Epistemology and learning theory Plato
pronunciation (help·info)) (from Greek ἐπιστήμη (epistēmē), meaning "knowledge, science", and λόγος (logos), meaning "study of") is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope (limitations) of knowledge.[1] It addresses the questions:- What is knowledge?
- How is knowledge acquired?
- How do we know what we know?
Much of the debate in this field has focused on analyzing the nature of knowledge and how it relates to connected notions such as truth, belief, and justification. It also deals with the means of production of knowledge, as well as skepticism about different knowledge claims.
The term was introduced by the Scottish philosopher James Frederick Ferrier (1808–1864).[2] Many dictionary definitions[citation needed] may give the impression[citation needed] that epistemology is closely related to critical thinking: "the study or a theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity" (Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 11th Edition).
In physics, the concept of epistemology is vital in the modern interpretation of quantum mechanics, and is used by many authors to analyse the works of dominant physicists such as Werner Heisenberg, Max Born and Wolfgang Pauli.
Where does knowledge come from? According to Plato, knowledge comes from the ideal plane, a higher realm that stores all archetypes of perfection and virtues that represent role models to be copied by humans living in the physical sphere. Some people, however, are more apt to recognize truth, beauty and moral virtues than others, since different people are experiencing different levels of consciousness.
Plato’s theory of knowledge emphasizes that people are born with an innate knowledge of the ideal world, and the role of education and arts is to remind humans about their origins and experiences of past lives, in order to lead students towards perfection.
Plato’s Philosophy of Education – Anamnesis
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In the democratic Athens, it was believed that any person, with proper education, could be trained to become a virtuous citizen and ruler. In fact, the education of the young aristocrats aimed to shape the students’ characters according to the great mythological heroes of the Odyssey and the Iliad. For Plato, however, this was not necessarily true as people are born different.
It is not possible to understand Plato's epistemology without taking into account that Plato understood that knowledge cannot be created, it has to be recollected through education, inspiration and art (this process was called anamnesis). So all knowledge and all truth already exists in the ideal plane – the original home of the soul – but the part of the soul which is incarnated and subjected to the limitations of the physical body has the task of recollecting this knowledge in order to reflect it into the physical world, and therefore, make a conscious walk back to its source.
An advocate of the theory of the transmigration of the soul, Plato believed that each person needs many incarnations in order to purify the senses so that they can be channels through which truth manifests itself. Obviously, those who are ahead in the evolutionary journey are more likely to develop virtues than others, but all souls are equally faded to arrive at its destiny – this is the human fate.
The Role of Education According to Plato
So, Plato thought that education (along with arts) should teach students to refine their tastes, allowing them to contemplate their true origin. In Plato's ideal state as described in The Republic (360 B.C.E), Plato makes it clear that every child must be taught according to their nature, but how to define a child's nature?
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For Plato, since people are experiencing different levels of consciousness in their evolutionary trajectory, it is normal that they will have different talents. In the ideal state, a child should never be educated only in accordance with their parents skills and abilities (a common practice in the ancient world), but in accordance with the talents they demonstrated. For Plato, knowledge cannot be passed genetically from parent to child, so a child's skills depended on the experiences he or she carried inside from past existences.
The Education in the Ideal State
In Plato's ideal state, children (boys and girls) should be educated by the state and the most gifted ones would be trained to be part of the ruler class at the age of 18. They would learn the art of war and those who demonstrated abilities for combats could become part of the military class. Selected students would learn geometry, maths, astronomy and harmonics.
Later, those who stood out would learn philosophy, including metaphysics, dialectics and logic. By the age of 50, a man would have successfully completed his higher education. Indeed, the modern world would benefit from resurrecting the Platonic ideal.
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