Aristotle (384-322 BCE)
Another ancient education innovator, Aristotle, embraced the Greek version of liberal arts curriculum and emphasized natural sciences, biology, botany, physiology, and zoology. He studied with Plato for 20 years at the Academy and eventually joined him and Socrates in Western education history. Aristotle was able to take Plato’s philosophical and educational ideas as a jumping off point changing them throughout his life to become his own personal philosophy. Whereas Plato believed truth was found within the mind, Aristotle looked to the world outside the mind to find evidence of what was true.
Born in 384 BCE in Stageira, Chalcidice, Greece, Aristotle served as a tutor to Alexander the Great for seven years and eventually established a school in Athens known as the Lyceum. Aristotle believed the purpose of school was to develop and exercise students’ potential for reasoning, form ethical character, and provide a skill and knowledge base. He thought the purpose of schooling was to develop dispositions and habits that exercise reason and forming a human’s ethos. Schools were to prepare future citizens with more functional knowledge needed to conduct their political, social, and economic affairs.
His lifelong fascination with science and medicine is reflected in his philosophy of education with one of his biggest philosophies being his definition of humans as rational animals. As a founder of Western science, he pioneered categorization of objects and was the founder of natural realism. He can be seen as a forerunner of the modern university professor who believes research and teaching are inseparable. His writings span a wide range of disciplines including logic, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, ethics, political theory, aesthetics, and rhetoric. They even delve into such primarily non-philosophical fields as empirical biology where he excelled at detailed plant and animal observation and taxonomy. In all these areas, Aristotle's theories have provided illumination, met with resistance, sparked debate, and generally stimulated the sustained interest of an abiding readership.
Like Plato, Aristotle recognized the importance of early childhood as a formative period of human development. He divided schooling into three stages: primary, secondary, and higher education. Ages 7-14 would attend primary and could consist of gymnastics, writing, reading, music, and drawing. Ages 14-21 would attend secondary and would continue their primary studies while implementing literature, poetry, drama, choral music, and dancing. The last four years would be spent in military drill, tactics, and strategy. Higher studies would begin at age 21 and continue as long as the student was willing and able. Higher education was for males only as Aristotle believed women were not capable of such complex studies.
It is believed Aristotle wrote 150 philosophical treatises with the 30 that survive touching on an enormous range of philosophical problems, from biology and physics to morals to aesthetics to politics. However, many are thought to simply be "lecture notes" instead of complete treatises and a few may not even be Aristotle’s but of members of his school. One of the major discoveries that were made during the Crusades was that of Aristotle’s texts which had not been found up until this point. With the discovery of these texts, the rise of Islam, and the spread of the Arab Empire, they became familiar to Muslim scholars who translated them into Arabic. They then spread throughout the Islamic world including Spain. In the 12th century, scholars came from England, Paris, and Italy to seek them out and translate them into Latin. At this point, Aristotle’s texts had now spread into the intellectual centers of the West. Arabic scholars have managed to preserve Aristotle’s work in whole and they have recognized over time that none of his work is consistent with any religious ideas or thoughts of his time. Aristotle’s works were eventually translated into Latin and then distributed all through Europe bringing about the birth of what is known as modern atheism.
The Lyceum carried on after Plato’s death although it is not known for how long exactly. Aristotle’s work was rediscovered in the later Middle Ages and was adopted by medieval scholars becoming known as Ille Philosophus (The Philosopher), or "the master of them that know,” by his followers. Today, philosophers continue to look to Aristotle for guidance and inspiration in many different areas, ranging from the philosophy of mind to theories of the infinite.
Born in 384 BCE in Stageira, Chalcidice, Greece, Aristotle served as a tutor to Alexander the Great for seven years and eventually established a school in Athens known as the Lyceum. Aristotle believed the purpose of school was to develop and exercise students’ potential for reasoning, form ethical character, and provide a skill and knowledge base. He thought the purpose of schooling was to develop dispositions and habits that exercise reason and forming a human’s ethos. Schools were to prepare future citizens with more functional knowledge needed to conduct their political, social, and economic affairs.
His lifelong fascination with science and medicine is reflected in his philosophy of education with one of his biggest philosophies being his definition of humans as rational animals. As a founder of Western science, he pioneered categorization of objects and was the founder of natural realism. He can be seen as a forerunner of the modern university professor who believes research and teaching are inseparable. His writings span a wide range of disciplines including logic, metaphysics, philosophy of mind, ethics, political theory, aesthetics, and rhetoric. They even delve into such primarily non-philosophical fields as empirical biology where he excelled at detailed plant and animal observation and taxonomy. In all these areas, Aristotle's theories have provided illumination, met with resistance, sparked debate, and generally stimulated the sustained interest of an abiding readership.
Like Plato, Aristotle recognized the importance of early childhood as a formative period of human development. He divided schooling into three stages: primary, secondary, and higher education. Ages 7-14 would attend primary and could consist of gymnastics, writing, reading, music, and drawing. Ages 14-21 would attend secondary and would continue their primary studies while implementing literature, poetry, drama, choral music, and dancing. The last four years would be spent in military drill, tactics, and strategy. Higher studies would begin at age 21 and continue as long as the student was willing and able. Higher education was for males only as Aristotle believed women were not capable of such complex studies.
It is believed Aristotle wrote 150 philosophical treatises with the 30 that survive touching on an enormous range of philosophical problems, from biology and physics to morals to aesthetics to politics. However, many are thought to simply be "lecture notes" instead of complete treatises and a few may not even be Aristotle’s but of members of his school. One of the major discoveries that were made during the Crusades was that of Aristotle’s texts which had not been found up until this point. With the discovery of these texts, the rise of Islam, and the spread of the Arab Empire, they became familiar to Muslim scholars who translated them into Arabic. They then spread throughout the Islamic world including Spain. In the 12th century, scholars came from England, Paris, and Italy to seek them out and translate them into Latin. At this point, Aristotle’s texts had now spread into the intellectual centers of the West. Arabic scholars have managed to preserve Aristotle’s work in whole and they have recognized over time that none of his work is consistent with any religious ideas or thoughts of his time. Aristotle’s works were eventually translated into Latin and then distributed all through Europe bringing about the birth of what is known as modern atheism.
The Lyceum carried on after Plato’s death although it is not known for how long exactly. Aristotle’s work was rediscovered in the later Middle Ages and was adopted by medieval scholars becoming known as Ille Philosophus (The Philosopher), or "the master of them that know,” by his followers. Today, philosophers continue to look to Aristotle for guidance and inspiration in many different areas, ranging from the philosophy of mind to theories of the infinite.