Produktdetaljer
Biografisk notat
Robin Barrow is Professor of Philosophy of Education at Simon Fraser University, Canada and Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada. He is the author of 25 books and over 100 articles in the fields of philosophy, classics and education.This is a superb book: well written, beautifully crafted, and comprehensive in its content. Robin Barrow uses his considerable scholarly ability to show the importance of Plato's educational theory not only for the ancient Greeks but for the 21st century. He explains Plato's ideas in a way that makes them accessible to students and scholars alike.
- Howard Woodhouse, Professor, Department of Educational Foundations and Co-Director, University of Saskatchewan Process Philosophy Research Unit, Canada,
In this excellent book Barrow displays impressive scholarship throughout but, at the same time writes in a clear, elegant and approachable manner. His views on Plato’s ideas are cogently argued and his conclusions concerning Plato’s educational influence, although circumspect, seem essentially correct. Altogether, a fine contribution to the history of the philosophy of education.
- John Gingell, Reader and Course Leader in Philosophy, University of Northampton, UK,
Plato was the first and most formidable thinker to recognise that education is a fiercely contested concept, and to point out what great social and personal issues are at stake in education. He articulated a compelling argument for a liberal arts education as something peculiarly befitting free and autonomous beings. He understood the centrality of education for human well-being and flourishing. And he was the first to set forth a systematic theory of education.
In this text, Robin Barrow concisely and convincingly establishes the continuing relevance of Plato’s views to debates on such issues as nature vs. nurture (or genetic inheritance vs. social background), philosophy vs. sophistry (or the pursuit of true understanding vs. the pursuit of reputation, or perhaps simply truth vs. politics and the media). Questions concerning the fair distribution of education, moral education, value judgments and human nature are explored along with themes more specifically associated with Plato’s philosophy such as the Theory of Ideas. The whole is embedded in a clearly presented account of the historical background to Plato’s thought.
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Series Editor's Preface
Foreword
Part I: Intellectual Biography
1. Historical Background
2. Sparta
3. The Presocratics
4. The Nature of the Times and Socrates
5. The Sophists
6. Conclusion
Part II: A Critical Exposition of Plato's Educational Thought
7. Primary Education in the Republic
8. Secondary Education in the Republic
9. The Theory of Ideas
10. The Concept of Education
11. Nature vs Nuture
12. Moral Education, Indoctrination and Censorship
13. The Humanities
14. The Soul
15. Dialectic
16. Eros
17. Summary: An Educational Theory
Part III: The Reception and Influence of Plato's Work
18. The Academy and an Outline of Plato's Philosophical Legacy
19. Plato's Legacy in Pre-Twentieth Century Educational Philosophy
20. Plato's Legacy in Educational Thought
Part IV: The Relevance of Plato Today
21. The Question of Relevance
22. Some Psychological Questions
23. Truth and Knowledge
24. Educational Distribution
25. Value Questions
26. Philosophy and Educational Theory
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index
This series provides accounts of the work of seminal thinkers from a variety of periods, disciplines and traditions, exploring the contribution and significance of the thinker’s central ideas and arguments and their relevance to educational thought today. With each book written by a leading philosopher in education, these volumes are definitive companions for students of education and the philosophy of education.
The thinkers include: Aquinas, Aristotle, Bourdieu, Bruner, Dewey, Foucault, Freire, Holt, Kant, Locke, Montessori, Neill, Newman, Owen, Peters, Piaget, Plato, Rousseau, Steiner, Vygotsky, West and Wollstonecraft.