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Roxanne Edica
EDUC 92A
Midterm Paper
Plato and Dewey and Education in the Democratic Society
Plato was the first individual to conceive a method of knowledge. Through his studies, he
pioneered educational philosophy and brought greater understanding to the way education is
structured. In Book VII of his Republic, he examined education through the infamous allegory of
the cave. In this allegory, Plato reveals implications of education on the human soul. Through his
explanations of individual and communal justice he also brings into perspective educational
ideals in conjunction with a free, democratic society. With the cave allegory at hand, Plato urges
all individuals to desire truth and knowledge. As a more modern philosopher of education, John
Dewey also advocates the perseverance of society through education. Both Plato and Dewey
agree in the perseverance of society in order to guard the essence of the human experience, but
both have different perspectives in doing so. Plato pushes the community to fulfill their societal
roles to acquire justice. On the other hand, Dewey identifies voluntary action in career choices in
order to carry the community into a state of liberation.
In his works, Plato assessed that human possess three positions of desire and motivation.
He identified these things as the human appetite, spirit, and rationality. By identifying these
things, Plato recognizes the human will-power, which is something animals of the wild do not
possess. Humans differ from animals in the way in which we have the cognitive ability to learn.
In Protagoras, he says that humans hold a great ability to learn. Although, humans may not be as
strong and ferocious as the animals of the earth, they have “the wisdom necessary to the support
of life, but political wisdom he had not” (34). In this sense, Plato was saying that humans also
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have the ability to preserve their life on the earth which must be exhibited through justice.
Individual and communal aims should be to acquire justice.
According to Plato’s Republic, justice should not be merely defined as a set of behavioral
and social norms. Instead, the ideal form of justice is highly structuralized. In order for a society
to function effectively, political justice must be met in the structure of the city: “political
virtue…proceeds only by way of justice and wisdom” (Protagoras 35). This means that everyone
in the city must account themselves in fulfilling their societal roles and nothing else.
Specialization in these roles assures that each job is done as well as possible, assuring greater
quality in these skills. The fulfilling and maintenance of societal roles also provides job security.
In accordance to political justice, an individual must also seek after individual justice
through the maintenance of the structure of his soul. An individual’s rationale, which desires
truth and knowledge, must maintain authority over his spirit and appetite. His spirit, which is his
desire for honor, must enforce his rationale’s convictions while causing his physical and sexual
appetite to also submit. In a just society, according Plato, rationality and truth-loving thinking
should be each individuals aim. When these structural attributes are maintained, a just society is
developed. Seeking and loving truth and knowledge is praised by Plato.
Philosophy, which is the love for truth, wisdom, and knowledge, (from the Greek, philo =
love and sophos = wisdom) is what Plato defines as gold attribute. In his myth of the metals
Philosophy-Kings (the hypothetical rulers of a society) are praised. Plato’s worldview maintains
divisive roles. He articulates that in order for a society to effectively function, each individual
must find and stay true to his or her calling or societal role. He identifies individuals in society as
each possessing a different type of metal. Thus, each individual also possesses a different rank in
value. In order to preserve the city and to obtain a higher order of thinking, a liberated mind must
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be accomplished in this democratic society through the acquirement of justice. Society must be
preserved in order to maintain the uniqueness of the human experience.
Although both John Dewey and Plato agree on the maintenance of a highly structuralized
society, Dewey differs in the manner in which he views the educational system and the function
of societal roles. Dewey advocates a liberal arts curriculum, but his intent in schooling is a more
vocational one. In accordance with a liberal arts curriculum, Dewey suggests a more practical
way of learning: “education in preparation for useful labor and education for a life of leisure”
(Dewey 51). The variety of subjects in the public school system becomes instrumental in a
child’s study. For Dewey, it is also extremely important for students to have a freedom of choice
in what they want to do. Unlike Plato’s myth of the metals, which suggest that we should all
follow our natural-born abilities and talents, Dewey’s perspective defends that a child’s career
path must be a voluntary one. The freedom of choice that is given to each individual is what
defines a free and democratic society.
In The Organization of Knowledge, Dewey said that “the separation of liberal education
from professional and industrial education goes back to the time of the Greeks, and was
formulated expressly on the basis of a division of classes into those who had to labor for a living
and those who were relieved from the necessity” (Dewey 51). He suggested that there is a
difference in the type of education of receives. There should be an appropriate balance in the
manner in which people receive practical understanding and intellectual understanding. When
there is practicality in the things we learn, a more highly structuralized form of knowledge is
achieved: “It is commonplace that the mastery of skill in the form of established habits frees the
mind for higher order of thinking” (Dewey).
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Our educational system today embraces liberal arts curriculum. I agree with Dewey and
Benjamin Franklin in the sense that a liberal arts curriculum is beneficial because it provides
students with variety in subject areas. More classes in school give students more exposure to a
wider array of subject areas, thus allowing them to possess more educational instruments. For
example, when I applied to UC Santa Cruz, I was strong in mathematics and the sciences. I came
into college with the intention of pursuing a career in bioinformatics. At the same time, I also
excelled in my English classes and literature course. However, I applied under the science majors
because it seemed to be more practical and more money-making. After my freshmen year, I
realized that bioinformatics isn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It became too
stressful and too tedious at the same time. I decided to switch my major to literature, and doing
so has relieved me from much more stress. The freedom I have in deciding what major I want to
do should be the purpose of education in a free and democratic society.
Plato’s system becomes too restrictive and limits citizens because only certain individuals
will be assigned to one specific “calling” because they are highly specialized in that area. Plato’s
worldview is beneficial in the sense that it assures diversity and job security, but it does not
assess an individual’s happiness. Plato’s view does not acknowledge an individual’s personal
desires or freedom of choice, which deviates from the purpose of a free and democratic society.
Freedom of choice gives credence to a highly structuralized society. Plato’s vision of obtaining
justice also becomes a blur because it maintains divisive societal roles and others become more
valued. Freedom of choice in choosing career paths should be the soul of a free, democratic
society. Giving the individual freedom in these things, advocating voluntary acts, is what it
means to achieve the full potential of humanity.