How Socrates, Plato and Aristotle view the role of education for the Research Paper

How Socrates, Plato and Aristotle view the role of education for the society and the individual - Research Paper Example The accumulation of philosophies relating to education in Greek culture became known as the Educational Theory. The mentioned Educational Theorycan be regarding as a hypothetical educational assumption, or a thought, which acts a guide in explaining and the description of the practice of education. Socrates was one of the earliest Greek philosophers who can be credited for being one of the originators of the modern Western philosophy. It also believed that Socrates was a thinker and not a writer as the evidence suggests that he had minimal written accounts of this thoughts and philosophical processes. Despite these, Socrates is known as the Father of Modern Philosophy and is considered as one of the greatest thinkers of all time. Socrates, very aptly and very strategically divided his views about the imparting of education and knowledge. Socrates stated that as long as the goals of education are fulfilled, it is indeed worthwhile to gain knowledge and education. According to Socrates the goals of education were to realize what an individual can do and what an individual cannot do. Furthermore, the great philosopher did not discriminate when it came to the imparting of knowledge and believed that there was no regular authority for that. Throughout his theories, Socrates, in numerous attempts has disowned and dishonored his theories, ideas and methods, which nevertheless can be one of his strategies to engross the deliberators and furthermore sanction them to have an open, fearless and a constructive deliberation and an argument. â€Å"The Socratic method is one in which a teacher, by asking leading questions, guides students to discovery. Socrates devoted himself to a free-wheeling discussion with the aristocratic young citizens of Athens, even though he often offered them no clear alternative teaching† (New Foundations - Educational Theory of Socrates, 2011) . Another very important figure in Greek philosophy and one of the few philosophers who contribut ed to their fullest to the notion of education was Plato. According to Plato, education was one of the most important achievable goals in the society. He believed and stressed greatly on the imparting and receiving of education. Plato wanted the identification of a specific skill set and aptitude possessed by the children. He believed that if appropriate education with respect to that specific skill set or aptitude is given to the child, the child may be able to fulfill his or her duty in the society and moreover, the social responsibility. Plato was also one of the most learned individuals of his time and wrote down his thoughts, unlike his predecessor, Socrates. Plato was considered an authority in numerous fields such as music, drama, metaphysics, art, architecture as well as poetry. Plato’s views on education were also revolutionary and were a source of inspiration for many. Plato model for education was considered as the most organized and systematic and introduced a hie rarchical level of education, starting from elementary school level and leading to higher education, with two years of military training in between. Plato’s educational models and policies were regardless of any sort of discrimination and he believed that each and every individual had a right to receive education. Plato was of the view that there existed equilibrium between men and women, despite the women being weaker,