All Topics  
Paideia

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Paideia
 
 
  Topics Paideia Topic Home

In ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
, the word paideia (pa?de?a) means "education" or "instruction." Paideia was the process of educating humans into their true form, the real and genuine human nature.

Since self-government was important to the Greeks, paideia, combined with ethos
Ethos

Ethos is a Ancient Greek word originally meaning "accustomed place" , "custom, habit", that can be translated into English language in different ways....
 (habits), made a man good and made him capable as a citizen or a king. This education was not about learning a trade or an art—which the Greeks called banausos
Banausos

Banausos is an epithet of the Social class of manual labourers or artisans in Ancient Greece. The related abstract noun – banausia is defined by Hesychius of Alexandria as "every craft [conducted] by means of fire", reflecting the folk etymology of the word as coming from "furnace" and "to dry"....
, and which were considered mechanical tasks unworthy of a learned citizen—but was about training for liberty (freedom) and nobility (the beautiful).






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Paideia'
Start a new discussion about 'Paideia'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


In ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
, the word paideia (pa?de?a) means "education" or "instruction." Paideia was the process of educating humans into their true form, the real and genuine human nature.

Since self-government was important to the Greeks, paideia, combined with ethos
Ethos

Ethos is a Ancient Greek word originally meaning "accustomed place" , "custom, habit", that can be translated into English language in different ways....
 (habits), made a man good and made him capable as a citizen or a king. This education was not about learning a trade or an art—which the Greeks called banausos
Banausos

Banausos is an epithet of the Social class of manual labourers or artisans in Ancient Greece. The related abstract noun – banausia is defined by Hesychius of Alexandria as "every craft [conducted] by means of fire", reflecting the folk etymology of the word as coming from "furnace" and "to dry"....
, and which were considered mechanical tasks unworthy of a learned citizen—but was about training for liberty (freedom) and nobility (the beautiful). Paideia is the cultural heritage that is continued through the generations.

The term paideia is probably best known to modern English-speakers through its use in the word encyclopedia
Encyclopedia

An encyclopedia is a comprehensive written compendium that holds information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
, which is a combination of the Greek terms enkyklios, or "complete system/circle", and paideia.

Origins and foundations

The Greeks considered Paideia to be carried out by the aristocratic class, who were said to have intellectualized their culture and their ideas; the culture and the youth are then "moulded" to the ideal. Starting in archaic times, love played an important part in this process, as adult aristocrats in most cities were encouraged to fall in love
Pederasty in ancient Greece

Greek pederasty, as idealised by the Ancient Greece from Archaic period in Greece onward, was a relationship and bond between an adolescent boy and an adult man outside of his immediate family....
 with the youths they mentored. The aristocratic ideal is the Kalos Kagathos
Kalos kagathos

Kalos kagathos , sometimes written kalokagathos or kalos kai agathos, is an idiomatic phrase used in Ancient Greece literature , attested to since Herodotus and the classical period....
, "The Beautiful and the Good." This idea is similar to that of the medieval knight
Knight

File:Gothic armor 2.jpgKnight is the term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. In the Commonwealth of Nations, knighthood is a non-heritable form of gentry....
s, their culture, and the English concept of the gentleman
Gentleman

The term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a man of good family, analogous to the Latin generosus . In this sense the word equates with the French gentilhomme , which latter term was in Great Britain long confined to the peerage....
.

Greek paideia is the idea of perfection, of excellence. The Greek mentality was "to always be pre-eminent"; Homer
Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
 records this charge of King Peleus
Peleus

In Greek mythology, Pele?s was a Greek hero cult who was already known to Homer. Peleus was the son of Aeacus, king of the island of Aegina, and Ende?s, the oread of Mount Pelion in Thessaly; he became the father of Achilles....
 to his son Achilles
Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greeks hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme ; the Wrath of Achilles....
. This idea is called arete
Arete (excellence)

Arete , in its basic sense, means "goodness", "excellence" or "virtue" of any kind. In its earliest appearance in Greek language, this notion of excellence was ultimately bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function; the act of living up to one's full potential....
. "Arete was the central ideal of all Greek culture."

In The Iliad, Homer portrays the excellence of the physicality and courage of the Greeks and Trojans. In The Odyssey, Homer accentuates the excellence of the mind or wit also necessary for winning. Arete is a concomitant of what it meant to be a hero
Hero

A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, the offspring of a mortal and a deity,their Greek hero cult being one of the most distinctive features of Religion in ancient Greece....
 and a necessary component in warfare in order to succeed. It is the ability to "make his hands keep his head against enemies, monsters, and dangers of all kinds, and to come out victorious."

This mentality can also be seen in the Greeks' tendency to reproduce and copy only the literature that was deemed the "best"; the Olympic games
Olympic Games

The Olympic Games are an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter sports. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games held at Olympia, Greece, Greece....
 were also products of this mentality. Moreover, this carried over into literature itself, with competitions in poetry, tragedy, and comedy. "Arete" was infused in everything the Greeks did.

The Greeks described themselves as "Lovers of Beauty," and they were very much attuned to aesthetics
Aesthetics

Aesthetics or esthetics is commonly known as the study of senses or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste ....
. They saw this in nature and in a particular proportion, the Golden Ratio
Golden ratio

In mathematics and the arts, two quantities are in the golden ratio if the ratio between the sum of those quantities and the larger one is the same as the ratio between the larger one and the smaller....
 (roughly 1.618) and its recurrence in many things. They also referred to the need for balance as the Golden mean (philosophy)
Golden mean (philosophy)

In philosophy, especially that of Aristotle, the golden mean is the desirable middle between two extremes, one of excess and the other of deficiency....
 (choosing the middle and not either extreme). Beauty was not in the superficialities of color, light, or shade, but in the essence of being—which is structure, line, and proportion.

The Greeks sought this out in all aspects of human endeavor and experience. The Golden Mean is the cultural expression of this principle throughout the Greek paidea: architecture, art, politics, and human psychology.

In modern discourse, the German-American classicist Werner Jaeger
Werner Jaeger

Werner Wilhelm Jaeger was a classics of the 20th century.Jaeger was born in Lobberich, Rhenish Prussia. He attended school at Lobberich and at the Gymnasium Thomaeum in Kempen before studying at the University of Marburg....
, in his influential magnum opus
Magnum opus

Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning great work, refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer....
 Paideia (3 vols. from 1934; see below), uses the concept of paideia to trace the development of Greek thought and education from Homer to Demosthenes
Demosthenes

Demosthenes was a prominent Greeks statesman and orator of History of Athens. His oratorys constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC....
. The concept of paideia was also used by Mortimer Adler
Mortimer Adler

Mortimer Jerome Adler was an United States educator, philosopher, and popular author. As a philosopher he worked with Aristotelian and Thomistic thought....
 in his criticism of contemporary Western educational systems
Education

File:Inukshuk Monterrey 1.jpgEducation can be seen as a product or a process and considered in a broad sense or a technical sense. According to philosophy of education George F....
, and Lawrence A. Cremin in his histories of American education.

Sayings and proverbs that defined Paideia

  • "'Know thyself' and 'Nothing in Excess,' which were on everyone's lips." Words inscribed on the temple at Delphi
    Delphi

    Delphi is an archaeology site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. Delphi was the site of the Pythia, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, when it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python , a deity who lived there and protecte...
    .
  • "Hard is the Good."


Paideia at Luther College

Paideia is also the name for the three semester courses required for all students at Luther College
Luther College

Luther College is the name of several educational institutions:*Luther College , in Decorah; a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America...
 in Decorah, Iowa. According to the Luther College website, "The use of the name Paideia for Luther College's core academic program honors the conviction that life in community depends on centuries of shared wisdom." Through the first-year common course, which covers two semesters, all Luther students build a base of essential skills and knowledge that serves them throughout their undergraduate and real-world careers. In the third semester course Luther students delve into more specialized education according to their personal interests or major field. Paideia provides a base of knowledge and experience through which all Luther students can become productive and thoughtful citizens of the world.

See also

  • Agoge
    Agoge

    The agoge was a rigorous education and training regime for all male Spartan citizens, except for the first born son in the ruling houses, Eurypontid and Agiad....
  • Classical education
    Classical education

    The Classical education movement advocates a form of education based in the traditions of Western culture, with a particular focus on education as understood and taught in the Middle Ages, with a further glance back to the Ancient Greece concept of Paideia....


Further Reading

  • Takis Fotopoulos
    Takis Fotopoulos

    Takis Fotopoulos , born , is a political philosophy and economist who founded the inclusive democracy movement. He is noted for his synthesis of the classical democracy with the libertarian socialism and the radical currents in the new social movements....
    : "From (mis)-education to Paideia", The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy
    Inclusive Democracy

    Inclusive Democracy is a political theory and political project that aim for direct democracy, economic democracy in a stateless society, moneyless and marketless economy, self-management and ecological democracy....
    , vol 2, no 1, (2005).