After Aristotle’s death in 322 BC, it did not take long for the world to forget his contributions to educational theory. His idea that the purpose of life is happiness received attacks from all sides.
His definition of virtues as “habits leading to happiness” fell into oblivion. His view of education as a process of teaching virtues became a minority opinion.
In the Middle Ages, education became deeply dominated by religion. Its contents became anti-Aristotelian, even if the ideas put forward by Aristotle had remained in the curriculum.
The revival of Aristotelian education began in the sixteenth century, where scholastic professors such as Francisco Suarez (1548-1617) attempted to combine faith with reason.
Suarez and the other scholastics at Salamanca University loved to quote at the same time theologians such as Augustine (354-430) and Aristotle’s “Categories” and “Metaphysics.”
Their attempts resulted in a mishmash of logic, classicism, and mysticism. By the time Francisco Suarez wrote his book “Metaphysical Disputations,” he had gained access to all of Aristotle’s works thanks to Arabic and Byzantine sources.
Aristotle’s views on education versus the trivium and quadrivium
In contrast to Aristotle’s educational advice (“teach students to become virtuous, so that they can achieve happiness”), the education in ensuing centuries concentrated on learning facts and acquiring skills.
For instance in the Middle Ages, the educational curriculum revolved around the “Trivium” and the “Quadrivium.” Pupils were taught the trivium before starting the quadrivium.
The trivium consisted of grammar, rhetoric and logic, which medieval teachers regarded as the most basic subjects. Today, we would categorize the trivium as humanities or liberal arts.
In contrast, the quadrivium contained subjects that today we categorize primarily as science and technology. The medieval quadrivium encompassed arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. Compared to the trivium, the quadrivium was regarded as advanced learning.
One of the main problems of medieval education is the very limited number of schools. In ancient Athens, Plato (428-347 BC) had operated his school “The Academy” and Aristotle had opened his school “The Lyceum.” In medieval Europe, schools were mostly located at monasteries and mixed education with religious proselytism.
Aristotle’s views on education versus Otto von Bismarck’s
The liberal character of scholastic education was completely wiped out in the nineteenth century by Otto von Bismarck. He lived from 1815 to 1898 and, as the Chancellor of the German Empire, played a key role in shaping German education.
Note that when I say “German Empire,” I am referring to a political structure run by Prussia. In con
Bismarck regarded education merely as a tool to achieve his political goals. Bismarck wasn’t ignorant of Aristotle’s theories, but did not care about the students’ motivation or happiness.
The main goal of Bismarck’s policy was to unify all German states into a German Empire, where Prussia played the central role. To this end, he established a centralized school system for all German states and dictated the curriculum taught in every classroom.
While Aristotelian education promotes individuality, reason, and debates, Bismarck’s educational policy aimed at imposing mandatory standards for all students.
Teachers in the German Empire were expected to promote a sense of German identity, even if the identity was somewhat fake. The truth is that the German Empire was dominated by Prussia and that its textbooks primarily relayed Prussian views.
Bismarck’s attack against Aristotle’s views on education
Bismarck was obliterating Aristotelian education in a harsh, systematic manner. Instead of teaching a universal philosophy and ethics, Bismarck asked schools to teach German language, German history, and German viewpoints. The Aristotelian link between education, happiness and virtue had been lost.
To make things worse, Bismarck’s educational policies gave priority to social hierarchy and discipline, turning schools into military regiments.
Students were trained to shut up, conform and obey without questioning. Bismarck wanted schools to prepare students for a future service in the German army.
In addition to teaching blind obedience, Bismarck expected German schools to teach science and technology. The outcome was rather pitiful.
As you can expect, students forced to conform are not going to become bold engineering innovators. With few exceptions, Bismarck’s educational policies only served to produce cannon fodder. The difference with Aristotelian education was huge.
Fortunately, the Aristotelian views on education started to make a comeback little by little. It would still take a long time before educators focused again on happiness and virtue, but as long as Aristotle’s works are available, enlightenment remains possible.
If you are interested in applying Aristotle’s ideas day by day, I recommend you my book “Rational living, rational working.”
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