Educational Praxis in Plato and Aristotle

Abstract

Philosophy of education should be unfolded alongside a deep understanding of how critical thinking transforms the student/teacher relation as a form of philosophic praxis. This account primarily draws on the philosophic works of Plato and Aristotle, but also engages a variety of contemporary thinkers on the question of education as philosophically transformative critical thinking. The dialogic structure of Plato's Republic demonstrates the relation between character and logos in a way that shows learning as praxis in self-realization. Aristotle's inquiry into psuche provides understanding and language for the inner life ofa learner that is both active and complex. I argue that, in its most basic formulation, critical thinking names a process that allows students to harness their voice and mature in the classroom while also presenting teachers with the ability to participate in the active learning of their teaching environment.