ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHERS LEGACY

PEDAGOGY 1Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación– Licenciatura en Lenguas Extranjeras

–

Juan Carlos González Sánchez – M. Sc.

––

Traditions, skills and knowledge of a culture that get passed on to people in the

future

Something a culture is known for

A gift from the past

Babe Ruth’s legacy was

homerun hitting.

What is a legacy?

Taken from: ©2004 Mrs. Joan Crick

Taken from: ©2004 Mrs. Joan Crick

The Legacies of Ancient GreeceThe Legacies of Ancient Greece

architecturearchitecture

philosophyphilosophy

OlympicsOlympics

epicsepics

Greekmythology

Greekmythology

tragedycomedytragedycomedy

trial by jury

trial by jury

democracydemocracyscientificmethod

scientificmethod

SocraticMethod

SocraticMethod

theatertheater

classificationclassification

marathonmarathon

HippocraticOath

HippocraticOath

STEP BY STEP - OUR AUTOR’S -

Socratic Method

Teaching through step-by-step questions that are designed to lead the student to

the truth

Socrates was a Greek philosopher

who wanted people to question and

think for themselves

Athenians were afraid and

threatened by his ideas, so he was tried and put to

death.

Taken from: ©2004 Mrs. Joan Crick

Socratic MethodOrigins

• Based on ideas of Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.).• Socrates’ actual method was an extended

public dialogue/debate between teacher and a student (aka “dialectic”). This can be rather harsh.

• Therefore, we use a moderated version, consisting mostly of group discussion.

• Teacher poses questions rather than providing answers.

• Considered one of the most powerful teaching tools. Taken from:

©2005 Allen Susan

Purposes

• To engage students by arousing their curiosity.

• To make learning a participatory--not passive--experience.

• To encourage critical (i.e., higher-order) thinking and problem-solving skills.

Taken from: ©2005 Allen Susan

Technique

• Stimulate discussion with probing questions.

• Draw as many students as possible into the discussion.

• Keep discussion focused.• Apply rigorous logic--and ethics.• Allow students to disagree with instructor. • Never embarrass, mock or denigrate a

student. • Periodically summarize what has and has

not been dealt with and/or resolved. Taken from: ©2005 Allen Susan

Cautions

• One of Socratic teaching’s strengths is its unpredictability. This can also present unexpected and occasionally uncomfortable moments.

• Discussions can digress drastically if not reined in by teacher/moderator.

• Teaching students to think for themselves is not always a welcome development.

Taken from: ©2005 Allen Susan

AND THEN…

Teacher

Teacher

Socrates

Plato Aristotle

Particular Philosophies of

Education• Idealism, the first systematic philosophy in

Western thought…Socrates and Plato, the Socratic method was dialogue

• Generic notions: Philosophers often pose abstract questions that are not easily answered but are concerned with the search for truth

• World of matter in constant state of flux, senses are not to be trusted, continually deceive us

• Truth is perfect and eternal, but not found in the world of matter, only through the mind

Allegory of the Cave

People lived life chained facing a blank wall of a cave.They could only see the moving shadows projected by the people and fire behind them.The people began to think this of was reality.However philosophers are people from the cave that understands that the shadows are being cast by other people in true form. Fascinated with the idea of “Perfect Form”

Idealism

• The only constant for Plato was mathematics, unchangeable and eternal

• Plato’s method of dialogue engaged in systematic, logical examination of all points of view…ultimately leading to agreement and a synthesis of ideas…this approach known as the dialectic.

Idealism

• Plato believed education helped move individuals collectively toward achieving the good.

• The State should be involved in education, moving brighter students toward abstract ideas and the less able toward collecting data…a gender free tracking system

• Those who were brighter should rule, others should assume roles to maintain the state

• The philosopher-king would lead the State to the ultimate good

Idealism

• Evil comes through ignorance, education will lead to the obliteration of evil

• More modern idealists: St. Augustine, Descartes, Kant, Hegel

• Goal of Education: interested in the search for truth through ideas…with truth comes responsibility to enlighten others, “education is transformation: Ideas can change lives.”

Idealism

• Role of the Teacher: to analyze and discuss ideas with students so that students can move to new levels of awareness so that they can ultimately be transformed, abstractions dealt with through the dialectic, but should aim to connect analysis with action

• Role of the teacher is to bring out what is already in student’s mind: reminiscence

Methods of Instruction

• Lecture from time to time, but primary method of teaching is the dialectic…discuss, analyze, synthesize, and apply what they have read to contemporary society

• Curriculum…importance of the study of the classics…many support a back to the basics approach to education

… ARISTOTLE

The Beginnings

Aristotle was born in 384 BCHis father was physician to the king of

Macedonia.When he was 7, he went to study at Plato’s

Academy.Began as a student, became a researcher

and finally a teacher.Was considered one of Plato’s best students.Plato died and willed the Academy to his

nephew.Aristotle left and founded the Lyceum.

Aristotle and Realism

Aristotle was a realist. Plato was an idealist.Central thread of idealism is the principle or

thesis of independence.– Reality, knowledge and value exist

independently of the mind. Realism rejects the Idealist notion that only ideas are real.

Believed form is within matter and change takes place in matter.

Believed a relationship exists between science and philosophy, and that the study of one leads to the study of the other.

Science and Philosophy

For instance, studying the material aspects of an acorn should lead to a deeper, more complex reflective thought of what an acorn is – of what it is in essence or form (Ozmon and Craver, 2008).

Aristotle’s views

Balance is the central concept to Aristotle’s views.

Saw universe as being in a balanced and orderly fashion.

Education was the means used to create a state of good citizens.

Man is a rational animal

Aristotle believed “man is a rational animal.”While animals express pleasure or pain with

their cries, man and only man is able to speak.

Ability to speak allows man to be able to determine the difference between what is right and what is wrong, what is beneficial and what is harmful.

So, how are these skills and knowledge acquired?

Through education.

Education was Central

A fulfilled person was an educated person.

Education was essential for the self-realization of man.

The supreme good to which all men aspire is happiness.

Education and Learning

Aristotle believed education and learning are always about an object and should have content.

He believed a teacher instructs a learner about an object, about some knowledge, or some discipline.

Teaching and learning are always about disciplined inquiry into some aspect of reality.

A school should cultivate and develop each person’s rationality.

Knowledge and Belief

Knowledge is different from belief in that knowledge is the beginning of dialectic reasoning.

Aristotle believed people make mistakes when their judgment is not found on reason.

A person cannot make a mistake if they have knowledge of something.

Aristotle argued that man should know his own weaknesses so that he would be more cognizant of what he does to make mistakes. If he knows how he creates mistakes, he can take steps to make sure he does what it takes to prevent mistakes from happening.

Learning

Students learned about something by practicing it over and over again until they learned it.

This was done through the practice of habituation.

Idea of learning was “Practice first, theory afterwards,” or “Do the deed and ye shall know the doctrine.”

Learning, cont.

Work begun by nature and continued by habit or exercise was completed and crowned by instruction.

This had two functions:– To make action free by making it rational, and– To make possible an advance to original action.

Nature and habit make men slaves, gov’d by instincts and prescriptions.

Instruction, or revelation of the grounds of action, set men free.

Greeks thought of this as the realization of manhood – or the divine in man.

Who was to be educated?

Men of noble nature.Only citizens of the state were to be

educated.The role of women was to keep house and

have children. Believed women were “intellectually inferior” to men.

Marriage was simple an arrangement to procreate and rear offspring.

Women were regarded as a means and not as an end.

Slaves were not educated.

Men were divided into two classes

A Governing Class, andA Governed Class– Governing Class required education so

that it could govern the Governed Class.– Governed Class required just enough

education as would enable it to obey.Only by completing these duties would

each class find its usefulness and satisfaction, or balance.

The order of things

Man

Wife 

Children

Slaves

Some reported thoughts on Aristotle:– “Perplexed with obscure terms and

useless questions,” John Locke.– Had “a naïve and childlike animistic view

of the world,” Jean Piaget.Aristotle died in 322 B.C.

Realism

• Aristotle was the leading proponent of realism, started the Lyceum, the first philosopher to develop a systematic theory of logic

• Generic Notions…only through studying the material world is it possible to clarify or develop ideas…matter is real independent of ideas

Aristotle’s Systematic Theory

of Logic• Begin with empirical research,

speculate or use dialectic reasoning, and culminate in a syllogism

• A syllogism is a system of logic that consists of three parts: (1) a major premise, (2) a minor premise, and (3) a conclusion

• For a syllogism to work, all the parts must be correct

Philosopher’s Concerns

• What is the good life?• What is the importance of reason?• Moderation in all things…balance in

leading one’s life: reason is the instrument to help individuals achieve balance and moderation

HOW ABOUT?

Definition: Learning is…

A change in behavior as a result of experience or practice.

The acquisition of knowledge.Knowledge gained through study.To gain knowledge of, or skill in, something through

study, teaching, instruction or experience.The process of gaining knowledge.A process by which behavior is changed, shaped or

controlled.The individual process of constructing

understanding based on experience from a wide range of sources.

Some First Principles

• Learning is something all humans do – Fetuses learn– Infants learn– Children learn– Adults learn

• Learning is not uniquely human – all living things learn

• Learning evolved as an adaptation for promoting survival

What is Learning?

• Learning is a process

• Learning is a product

Process of Learning

• Learning involves the individual– Brain– Body

• Learning involves others– Dyads– Groups– Organizations– Communities– Society

• Learning takes place somewhere– In physical environment– With things and tools

• Learning occurs over time

Products of Learning

• Learning is about ideas and concepts

• Learning is about behaviors and skills

• Learning is about attitudes and values

Definition: Theories are…

What is a Theory?– A theory provides a general explanation for

observations made over time.– A theory explains and predicts behavior.– A theory can never be established beyond all

doubt.– A theory may be modified.– Theories seldom have to be thrown out

completely if thoroughly tested but sometimes a theory may be widely accepted for a long time and later disproved.

So, how do people learn?

Easy answer: We don’t know for sure.

Difficult answer: We have multiple theories that provide glimpses of an answer from many different perspectives. These stem from psychologists, philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists, evolutionary biologists, linguists, neuroscientists…

Broad domains of theories

Behaviorism (Ch. 3)Constructivism (Ch. 5)Sociocultural (Ch. 6)Cognitivism (Ch. 7)

I believe that (the) educational process has two sides—one psychological and one sociological. .

. Profound differences in theory are never gratuitous or invented. They grow out of

conflicting elements in a genuine problem.-John Dewey, In Dworkin, M. (1959) Dewey on Education

How did we get to this point?

A bit of history…

Where can truth and knowledge be found?

Plato (428-347ish B.C.E.)

Truth is found within ourselves (rationalist)Ideas do not belong to the actual world:

They are too perfect (e.g., one’s conception of triangles or circles). They belong to the REAL world, in which ideas are eternal and flawless.

Knowledge innate—in place at birthKnowledge “drawn out” when teacher

asks questions; help students recall fundamental insights they possess (self reflection)

Learning passive process

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Aristotle (470–399 BCE)

Truth is found outside of ourselves using our senses (Empiricist)

Developed a scientific method of gathering data to study the world around him.

“There’s nothing in the intellect that wasn’t previously in the senses”

So what?

Why is an understanding of learning theory important for

educators?

References

Animation factory - www.animationfactory.com

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission website - http://www.cmhpf.org/kids/dictionary/ClassicalOrders.html

Greenblatt, Miriam & Peter Lemmo. Human Heritage: A World History. ©2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Headden, Susan, ed. The Ancient World. © 2004 U.S. News & World Report.

Microsoft Design Gallery Live - http://dgl.microsoft.com

Mythman - www.mythman.com

Gracias por su atención