1 The education of children has long been a topic in which societies have shown a great interest, for it is through

the formation of the next generation that the future of a society and the continuance of its values are determined. The philosophers of Ancient Greece, most notably Plato and his student Aristotle, were among the first to consider the questions that have plagued parents and the ruling class for eons. Plato, in The Republic, and Aristotle, in The Politics, offer up distinct visions for the proper education of youth in an ideal world. These philosophers have independently had such a profound impact on western civili ation that it seems only natural to compare their wor!s, especially as much of The Politics is, to some extent, a response to The Republic. To determine the better of the two models is essential in the ongoing quest to find the best method of education, as that model can serve as a springboard for modern conceptions, li!e so many of Plato and Aristotle"s ideas have. To do so, the particulars of each system must be identified, then the points at which the structures clash determined, and finally #udgment made as to which of the two options at the points of contention is best. Through this process $ will argue that Aristotle"s theory of education will best Plato"s. Plato"s theory in The Republic came first and it is therefore logical to examine it first. There is a distinction in The Republic between the education of the guardians and the education of the philosopher%!ings &the education of all others being regarded as unimportant', the former being discussed in (oo!s $$ and $$$, the latter in (oo! )$$. Plato, through *ocrates, first determines that stories and legends are the means by which the very young are instructed, and that these must be censored because +young minds are not able to discriminate between what is allegorical and what is literal.,1 Plato argues that because the young cannot tell the difference between good and bad, giving them examples of both allows for the equal opportunity of good and bad to be their exemplars and models. *o, Plato launches into a lengthy discussion of what 1. Plato, The Republic, trans. -ichard .. *terling and .illiam /. *cott &n.p.0 n.p., 1123', 43 542d.

6 specifically in stories must be censored7notably that anything showing the gods to be bad in any way was a lie and therefore inadmissible7and ultimately dismissing the vast ma#ority of the popular and prevalent lore of the time. Plato next examines the deliverance of the stories, asserting that they should be told mostly in simple narration, allowing for a bit of imitation, but only of the good characters in the stories. (ecause these stories were often sung instead of told, a discussion of melody and rhythm follows. Again, an austere, calm, quiet style is preferred. The 8orian and Phrygian modes, and the lyre and the cithara are !ept, while the 9ydian mode and the lute, harp, and flute banned. The rhythms are to follow the same themes of the words and melody0 moderate and nonindulgent. Plato asserts that only art +which summons up the image of goodness,6 should be allowed, so that children would +easily live in harmony and friendship with beauty and reason, coming finally to resemble them.,5 (y only exposing the future guardians to the good, they are supposed to be able to discriminate between the good and the bad by determining what they recogni e and what they do not. They should approve of what they !now and hate what is foreign. After learning through music and legend7which should come first to indoctrinate the children with goodness7the youth should then balance out their study with gymnastics. 9i!e the teaching of story, gymnastics should be simple and good. :xcess in ta!ing care of the body and indulging in rich foods are to both be avoided. ;ne should not obsess over health but should not disregard healthy practices either7a moderate gymnastics regimen is best for children to +bring greater vitality to the spirited element of <their= nature,> and thus properly balance the philosophy of music and story with vitality of spirit. 6. Plato, The Republic, 11 >?1b.
5. $bid., >?1d. >. $bid., 1?2 >1?b.

5 The topic of education is revisited in (oo! )$$$, where Plato details the education of the philosopher%!ings. .ith the aide of his Allegory of the /ave, Plato shows how mathematics should be taught to bring the student closer to the +good,, as should the study of dialectic, a practice that is the +summit of all studies.,3 Plato argues that dialectic deals with both the tangible and intangible7both +opinion, and +true !nowledge,7but has a focus on finding the essence of things, which he pri ed above all else. The practice of dialectic was the only thing that consisted of +dissecting hypotheses and ascending to first principles in order to obtain valid !nowledge., @e expands on his previous methods for education by adding to the practical and habit%formed reason necessary for the guardians the philosophical reasoning expected of the philosopher%!ings. After the music and gymnastic education already mentioned, the best of the students will pursue further study, slowing adding more complex concepts to their education, leading them towards +the good,, until finally, at age 3?, they are allowed to share in the ruling. Aristotle"s system of education is much less extensive and stays more theoretical. (ased on his theories in The Nicomachean Ethics, he splits !nowledge in The Politics into what is useful and necessary to allow for the pursuit of happiness, what is practical reasoning and used to strive for excellence, and what is pure !nowledge for the sa!e of !nowledge. Aristotle argues that many of the arts fit into none of these categories, are purely +mechanical,7serve no purpose and are not ends in themsleves7and thus should not be taught. Aristotle also states that learning should be done for oneself, and once it is for someone else it is no longer good, because it is the means to someone else"s end, and therefore not part of the individual"s pursuit of happiness and not virtuous. @e next lays out the traditional areas of study and fits them into the aforementioned three categories &usefulness, excellence, !nowledge'. -eading, writing, and drawing are useful, are means to an end. *uch disciplines should be taught because they are necessary, but necessary
3. Plato, The Republic, 662 35>e.

> tas!s should not be taught when they enter the realm of the menial. 9ater on, however, he will say that these disciplines are also good in and of themselves, as they give the philosopher something to do with his leisure time, an activity which is necessary for happiness. Aristotle states that practice should come before theory, that foundation in reality must be built before studying the theoretical, and thus the education of the body must come before the education of the mind. Gymnastics education should be moderate, with light training in youth. @e warns against the excesses of exercise, arguing that it results in a savage character. @e also asserts that the labors of the body and mind should be !ept separate, for to do them at the same time would be counterproductive. Ainally, the study of music is examined, and it is on this Aristotle spends the most time. @e determines that music should be taught to the extent that the modes and the melodies are expressive of character and are therefore able to display parallels to, and further instruction in, other parts of the education &moral instruction, for example'. Aurthermore, the pursuit of actually playing a musical instrument is valuable insofar as it teaches the young how to #udge music and beauty. They can then fill their leisure time with playing and appreciating music, among other things, but they should never pursue an instrument for professional reasons. They should not ta!e part in musical contests for money, as they would then be playing for the en#oyment of the listener instead of themselves. Thus, students should never learn the flute or harp, as they are too difficult. A comparison between the two ideologies will show that Aristotle"s theory is more logical and effective. $mportantly, both agree that education should be public and under the supervision of the government. (oth recogni e the importance of education, although they limited education to the elite. Aristotle, the great defender of moderation, finds to some extent an ally in Plato with regards to excesses, especially in the case of physical education, where their

3 ideas are practically the same. (oth philosophers are proponents of an approach to education where the basics are established first and the more complex built towards. They diverge, however, on four points0 the purpose of music in education, the types of music that should be taught, the order of the education, and the goals of, and reasons for, education7the underlying principles of the theories of education &and even of politics and ethics as well' are in disagreement. $n each of these four points Aristotle"s theories are clearly superior to Plato"s. Airst, Plato and Aristotle disagree on the role of music in education and on the reasons it should be included. Plato holds that preventing children from ever seeing bad will !eep them from ever doing anything bad, as they will have no model for it. *o, music and story should serve to expose to children to good, acclimate them to only the good. @owever, this method is illogical and too ideological. Aristotle recogni ed correctly that human beings have both the good and bad in themB children need no model to behave badly. This we !now intuitively, and years of psychological research show that both nature and nurture effect the development of a child. Plato ignores the role of nature, and suggests that for most people good is not the absence of the bad but simply the !nown as opposed to the foreign. Aristotle"s theories for the purpose of music in education are much more convincing. @e proved that leisure is essential to happiness, but shows that leisure is not #ust play and pleasure7there must be something meaningful to fill the time. This is the role of music in life, and his arguments in favor of teaching the actual use of instruments are very compelling, showing that one cannot appreciate music properly during leisure unless one has first hand experience in playing music. Aristotle showcases the appreciation of music as one of many processes through which happiness is attained, so his conception is much more logical than Plato"s use of music to immerse children in +the good., Accordingly, Aristotle"s criteria for acceptable music is much more persuasive than

C Plato"s. Plato wishes to limit music to that which expresses goodness. The allowable tones and rhythms and themes in music should be austere and moderate and completely good. @owever, Aristotle sees that people cannot recogni e good without bad, gentleness without anger, courage without cowardice, and so on with all the virtues. Dusic can expose students to both sides without actual experience and thus lead the students to more efficiently and painlessly recogni e the mean in between the extremes. Dusic can provide an imitation of the human experience, and an imitation is better than nothing. Thus, Aristotle allows all music that is expressive of character. The inclusion of these types of music is better than Plato"s exclusion because, as above, it provides children with a more comprehensive education. Aristotle"s method allows children to more fully understand and appreciate the virtues, and Plato"s would be ineffective in !eeping children from the bad. :xpressive music used to teach and as a medium for higher intellectual en#oyment would better serve the purpose of education of the young than boring, unexpressive, +good, music, and thus Aristotle"s theories are more sound than Plato"s. Another more minor disagreement over whether music or gymnastics should be taught first has Aristotle clearly in the right. The body functions before the mind is fully conscious, and thus the cultivation of it should logically come first as well. .ithout a properly ordered body the mind is nothing, has no power, although a wea! mind could still have a powerful body. The functions of the mind clearly trump those of the body, and both philosophers support starting with the lesser concepts and wor!ing towards the important ones. Plato argues that only with the proper indoctrination of what is good can one continue on successfully in life, so music should come first to show the good, but one cannot even reach such an indoctrination without the refinement of the body. Thus, Aristotle"s theory is more logical. Ainally, Aristotle"s theories of the goals and methods for education are more effective

4 than Plato"s. The ma#ority of the second part of Plato"s theory on education is not addressed by Aristotle, so there is no clash over the value of mathematics and dialectic. @owever, Aristotle would disagree with the goal of Plato"s education7to produce the best rulers7as this would be education for others and not for self. Aristotle"s argument that striving for the best in ourselves will result in us doing the best for others ma!es much more sense than Plato"s theory of reluctant philosopher%!ings who rule best because they !now +the good,, a vague and unsatisfying theory. Again, Aristotle has a better grasp on the essentials of human nature, and his system that strives for the betterment of all through self%improvement is more logical. The possibility for multiple paths to the success of Aristotle"s system also trumps Plato"s very specific path. Armed with the concept that virtue is circumstantial, not absolute, Aristotle"s theories have a much better chance for success because there is more than one way to succeed. The lac! of Plato"s absolute end goal of education means that the success of Aristotle"s system is also relative. Aurthermore, the flaws in Plato"s methods ma!e it almost impossible for his goals to be achieved. Therefore, the methods by which Aristotle hopes to achieve his goals are better than Plato"s and his goals are better as well. Although there are mar!ed differences between Plato and Aristotle, ultimately many of their theories are in agreement. @owever, in their systems for education as laid out in The Republic and The Politics, respectively, the conflicts between their arguments are numerous and pervasive. Eltimately, Aristotle"s theories prove to be more logical, practical, and effective than Plato"s, and are therefore better.

2 (ibliography Aristotle. FThe Politics.F $n The Politics and The Constitution of Athens,edited by *tephen :verson, 11%6?4. -evised *tudent ed. Gew Hor!0 /ambridge Eniversity Press, 111C. Previously published in The CompleteWorks of Aristotle: The Revised Translation.Translated by Ionathan (arnes. G.p.0 Princeton Eniversity Press, 112>. 8illon, Ariel. F:ducation in PlatoJs -epublic.F *anta /lara Eniversity. 9ast modified Day 6C, 6??>. Accessed ;ctober 65, 6?16. http0KKwww.scu.eduKethicsKpublicationsKsubmittedKdillonKeducationLplatoLrepublic.html. Plato. The Republic. Translated by -ichard .. *terling and .illiam /. *cott. G.p.0 n.p., 1123.