The Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato Essay Example for Free

The Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher genteelness for Plato Es producePlato believed in an ideal state, the Republic, which is ruled and sustained by an ideal group of people whose main objective should be to suss outk their highest in effect(p) for the bene assure of both the state and the nightspot. Only those who know what the good is are fit to rule(Oxford lad to Philosophy, 1995). To know what is good, one has to undergo long and rigorous intellectual training that get out yield this intimacy (p. 1541). Plato believed that the function of education is to help people em trunk their confessedly nature of good because they give become the fuel that pull up stakes keep the Republic running. Here, higher education is meant to pave the substance for the maturement of the individual because it is crucial to the Republics existence. The failure of an individual to reach his highest good, albeit in theory of a secondary importance, would be the failure of the state as a whole. In Platos view, it is the development of the individual, supported by education, which serves as the groundwork of the Republic and ensures that the latter does not collapse. One sack up say that it is truly education which holds the states future in its hands.The true purpose of Higher didactics is best depicted in Platos Allegory of the Cave. The Allegory of the Cave represents the different levels of knowledge that universe must go through in order to achieve enlightenment. Men were depicted as cave-dwellers in the depths of nothingness where there is a total absence of knowledge. Most mankind dwell in the shadower of the cave. It is the function of education to lead men out of the cave into the world of the shadow (Tulio, 2005). Those who are competent to escape the confinements of the cave would ableMeaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato to acquire the knowledge that will lead to their evolution and form the ruling elite who will sustain t he Republic.According to Kemerling (n.d.)The highest goal in all of education, Plato believed, is knowledge of the Good that is, not merely an awareness of particular benefits and pleasures, but acquaintance with the sort itself. Just as the sun provides illumination by means of which we are able to perceive everything in the visual world, he argued, so the Form of the Good provides the ultimate standard by means of which we can apprehend the reality of everything that has value (Kemerling, n.d).Plato believed that education is a right given to a few. He dictum society as a conglomeration of individuals organized into different mobes according to the value of their role in providing some component part of the common good (Kemerling, n.d.). In this set-up, it is the persons social class which determines whether he should be enlightened or not. Plato thought that the philosopher-class should obligate the right to receive education because it is the philosopher preceding(prenomina l) all some others who excels at investigating serious questions about human life and at judging what is true and best (n.d.).Dillon (2004 as cited in Platos Republic) also added those fit for a guardians education must by nature be philosophic, spirited, swift, and strong. The guardians must be lovers of learning like noble puppies who determine what is familiar and irrelevant by knowledge and ignorance (Dillon, 2004). The problem with this kind of set-up is that only a few are permitted to improve themselves eon the rest of the world is forced to fulfill the roles that society has imposed upon them.Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato Kemerling (n.d.) explained the importance of the future role of philosophersThus, despite prevalent public skepticism about philosophers, it is to them that an ideal society must turn for the wisdom to conduct its affairs properly. But philosophers are made, not born. So we require to examine the program of education by mea ns of which Plato supposed that the future philosopher-kings can acquire the knowledge necessary for their function as decision-makers for the society as a whole (Kemerling, n.d.)Plato viewed the development of the individual as serving an autocratic social usefulness as far as education is concerned (although close to believe that Plato advocated democratic principles in his theory of education). Education for the popular mass was never Platos ideology. He advocated educational reforms intended only for the philosopher and the warrior class. Plato believed that the interests of the state are best preserved if children are raised and educated by the society as a whole, rather than by their biological parents (Kemerling, n.d).The true essence of self-actualization, therefore, was meet a privilege given to this ruling class because of their access to education. It did not have any selfish interests even if self-development was an initial pre-requisite for the success Platos ideal s tate. Education is solely for the purpose of the good of the Republic. Oxford Companion to Philosophy (1995) statedThey will govern with a view to maximizing the happiness of the state as a whole, but Plato thinks that the way to achieve this is to impose a strict censorship to prevent slander ideas being expressed, to ensure that each person sticks to hisMeaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for Plato own allot job, so that he does not meddle with affairs that are not his concern, and so on. Plato was firmly against democracy, and seems to have seen no connection between happiness and individual liberty (Oxford Companion to Philosophy, 1995).But as much(prenominal) as education serves a state function, it cannot completely detach itself from its secondary aims of self-development. According to Scolnicov (n.d) in his idea Plato on Education as the Development of Reason, the ultimate educational objective, then, is to bring about a regeneration in the educands percep tion of the role of reason (Scolnicov, n.d). He continued, Platos theory of education aims at specifying the conditions of the growth of the Socratic man, whose soul is free from contradictions and whose excellence is justified knowledge (n.d).For Plato, mans rationality can be shaped through an educational curriculum that teaches these specific subjects melody, story-telling and gymnastics. Musical education should be started in childishness because it is an age where children are still pliable. There should be censorship in the telling of tales because children still do not possess the quality to discern what is good and bad. It is Platos view that children have no lesson nature when they are born, but education will instill in them virtues of courage, moderation and justice that will help them seek the nature of good. Through the telling of carefully crafted tales, mothers and nurses will shape their childrens souls (Dillon, 2004 as cited in Platos Republic).Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for PlatoThe narrative style of tales is the second part of the philosophical education. Imitation or Mimetic poetry is only acceptable if the individual will imitate virtues that were taught to them in childhood. Crafting of tales are important because they are the most effective method of educating guardian souls (Dillon, 2004). Here, one can see that rationality does not only pertain to reason (of the mind) but also of the soul.Gymnastic education, on the other hand, affirms the symbiotic relationship between the mind, the body and the soul all the components that lead to the total development of the individual. For Plato, that a good soul produces a good body, and that a healthy intellect ensures a healthy body (Dillon, 2004 as cited in Platos Republic). One component missing will ultimately result in the demise of the other.Dillon (2004) statedAlthough music is the most important component in the guardians education, equilibrium between music an d gymnastics is important for the production of moral guardians. Because a solely gymnastic education causes savagery and a purely musical education causes softness, the two must be balanced (Dillon, 2004).The educational requirements of learning music, story-telling and gymnastics would determine who will ultimately become the guardians of society. Those who are able to possess the nature of good end-to-end the educational process will win over those who will rebel against the citys ideology (Dillon, 2004).Meaning, Purpose and Function of Higher Education for PlatoReferencesCornford, F. (translator) (1945). The Republic of Plato. London Oxford University Press.Dillon, A. (2004). Education in Platos Republic. Retrieved declination 25, 2007 from http//www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/submitted/dillon/education_plato_republic.htmlHonderich, T (ed.) (1995). Oxford Companion to Philosophy. New York Oxford University Press.Kemerling, G. (n.d.). Plato Education and the Value of Justice P lato Life and Works. Retrieved December, 25, 2007 from http//www.philosophypages.com/hy/2h.htm.Tulio, D. (2005). Historical, Philosophical, Legal and technological Foundations of Education II. Manila National Bookstore Publication.Scolnicov, S. (n.d.). Plato on Education as the Development of Reason. Retrieved December 25, 2007 from http//www.bu.edu/wcp/ text file/Anci/AnciScol.htm