of a larger, cooperative society. It became evident that the traditional,
family-oriented education system was not ideal for the development of society;
more structured systems of education were necessary.
So
what is to be done? How is the state supposed to foster and sustain education? Plato,
the first to fully formalize an entire educational system driven by the sate,
is arguably the most influential figure when discussing the politics of
education. This essay discusses how Plato uses Socrates and The Republic to propose a systematic
form of education controlled by an autocratic state. Regulated from pre-birth
to death, the rigid model heavily relies on absolute planning, execution, and
oversight from the state in order to effectively lead citizens towards virtuous
and enlightened lives (that being the ultimate goal of education for Plato). A
strict curriculum, exhaustive censorship, and the perpetuation of propaganda
are integral features to Plato’s model and necessary for the sustainability of
the ideal state.
To
effectively grasp the context and reasoning surrounding Plato’s model for
education, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of Plato’s emphasis on
the importance of virtues. Plato outlines four virtues—wisdom, courage,
moderation, and justice—whose influence dictates his educational model. The
ultimate goal of education for Plato is to fashion citizens who encompass these
four virtues seamlessly, in turn leading to a virtuous society and ideal state.
But how does Plato arrive at this conclusion? Why? Socrates initiates the discussion by asking
“What is justice?”. If justice is attainable—at the individual level and more
importantly, the societal level—then it becomes necessary to ask what it is
that would support such a just republic. What virtues support a just republic
and how do we teach them? These questions
provide the foundation for Plato’s educational system, giving it legitimacy and
purpose.
The
four virtues are first—formally and comprehensively—discussed in Book Four of The Republic. Wisdom, courage,
moderation, and justice are concluded to be the most crucial for securing a
just republic; those who embody Plato’s four virtues lead to the ideal state.
Wisdom—the ability to see clarity in all things and discern right from
wrong—provides an intellectually sound relationship for citizens, in which
rationale and understanding lead to a more fulfilled cooperation. Courage—the
ability to put your life on the line fighting and defending your state and its
ideals—fashions citizens who are loyal and determined to the longevity of the
state. Moderation—having an understanding of your determined place[2]
and adhering to such an understanding—ensures a citizenry that is disciplined
and works together. Finally, justice—of which only the nature is understood—imposes a defined system of regulation within
society, allowing for stability and civility. It is important to note that all
four virtues largely revolve around the relationship between people and their society,
i.e. they are political in nature. By ascribing attainment and fulfillment of
these virtues to the ultimate goal of education, Plato renders education
political: education only serves for political ends, ensuring cooperation
within society. Understanding the virtues as the end-goals of education allows
for a greater understanding and depth of the prominent features in Plato’s
education model.
The
state is the sole planner for the education model to be implemented in society.
By wielding absolute power, the state formulates a strict curriculum revolved
around both physical and musical[3] education.
Such a curriculum ensures an ideal balance between the physical and mental
state, in which students embody the four important virtues. It isn’t until Book
Three of The Republic that a clear
idea of Plato’s intended curriculum begins to take hold. Here, Socrates makes
the claim that the only necessary types of education are “physical” and
“musical”… striking the right balance between the two types is both ideal and
necessary for producing virtuous citizens. Simply put, physical education
nourishes the body, while musical education nourishes the mind. Through
physical education, citizens are taught discipline and essential militaristic
skill, ensuring the safety and protection of the state. This is where courage
(along with moderation) as a virtue is most trained. From a young age, children
engage in sports, gymnastics, and other forms of physical activity, harnessing
their acrobatic skill and might. Physical education precedes musical education,
largely a consequence of little development in the rational mind in young
children. Once children reach an age that allows them to productively employ
their faculties towards rational ends, musical education is introduced,
ultimately allowing for training in the virtues of wisdom and justice. Through
musical education, citizens are taught the nature of life. A combination of
[manipulated] tales[4],
mathematics, and philosophy guide the curriculum allowing for the concepts of
justice, reason, and understanding to be tacit. Strict guidelines for in-depth
musical education exist: at the age of 20, students who thus far have exhibited
a strong physical and mental presence, are chosen as part of an ‘elite’ group to
study mathematics. 10 years later, at the age of 30, the best mathematics
students are chosen to study philosophy. From ages 35-50, the advanced group is
required to perform public service, effectively employing their lifelong
education towards productive ends. This requirement is exemplary of various throughout
the curriculum, where students are required to prove their worth in order to
advance in their (at this point, musical) education. Remember, Plato’s
education model is geared towards a virtuous citizenry; tests are necessary and
efficient at ensuring the ultimate goal’s realization. This fits nicely with
his theory of specialization[5],
emphasizing that people are to do according to their ability and requirement,
in turn, reinforcing moderation as a virtue. Through and through, emphasis on
physical and musical education, as well as strict adherence to the curriculum,
produces virtuous citizens for a virtuous society.
In
addition to being the sole planner for Plato’s educational model, the state is
the sole executor. Through comprehensive censorship—one of the largest
necessary factors for effective execution of the model[6]—the
state ensures manifestation of the educational model, allowing for proper
execution of the planned curriculum. For Plato, anything that is taught outside
of the explicit curriculum put forth by the state (aka his own) is detrimental
to his vision of a virtuous society. Book Ten offers readers the clearest view
of this notion, with Plato using Socrates to deride poetry, tales, and
epics—particularly that in the Homeric tradition. Socrates outlines how these
tales are misleading to young children with little-to-no rationale: “A young
thing can’t judge what is hidden sense and what is not; but what he takes into
his opinions at that age has a
tendency to become hard to eradicate and unchangeable”. According to Socrates,
education based on traditional poetry[7],
is flawed for three reasons: poets are imposters who pretend to know all sorts
of things when they know nothing (the images and stories they paint are so far
removed from reality that they can’t possibly be taken seriously); second,
poets only emphasize the negative qualities of humans, which while could be
argued to act as a cautionary tale, only serves to provide justification for
the wrongdoings of people in that they point to examples of revered characters
exhibiting the same negative qualities/wrongdoings; finally, poetry corrupts the
reader’s soul, making even the most educated sympathetic for people that are
generally not virtuous… examples of which are given throughout Book Ten. What ultimately
results is a showdown between education that is founded on philosophy versus
that of poetry. Poetry evidently fails to produce virtuous citizens, and so
education derived through philosophy and a curriculum imposed by the state and only the state is necessary. Censorship
is vital.
The
heavy censorship implemented during the necessary step between planning and
execution of Plato’s educational model only allows for the state to introduce
and impose its model; it is not sufficient enough to ensure the model’s
sustainability over time. The state, therefore, turns to proliferating its set
of ideals, effectively creating propaganda. The continued perpetuation of
propaganda throughout society is essential to the state’s oversight of the
educational model. It should already be evident that the state has absolute
control over every aspect of education. They leave nothing to chance, in that
every possible thing that could
inspire alternative thought is eliminated. Largely, this is in the form of
censoring poetry. However, Plato isn’t ignorant to the importance of
imagination, nor the power of poetry, tales, and epics in and of themselves. He
recognizes its merits and understands that a diversity of opinion only strengthens
the [rational] mind. To compensate for the state’s mass censorship, Plato
suggests the creation of new poems,
tales, and epics… ones that would manipulate student’s minds and imaginations
in the state’s interests. Plato ultimately invents propaganda. The goal is to
create tales that are direct in nature; they don’t make it hard for children to
discern right from wrong, and the importance of Plato’s four virtues are
vigorously emphasized. In Book Three, Socrates outlines an example of how this
can be achieved. Say, the state wants to ensure that people understand that solely the philosopher-kings
are forever to remain the rulers of society. It would then be in the interest
of the state to create a tale, a myth, that would manipulate citizens into thinking
so. Socrates offers a potential myth, often coined as “The Myth of the Metals”.
In it, the original peoples were born from the natural earth, in turn ensuring
dedication and servitude to that place on Earth, just as they would to parents.
Additionally, different citizens have different metals within them according to
their ability: rulers have gold, auxiliaries have silver, and producers have
bronze. An oracle states that only those
with gold within them may rule, or else their society will be devastated. While
unlikely, it is possible for people
to produce offspring with different metals than theirs, therefore justifying
the state’s monitoring of the children throughout their development. The state
would hate to miss on a potential philosopher-king simply because their parents weren’t fit. Ultimately, the
myth proves how the state will never fail to ensure that only those fit to rule
will remain rulers. Seeing the powerful effect that such a myth would have on
society and Plato’s ultimate end-goal for education is crucial to understanding
the importance of propaganda and its sustaining of the state’s ideals.
The
amount of time and space invested on Plato’s educational model in The Republic may be surprising to most.
The parameters of this essay unfortunately restrict the freedom to truly dive
deeply into the text to uncover all things related to his model, however it is
highly encouraged to read The Republic
itself, along with other sources. Outside of a deeper understanding of the
features discussed above, reading the text will provide for a greater
appreciation of the influence that Plato and his model exert over the
relationship between politics and education. Recurring themes from The Republic have been and remain
evident in different respects throughout the world. Plato heavily influenced
contemporary philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau in his own influential
educational treatise, titled Emile.
In the literary world, George Orwell—in his tour-de-force novel, 1984—essentially created a world where
Plato’s educational model is heavily borrowed from, if not mimicked. And even
today, the effects are all around us…at the very least prominent in constitutional
democracies/forms of government. These governments have adapted to the notions
of free, compulsory, state regulated systems of education, also known as the
“public school”. These are but a few examples of the weighted importance of The Republic and its deliberations on
education.
[1] A combination of cocaine and heroin injected directly into
the bloodstream.
[2] Plato notes earlier in The
Republic, that an ideal society has its citizens divided into 3 classes:
the producers (farmers, artisans,
etc), the auxiliaries (warriors,
defenders), and the guardians (rulers,
those in charge)
[3] “Music” being used loosely to encompass all forms of
education that are essential to the mind.
[4] These tales are to be taught at a young age. They are
manipulated in that they are censored and fashioned as propaganda for the state
(to be discussed later in the essay). The goal of these tales is to highlight
the four virtues, teaching the students the positives of human characteristics.
[5] Outlined earlier in The
Republic and exemplified in the 3 ideal class systems
[6] Comprehensive censorship provides the education model with
a homogenous, untainted foundation for knowledge, in which anything that is
even remotely outside of that foundation is completely eliminated. This allows
the state to start with a clean slate, adding anything that they deem necessary
to the curriculum. This paragraph will focus on the censorship of arts and
poetry.
[7] Which, keep in mind, was
the education for the Greeks at the time.
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