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2 - Ancient Greek and Roman Ethics and Education

from Part I - Traditions in Ethics and Education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2024

By
Kirsten Welch
Edited by
Sheron Fraser-Burgess ,
Jessica Heybach  and
Dini Metro-Roland
Sheron Fraser-Burgess
Affiliation:
Ball State University, Indiana
Jessica Heybach
Affiliation:
Florida International University
Dini Metro-Roland
Affiliation:
Western Michigan University
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Summary

This chapter explores several fundamental features of ancient Greek and Roman ethics and considers some ways in which these features are still influential in contemporary education. Ancient ethics was generally undergirded by a substantive cosmology and related philosophical anthropology; ancient thinkers often affirmed the existence of some sort of objective logos that served as the ordering principle of the cosmos and in accordance with which human beings ought to order their lives. This two-fold commitment resulted in a focus on cultivating virtue. The chapter also discusses three educational arenas in which commitment to features of ancient ethics is manifested today: arguments for “flourishing” as an aim of education, “character education” initiatives, and the contemporary K-12 “classical education” movement.

Keywords

virtuelogoseudaimoniapaideiaPlatoAristotle
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Ethics and Education , pp. 24 - 42
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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