Education and Philosophy in Ancient Greece

After attending the class on Education and Philosophy in the Ancient World, the student will understand how philosophy was born, will know the fundamental aspects of ancient philosophical thought, with particular attention to the theme of education (paideia), will grasp the elements of continuity and rupture between contemporary and ancient thought, and will assimilate the differences between the different types of educational relationships and between the different intellectual and ethical models that can be found in Greek history. This will accustom the student to confronting an “other” that is distant in time, which will in turn be useful for understanding the people who come from a different culture. From a more specifically methodological point of view, the student will be equipped with the hermeneutical tools necessary to recognize the origin and initial development of the main philosophical questions, to understand the ancient philosophical texts and grasp the main theories exposed in them, to understand which are the roots of “Western” civilization, and to apply the methods of philosophy to education. In general, the student will have a clear picture of the theoretical and methodological tools used in the study of philosophy and ancient educational processes.
The student will also be able to personally evaluate the different current theories on ancient thought, and to apply the lessons of ancient philosophers to modern educational problems with a critical spirit. The student will master the ancient philosophical vocabulary, but, above all, he will be aware of the importance of using a precise technical vocabulary. Finally, the student will cultivate their learning skills, including the (particularly important but not always practiced) skill of understanding a written text that does not have the form of a treatise, and will be used to consulting experts in the crucial moments of their learning-by-oneself path.
The expected learning objectives, declined according to the Dublin Descriptors, are the following:
Knowledge and ability to understand (DD1):
- To know theories and models proper to ancient philosophy in order to interpret educational and training events.
Applied knowledge and understanding (DD2):
- Relate the theoretical and methodological contents learned to the interpretation of ancient philosophical-educational texts.
Autonomy of judgement (DD3):
- Evaluate the relevance of the ancient theories studied to modern educational problems.
Communication skills (DD4):
- To be able to communicate and share analysis of events from knowledge of the history of one's professional field.
Learning skills (DD5):
- To be able to define one's own personal development plan, monitoring one's actions.
- To be able to promote self-assessment actions aimed at one's own professional development.

The teaching will be carried out through lectures, a method that will ensure the transmission of contents and methods. In order to achieve the objectives relating to learning and communication skills, questions for clarification and deepening by the students will be encouraged during the lessons. Lessons will include guided reading of passages from classical texts, in order to develop the ability to read various types of philosophical works.

No prior knowledge is required.

Class attendance is strongly recommended, because the exposition of ancient philosophical and educational theories and the explanation of classical texts by the professor greatly facilitates the acquisition of the contents by the students.

The conception of philosophy in antiquity. Happiness as the end of ancient philosophy. The transformation of perception and behaviour. Philosophical theories and practices. Philosophy as a way of life. The role of discourses in philosophy. The fate of philosophy after antiquity. The ethical teaching of the Stoics. The moral precepts of Epictetus. The application of philosophy to everyday life. Mental freedom and happiness.

1. Pierre Hadot, What is Ancient Philosophy?, translated by Michael Chase, Harvard University Press 2002, 362 pp.
2. Manuale di Epitteto, introduzione e commento di Pierre Hadot, Einaudi 2006, 230 pp.

Examination of profit by oral test. There are no in itinere tests.
Oral examination, assessed on the basis of the following elements: relevance of the answers to the questions asked (necessary to pass the exam); content quality, ability to connect the various parts of the course, proper philosophical language, overall expressive skills (all these elements contribute to the final evaluation, provided that the answers are relevant).

How do Plato's and Aristotle's conceptions of happiness differ?
What is, according to Pierre Hadot, the relationship between discourse and practice in ancient philosophy?
What does Epictetus mean by the expression 'what depends on us'?
What are the three disciplines that should regulate human behaviour according to the Stoics?
What is the relationship between external things and moral life according to Epictetus?
What are, for Epictetus, the hallmarks of them who progress?
Read this passage from Epictetus' Manual and explain its meaning, contextualising it within the work.