Who said education for educations sake

Seen as incapable of determining right and wrong for themselves, children were to be guarded from the truth when it was not wholly good. The new importance of truth and what is also contrasts with the first account's use of lies in educating the guardians. Simply by aiming for true knowledge, this education is more philosophical and Socratic than the first. But despite his adamancy that knowing is superior to opining, Socrates himself claims not to know the good, which allows him to explore it jointly with Glaucon.

Socrates' sharing in the educational experience is an effective pedagogical method that benefits both the student and the teacher. Socrates' way of explaining the good is characteristic of his pedagogical method. First, turns Glaucon onto the good by introducing it in a mysterious, attractive way. Glaucon wants this illusive, erotic knowledge that Socrates dangles before him, but just as his interest is sparked, Socrates tells him it is too complicated, which arouses Glaucon even more e.

As a compromise, Socrates agrees to tell Glaucon of something similar to the good but less complicated a. Using the power of images, Socrates evokes an analogy of the obscure good and the familiar sun. Socrates says that the sun, like the good, illuminates the true "ideas" behind things.

As the sun allows our eyes to use their existing capacity to see, the good allows our existing intellect to know. When it fixes itself on that which is illumined by truth and that which is , it intellects, knows, and appears to possess intelligence.

But when it fixes itself on that which is mixed with darkness, on coming into being and passing away, it opines and is dimmed, changing opinions up and down and seems at such times not to possess intelligence d.

The good is a higher reality and is responsible for our capacity to reason, as well as our very "existence and being" b. By preparing Glaucon with the sun analogy and telling him of the extreme power of the good, Socrates hooks him completely.

Glaucon says, "Apollo, what a demonic excess…don't leave even the slightest thing aside" c. No longer is Glaucon averse to the austere lifestyle of the guardians, because now the guardians are possessors of the most illustrious power. Unlike in the first account when Socrates explicitly says that moderation excludes the possibility of lusty pleasure e , now Socrates paints the good as though it were as appealing as sex, making Glaucon willing to do anything to obtain the good.

Now that Glaucon eagerly wants to know everything about the good, Socrates tries to explain the divided line Socrates skillfully explains until Glaucon grasps the concept and is able to make an account of it for himself. Socrates then spontaneously progresses to the cave analogy in order to explain the process of coming to know the good by means of education. He says, "Next, then, make an image of our nature in its education and want of education" a.

Socrates describes a cave in which humans are chained from birth facing a wall. Behind them, puppet-masters carry figurines which cast shadows on the wall in front of the prisoners. Because they know nothing else, the prisoners assume the shadows to be the extent of reality--but what they see and hear is actually only a small segment of the intelligible world.

Glaucon easily grasps the idea behind the analogy and is immediately intrigued by the image, saying "It's a strange image and strange prisoners you're telling of" a. For the reader, the image of the cave quickly evokes the memory of Socrates' earlier false tales and noble lies, and it is evident that the new education is meant to free the prisoners from their false opinions and convictions, as opposed to chaining them within the cave as did the earlier education.

Socrates next reveals why philosophical education is often resisted and how educational enlightenment is progressive. He shows Glaucon what would happen if a prisoner was unchained and allowed to leave the cave and see reality. At first, he would be pained and disoriented by the foreign sights. When told that his experience in the cave was not entirely real, he would rebel--and not without reason d. If he tried to look at his new surroundings and the sun directly after leaving the dark cave, he would be blinded and would want to return to the comfort of his familiar past surroundings e.

Socrates asserts that if someone were to drag him "away from there by force along the rough, steep, upward way, and didn't let him go before he had dragged him out into the light of the sun" a , the prisoner would fight and be resentful, and even then, would not be able to see everything at once. Instead, his eyes would adjust slowly. First he would see shadows, then reflections in water, then things themselves, then the night's sky, and finally, the sun--which is an image of the good and what is b.

But once he focuses on what is , he will be happier than ever before and will never want to return to the cave e-c. Furthermore, if he did try to return to the cave and help the other prisoners, they would hate him, calling him corrupt and delusional because their reality is still limited to the shadows in the cave a.

Through this powerful image of the cave, Socrates shows Glaucon the good and suggests how it is to be obtained. The good is beyond perceived reality and is hard to see, but once the good is understood, it is clear that it "is the cause of all that is right and fair in everything," and must be possessed and understood by prudent rulers c. A progressive education that teaches men to use their existing capacity for knowledge is what Socrates intends for the philosopher-kings.

He says,. Education is not what the professions of certain men assert it to be. They presumably assert that they put into the soul knowledge that isn't in it, as through they were putting sight into blind eyes…but the present argument, on the other hand…indicates that this power is in the soul of each and that the instrument with which each learns--just as an eye is not able to turn toward the light from the dark without the whole body--must be turned around from that which is coming into being together with the whole soul until it is able to endure looking at that which is and the brightest part of that which is c.

The ability to know is always within man--never faltering, but useful only depending on whether it is focused on the truth e. From what Socrates says here, it seems as if the natures with which children are born matter less than their education; anyone can be a philosopher with the right training.

After convincing Glaucon that escaping the cave and becoming a philosopher is advantageous, Socrates returns to more practical political matters. He says that good guardians must not be prisoners nor can they be philosophers who selfishly stay outside of the cave. Instead, they must escape the cave, be educated in the good through philosophy c , and then return to the cave to rule and enlighten others d.

Since the philosopher-kings are still to be warriors, their education must still be useful for warlike men. The previous account of education, however, is incomplete because gymnastics and music only teach habits by example eb. Not only is mathematics useful for practical matters, but its abstractness causes students to exercise their intellect and ask questions about what really is.

Socrates says of calculation, "It leads the soul powerfully upward and compels it to discuss numbers themselves" d. The study of complex, elusive concepts pushes one to study what is permanent and perfect. Dialectics are also to be studied. When a man tries by discussion--by means of argument without the use of any of the sense--to attain to each thing itself that which is and doesn't give up before he grasps by intellection itself that which is good itself, he comes to the very end of the intelligible realm just as that other man was then at the end of the visible b.

Socrates insists that recipients of an education in mathematics and dialectics must have a suitable nature. They must be steady, courageous, good looking, noble, tough, and quick learners But above all, they must love hard work. Again, Socrates insists that education in philosophy is something to be loved and will result in the satisfaction of eros. Similar to the previous education, education in music, gymnastics, mathematics, and preparatory dialectics begins in childhood.

But unlike the compulsory nature of the earlier education, the philosopher-kings' education must be presented first as voluntary play. Socrates says, "Don't use force in training the children in the studies, but rather play.

In that way you can better discern what each is naturally directed towards" a. At age twenty, gymnastic education will cease and the best students will be chosen to learn an overview of their studies and how they interrelate with each other and the good. Those who excel in their studies, war, and other duties will be chosen at age thirty to be tested in dialectics to determine "who is able to release himself from the eyes and the rest of sense and go to what which is in itself and accompanies truth" d.

Remarkably, in the guardian's education, no one, not even a judge, was permitted exposure to the truth at this young an age. Socrates, however, still recognizes the danger of the full truth. He holds that students must not be allowed free reign with dialectics at too young an age, because, instead of using their newfound knowledge for the good of the city, they might be tempted to forsake the city's laws and conventions in favor of more base pursuits a-c. Thus, the young must not be allowed to toy with debate because they will undoubtedly misuse the art of dialectics, leading to the dissolution of their beliefs and the defamation of philosophy.

Older, educated men, however, "will discuss and consider the truth rather than the one who plays and contradicts for the sake of the game" d. When they are thirty-five, those well-trained in dialectics will be required to go back into the cave to hold offices, and testing will continue.

Finally, at the age of fifty, those who have excelled in everything will perceive the good and will alternate philosophizing and ruling the city. And, lifting up the brilliant beams of their souls, they must be compelled to look toward that which provides light for everything. Once they see the good itself, they must be compelled, each in his turn, to use it as a pattern for ordering city, private men, and themselves for the rest of their lives.

For the most part, each one spends his time in philosophy, but when his turn comes, he drudges in politics and rules for the city's sake, not as though he were doing a thing that is fine, but one that is necessary. And thus always educating other like men and leaving them behind in their place as guardians of the city, they go off to the Isles of the Blessed and dwell a-b. Thus, through a rigorous philosophical education, the city unshackles individuals and leads them out of the cave of ignorance and into the light of knowledge so that they are eventually able to go back into the cave and teach others.

Glaucon protests the unfairness of forcing the liberated philosophers to go back into the cave d , but Socrates insists that, although it is unappealing, philosophers will serve the state because they are indebted for their own enlightenment, love knowledge, and accept that the good of the city is more important than their own happiness. Further, Socrates says it is better that the philosopher-kings rule unenthusiastically or else they will become greedy for power which leads to tyranny d.

Although Socrates presents two explicit methods of education in the Republic , his preferred pedagogical method is difficult to identify because of the dramatic context of the dialogue.

Like the divided line, the dialogue has different meanings and purposes on different levels, making it dangerous to believe everything Socrates says. Instead, the two accounts of education must be patched together and evaluated in relation to each other and the dramatic context of the dialogue in order to discover Socrates' preferred method of education.

When Socrates introduces the cave analogy, one cannot help recognizing the similarities between it and his own actions in the dialogue. Finally, it seems as though Socrates is being genuine.

The philosopher's descent into the cave hearkens back the first line of the book, "I went down to the Piraeus yesterday with Glaucon" a. It is now clear that Socrates himself is down in the cave, somewhat against his will, 2 attempting to help the interlocutors turn from the dark of ignorance to the light of knowledge and realize what is. Through his refutation of the opinions of Glaucon, Adeimantus, Cephalus, Polemarchus, and Thrasymachus, Socrates battles the city's conventions.

Also, because the dialogue is meant to be a defense of philosophy and an apology of Socrates, the education of real philosophers seems more in tune with the theme of the book than the education of "noble-puppy" guardians. After Socrates unveils the cave analogy, in retrospect the whole dialogue leading up to the cave appears to be an example of Socrates' pedagogical method.

And upon completion, it should equip the learner with expanded options and opportunities. What I want is to help students direct those abilities in a positive, viable direction that will serve them the rest of their lives. In a nutshell, Education with Purpose means that the sooner young people are exposed to meaningful career exploration, the better their chances of making wise and purposeful decisions for their further education. This career exploration should start as young as middle school and increase as the student moves into high school.

By graduation, he or she should have a career destination in mind and a solid plan to get there. Maybe not—it could be that an apprenticeship, industry certification, or other specialized postsecondary training would be a better route.

That future is coming fast for every student who may someday have to face the debt that this approach can create. Students who meander through a purpose-lacking education are at risk for un- and under-employment for the rest of their lives. Employment with passion—the logical result of Education with Purpose—may seem an unattainable dream for such individuals.

But this can be changed. Postsecondary education of every kind should be a stepping stone, not an end in itself.

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