Plato, Nietzsche, and Watts on the role of education

¶ … Plato, Nietzsche, and watt on the role of education

The role of Education

Education plays a critical role in the social spheres, especially in complex, modern societies. It offers a means for adults and children alike to become active players in the transformation of their societies. The central focus of education centers on the behaviors, attitudes and values that facilitate a peaceful co-existence in the face of diversity and pluralism (Plato 12). Philosophers of every period, as from the ancient stages, devoted to it a huge amount of attention. Accordingly, numerous frameworks that touch on the objectivity and nature of education have come into being. This paper critically examines the perspective of three philosophers (Plato, Nietzsche and Watts), in addition, to offering a personal analysis of the role of education in the society. An in-depth analysis of the values of education, including culture and religion are covered.

Plato

Plato's view of education is emerging from his masterpiece: "The Republican." The largeness of style and sense of humor employed in this writing has baffled readers. The book interweaves life and speculation, politics and philosophy. It offers a discussion; amongst other things, of the Law of definition, the principles of contradiction, the divisions of the mind, and the categorization of desires into useful and useless.

Plato collaborated with his teacher; Socrates, and his student; Aristotle in establishing the philosophical foundation of Western culture. Upon the death of Socrates, he spent the next 12 years travelling and upon his return, established an academy of scientific and philosophical research. In the course of his philosophical researches, he developed wide-ranging and profound philosophical systems, consequently referred to as "Platonism." Platonism is concerned with the quality of human life, at times ethical, often religious, and at other instances political. The varying aspect stems from the belief in constant and eternal realities that are free of the ever-changing quality of the physical world as professed by the senses (Plato 23). His perspective on the role of education reflects epistemological, metaphysical, and logical aspects; nevertheless, much of its fundamental motivation is ethical as presented in most of his dialogues.

Plato's personal contributions on education are greatly evident in his writings; particularly "the Republic." The development of ideas in his earlier dialogues is discernible in this literary work. The book stresses on the need to take conceptual forms as metaphysically more essential than material things. Plato reiterates that the perceptible world is an illusion shadow of some greater realm of transcendent forms or ideas. He dismisses poetry as a poor method of learning because of their misleading imitation of worldly illusions.

The Republic carries on the issue of the teach ability of virtue, and slightly touches on the doctrine of recollection, which forms a crucial part in Plato's view of the human being's ability to learn. He stresses that great education practices should aim in triggering the memory of the human mind. This is because humans do not learn, but remember. The book is a lengthy discussion of justice and its meaning to an individual and to the city-state. The huge Utopian state comes out as an analogue to the soul with the aim of understanding better how the soul can achieve the right balance. This makes it easier for the rational element to control it. Plato argues that there exist three elements to the soul: the impulsive irrational, the less irrational, and the rational. Likewise, there exist three social classes in the nation: the rulers, the guardians, and the workers. The rulers are not hereditary or self-perpetuating members of the upper class but consist of the most educated cluster in the society (Plato 362). The guardians sell their services to the society by handling the practical matters of the government and keeping order. The workers on the other hand, ensured that the whole system of the state ran smoothly. Thereby, the most rational tenets of the state guide it and ensure that all receive a level of education that reflects their abilities.

According to Plato, education forms the core of justice system. The wisdom, moderation, and courage exhibited by the rulers, guardians, and workers ideally result to the justice in society. This phenomenon reflects the values produced in the individual soul, when cultivated by the three components of the soul. Plato suggests that the state can only achieve maximum fulfillment and happiness through combining the three in harmony, and placing intelligence in control. Plato defines education as the preliminary acquisition of virtue by a young individual, when the feelings of pleasure and affection, hatred and pain that build up in their soul and directed in the rightful courses before he could comprehend the reason why; education is thus a matter of controlling the feelings of pleasure and pain (Plato 360).

He perceives education as a systematic method aimed at ensuring the aspirations and habits of the old generation passes to the younger generation and to those to come. Education is far different from the popular opinion of imparting knowledge into the souls that are short of it. He has likened knowledge to a vision implying that it needs an organ with the ability to receive it. It is not just putting sight into a blind eye. It requires the whole body to turn around with the aim of receiving the light as a substitute for the darkness. It is crucial for the whole soul to turn away from the crooked world of appetite and change that result to the blindness of the soul

Watts

Allan Watts possessed both a doctorate in divinity and a master's degree in theology. He was best renowned for his interpretation of Zen Buddhism, and of the Chinese philosophy. His book: "On the Taboo against Knowing Whom We Are" explores a mighty but unrecognized taboo. The human race is in a tacit conspiracy of living in ignorance of what, or whom we really are. The book discusses the prevalent impression of oneself as a separate ego covered in a bag of skin that is similar to a hallucination that accords neither with experimental philosophy nor with the religions of the east, more specifically Hinduism. This hallucination undermines the use of technology and of formal education in general, because of its involvement in the destruction of humanity. Watts favors the kind of education that gives us a sense of existence.

Allan Watts, in his book: "On the Taboo Against Knowing Whom you are" starts by questioning the amount of knowledge that a young person is supposed to seek in order to be in the know. He suggests the presence of some inside information and some special taboo on life that most teachers and parents have not taught. Culture plays a crucial role in the education of the young people through offering a platform for cultural taboos. For instance, religious taboo imparts religious education. It is advisable to engage in religious arguments than to create a show of piety. However, on a closer analysis of the interior of almost any typical-brand religion, one wonders the cause of the hush (watts 265).

Allan Watts refers to the human being as the centre of existence circled by the emotions of life like joy, pain, love, death, amongst others. The growing apprehension is that existence is like a rat race in a trap, human beings are merely tubes that consume knowledge at one end and produce in the other. The cycle continues, and wears them out in some instances. What motivates the search for more knowledge is the competition produced by the rat race that prompts everyone to strive to be better than the other (watts 300).

Allan Watts appreciates the role of formal education in facilitating the spread of religions and the growth of faith. However, he questions the extent to which formal education has led to the decay of spiritual values. For instance, Christianity has become extremely difficult to explain to a contemporary person. Current standards demand that one waters it down to being favorable and resembling the Savior. Nevertheless, no one ever offers directions on how to do that. To achieve such expectations, one needs power from God referred as "grace."

The popular-brand religions like Christianity, Hindu, Mohammedan, and Buddhist; presently practiced as exhausted mines, have suffered at the expense of the contemporary education. Watts brought about unclear exceptions and believed formal education changed the ideas about human beings and the world. Their imagery, rites, and notions of a good life do not conform to the universe (watts 362). Allan Watts opposes the education that spearheads a rapid kind of change, resulting to loss of value, to the extent that a great proportion of what an individual has learnt in school is almost obsolete upon graduation.

Watts perceives formal education as inadequate in that it aims in creating consumers and cogs for a grand economy driven by machines. In the process, the whole meaning of life is lost. Allan Watts questions how pedants produce graduates who do not think past the questions repetition and status of the knowledge they acquired in school. The only aim of formal education is to stuff the memory, leaving the understanding and conscience void and unfurnished (watts 399). He points part of the problem to the notion that educators are always in a quest to searching for the perfect education for the last generation, as opposed to the current one. The sad reality is there is no other way of learning it other than going through it. The other part of the problem stems from the fact that it is easier to rehearse than understand. It is quite difficult to get students to reflect and comprehend on a study. Allan points out that it becomes almost impossible to teaching an individual when one lacks confidence in his/her own knowledge. Allan (623) suggests that if the teacher does not believe that he knows the content of his topic, then he cannot teach it. Therefore, it makes complete sense that the pedants would be deliberately avoid anything that would question their expertise or knowledge.

The three philosophers reveal the degree of opposition to contemporary schooling. The impact sources from the eccentrics who oppose the system than by the reformists who come out as the system designed. The schools are production lines converting stereotyped consumers and personnel for the industrial technology. Human beings behave like machines, not conscious to human needs but pursuing the profit maximization syndrome. An ideal education is one that focuses on developing the individual as a whole, and equipping him/her with eternal values. A quality education should focus on preparing a human being to deal with the complexities of the modern world, at the same time upholding the highest values of humanity.

In conclusion, the role of education differs from one society to another, however, the fundamental principle should hold: quality education should be one that centers on developing all spheres of an individual-spiritually, physically, intellectually and mentally. All of the afore-mentioned philosophers are of the idea that education should aim at producing individuals possessing what it takes to bring transformation to the society.