Aristotle on the Necessity of Public Education

by Curren, Randall R.

• ISBN13: 9780847696727
• ISBN10: 0847696723
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-11-22
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

In this book, Randall R. Curren argues that Aristotle's Politics has languished in the shadow cast by Plato's Republic and he seeks to reinvigorate the scholarship on what he considers a masterpiece of moral and educational theory. Curren contends that Politics holds an important place in Aristotle's practical philosophy, and it advances beyond Plato's in important ways. He then illuminates his position by applying Aristotlean concepts to current educational policy dilemmas.

Author Biography

Randall Curren is associate professor at the University of Rochester.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	ix
Abbreviations and Notes on Translations	xiii
Introduction	1	(10)
Greek Paideia and Socratic Principles	11	(24)
Athenian and Spartan Education	12	(4)
Why Would No One Doubt That Education Should Be the Legislator's Foremost Concern?	16	(4)
Education and Law in the Apology and Crito	20	(15)
The Arguments of Plato	35	(28)
Ignoring the Gadfly	38	(5)
Blaming What Is Learned: Ignorance and Incapacity in the Protagoras	43	(5)
``Fostering Their Best Part with Our Own'': Education and Law in the Republic	48	(5)
Justice and Common Care in the Laws	53	(10)
Groundwork for an Interpretation of Politics VIII.1	63	(30)
The Theory of Rule and Constitutions, in Outline	63	(12)
The Practical Intent of Aristotle's Political Thought	75	(4)
The Two Conclusions of Politics VIII.1	79	(5)
Culture, Schooling, and Law	84	(4)
The Content of Public Education	88	(3)
Education That Is the Same for ``Everyone''	91	(2)
Why Education Is Important	93	(33)
Aristotle's Two Arguments for the Importance of Education	94	(6)
The Appeal to a Desire for Stable Rule	100	(9)
Arguments from Constitutional Quality	109	(17)
Why Education Should Be Public and the Same for All	126	(31)
The Argument from a Common End	127	(17)
The Arguments from Inseparability	144	(6)
The Argument from the Foundations of Corrective Justice	150	(7)
Education and the Foundations of Justice	157	(26)
The Scope and Alleged Independence of Corrective Justice	158	(2)
Responsibility for Actions and for Character	160	(14)
The Presuppositions of Corrective Justice	174	(5)
A Radical Proposal	179	(4)
Justice and the Substance of Common Care	183	(40)
Justice and Educational Equality	184	(17)
Cultivating the Moral and Intellectual Virtues	201	(11)
The Case for Public Education	212	(11)
Notes	223	(34)
Bibliography	257	(12)
Index	269	(10)
About the Author	279