Two ancient models of education: is virtue teachable?

Straipsnyje iš filosofijos istorijos perspektyvos aptariama aktuali edukacijos filosofijos problema – santykis tarp teorijos ir praktikos, pasireiškiantis dviejų mokymo modelių atskyrimu bei sąveikaThe article discusses the topical problem of the philosophy of education: whether ethical education should be viewed as a practical “way of life“, or as a theoretically teachable body of knowledge. Aristotle’s creation of the distinction between theoretical and practical modes of knowledge offers a working scheme for the discussion, based on the retrospective division of educational models into two main types. The article presents an examination of two historical models of education – Socratic-Platonic, called “practical“, and Aristotelian, called “theoretical“. Ethics has always been understood as “practical philosophy“ which deals with human acts as they are directed to happiness. Only good and honoured person, a man of noble origin and of learning, can lead a genuine happy life – a “good life“. For Plato, knowledge as ethical knowledge is a necessary condition of a “good life“, therefore ethical education must be valued as the most important matter of philosophical discussion and, at the same time, a practical matter. In Gorgias, the most important ethical question – how to lead the best life? – is raised in a contexts of a sophistic controversies about genuine knowledge and mere opinion. According to Plato, the knowledge of justice as a paradigmatic virtue can be tested only practically by seeing whether a person is leading a just life.[...]Vytauto Didžiojo universiteta