Politics and Education in Ancient Western Philosophy

The roots of the close link between politics and education, recognized by numerous modern philosophers as well as contemporary scholars, can be found in ancient Western philosophy. This period of human history witnessed the emergence of philosophical movements which had more or less coherent political, educational, and metaphysical ideas, which used education as their main form of political activity, and which hoped to shape the system of education through politics. Examining and understanding these different ancient approaches is critical for making sense of the link between politics and education today. Nevertheless, there has been little research exploring this link at its ancient roots. Focusing on the Pythagorean, Socratic, Platonic, Cynic and Stoic movements, this study aims to show that the political and educational approaches of these movements were in line with each other and that education is necessary but insufficient for causing social and political change.