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3 - Aristotle on Education, Democracy, and Civic Friendship

from Part One - Historical Perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2023

By
Randall Curren
Edited by
Julian Culp ,
Johannes Drerup  and
Douglas Yacek
Julian Culp
Affiliation:
The American University of Paris, France
Johannes Drerup
Affiliation:
Universität Dortmund
Douglas Yacek
Affiliation:
Universität Dortmund
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Summary

This chapter addresses Aristotle’s conception of the civic purposes of education, how the education he proposes would serve those purposes, his stance toward democracy and democratic education, and the compatibility of the education he proposes with a democratic society and system of government. It argues that his educational proposals aim to facilitate a partnership of all citizens in living the best kind of life and are thus focused on cultivating moral and intellectual virtues and educating diverse children together with a view to nurturing civic friendship. It concludes that Aristotle defends forms of shared governance in the common interest that would qualify as limited forms of democracy and that the education he proposes is recognizably democratic. Despite their elitist limitations, his works offer significant resources for understanding democracy and democratic education, most notably his conception of the role of common schools in promoting civic friendship and shared governance.

Keywords

Aristotleeducationdemocracycivic friendshipcommon schoolsvirtuesflourishingmixed constitutionsjustice
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education , pp. 29 - 44
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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