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What is ancient Greek reason?
"Reason" was a central concept in the ancient Greek period. In ancient Greece, philosophers of the time held different views on the specific meaning of "reason".
Thales argues that water contains not only abstract concepts that can be used as philosophical categories, but also a kind of cognition of philosophical ideas. In a sense, water is a representation of the connotation of "rationality".
Pythagoras believed that the world has a fixed "order" and "structure", and that this "order" and "structure" are bound by "number", which is the basis of all things.
It can be said that "number" represents rationality to a certain extent, and it also makes the original meaning of the word "rationality" have a scientific spirit.
Rationality in ancient Greece consisted of two main aspects, namely "Logos" and "Nus".
"Logos" refers to the logical normativity of reason, that is, man can know and grasp the laws of nature, but this law is not subject to human will.
"Nuss" refers to the free transcendence of reason, that is, the search for a meaningful life for one's own ends.
Heraclitus and Anaxagoras proposed the concepts of "Logos" and "Nus" respectively, and Socrates and Plato further expanded their content.
Finally, Aristotle unified "Logos" and "Nus" in "purposiveness", thus constituting the basic vein of the rational spirit of Western philosophy, that is, reason is the unity of logical normativity and free transcendence.
At the same time, reason gives the world order a human meaning, and human beings use reason to rule the world and push the world forward, using this as a starting point to build a "free kingdom of reason" for man.
So, what exactly is "rational", the academic community has not yet given a conclusive conclusion. The word "rationality" itself contains a variety of meanings, and different eras, schools, and disciplines have different understandings of the word "rationality".
Rationality in ancient Greece was "both pure rationality and practical rationality, instrumental rationality and value rationality, a rational way of thinking, and a rational attitude to life."
People thought about problems and dealt with all affairs in this way and attitude, and finally created a splendid civilization and wrote a glorious page in the history of the world."
In other words, the "reason" of ancient Greece refers to the way of thinking and thinking ability of human beings, such as concepts, judgments, and reasoning, as well as the will and ability to carry out practical activities under the guidance of such thinking and relying on the laws of nature and the knowledge they have mastered.
Rationality is not only the organic unity of the laws of nature and man's own ability, but also the harmony and unity of knowledge and mind.
The foundation of ancient Greek reason
The birth and development of ancient Greek rationality was not accidental, but had its own unique conditions, which were closely related to and adapted to its geographical location, economy, and politics, and were also the products of the development of the ancient Greek nation under certain historical conditions.
Therefore, in order to explore why reason became a characteristic of ancient Greek educational thought, we should first examine it in the historical context of ancient Greece at that time, and then explain why the pursuit of reason was an important tradition in ancient Greece.
It is precisely by relying on its own unique conditions that ancient Greece constructed a distinctive educational thought and formed the rational characteristics of its educational thought.
Moreover, the ancient Greeks relied on their rational guidance to break through the limitations of human development and explore ways to solve problems, thus creating a brilliant Greek civilization.
(1) Oceanic characteristics: the soil for rational breeding
The emergence of rationality in ancient Greece was inseparable from the geographical environment on which human beings depended.
The geographical location of ancient Greece made it necessary for the people living in it to engage in maritime activities, in a sense both passive and active.
On the one hand, the ancient Greeks lived in the Greek Peninsula and the Aegean region, geographically close to the sea, and the sea area was dominant.
At the same time, ancient Greece is located in the eastern Mediterranean, with many ports. Ancient Greece was unsuitable for agriculture due to its mountainous territory, lack of rivers and plains, poor soil, and inability to self-sufficiency in grains.
The ancient Greeks had been engaged in maritime activities since very early times and regarded it as fundamental to their survival; Sailing allows them to be well-informed and to appreciate different geographical customs.
Due to their broad vision and the ever-changing environment they encountered, the ancient Greeks had a more developed imagination and thinking.
On the other hand, the vast ocean not only provided the ancient Greeks with a broad vision and ideological space, making them form an inclusive mind, but also made the ancient Greeks have a calm and calm thinking ability.
The uniqueness of ancient Greece in terms of geographical location eventually formed the unique rationality of the ancient Greeks.
This rationality is embodied in the infinite reverence for nature, and since man cannot resist nature, he must grasp the existing life with a transcendent position, constantly pursue and explore, so as to surpass himself and perfect himself.
(2) Commodity economy: the nutrition of rational growth
The unique geographical environment of ancient Greece determined the lifestyle of the ancient Greeks who engaged in the commodity economy. The ancient Greeks had to engage in business rationally, rationally in the circulation and exchange of goods.
"The ocean's rugged terrain, numerous islands, dense bays, and natural harbors are ideal for navigation. The Mediterranean Sea connects Europe, Asia and Africa, and is a unique place for navigation and business."
Looking at the unique economic mode of ancient Greece, it can be seen that the development of the commodity economy has continuously improved the rationality of the ancient Greeks.
This is mainly manifested in the fact that the ancient Greeks rationally understood economic phenomena, summarized economic laws and engaged in economic activities through unique economic methods.
(3) City-state democracy: a rational and mature environment
Politically, ancient Greece created a new form of political organization——— city-state. All political power is exercised by the citizens, and all major issues are decided collectively by the citizens, which is democratic in nature.
This city-state democracy emancipated the minds of citizens, nourished the rationality of the ancient Greeks, and provided a political guarantee for the emergence and development of rationality in ancient Greece.
The democratic political environment provides a platform for rational development. But democracy in ancient Greece was not innate, but was gradually perfected through democratic reforms.
In the process of perfection, rationality is also constantly developing. Solon adopted many measures for democratic political reform, the core of which was to establish the dominant position of citizens and expand the legislative power of the citizens' assembly, which undoubtedly played a role in promoting the development of reason.
Cristini further promoted democratic political reforms, and he further improved the scientific and rational decision-making of citizens by establishing a council of 500 people.
Citizens' proposals must first be discussed by a council of 500 and approved before they can be submitted to the citizens' assembly for discussion.
This measure not only expands the political participation of citizens, but also further promotes the development of citizens' rationality.
Obviously, the rational development of ancient Greece was linked to its geographical location, economy and politics, but it was also the inevitable result of the historical development of the ancient Greek nation.
In the long course of historical development, the ancient Greek nation laid the foundation of the rational element of the ancient Greek national character through the cooperation of its maritime characteristics, commodity economy and city-state democracy.
In fact, rationality is not only a way of thinking of the ancient Greeks, but also a way of life, an attitude or a pursuit of the ancient Greeks.
The Bond Between Thought, Thought, and Reason in Ancient Greece: Eloquence
Eloquence (usually referred to as oratory, debate, etc.) may have existed long before ancient Greece, but due to the limitations of historical sources, the real research on the art of eloquence began in ancient Greece.
"The primary purpose of Athenian education in the classical era was to produce eloquent citizens who could adapt to democratic politics, so eloquence became the main content of education in this period. ...... Although the art of elogues did not first appear in Athens, it was fully developed in Athens and became the most important part of the new education".
Needless to say, eloquence itself contained a wealth of rational thought, which promoted the development of reason in the minds of the ancient Greeks, including educators.
Through eloquence, educators not only develop their own rationality, but also integrate rationality into educational practice, thereby elevating rationality to educational rationality, and ultimately making rationality implicit in their educational thoughts.
In short, the ancient Greek educators had a strong rational color, both in the way and the content of education.
Eloquence made reason the link of ancient Greek educational thought, and promoted the development of ancient Greek educators' rationality, and finally made their educational rational thought more and more mature.
Rational representations of educational thought in ancient Greece
Ancient Greek educational thought had a tendency to pursue reason, and it regarded reason as the highest virtue. The fact that reason became a representation of the educational thought of ancient Greece was gradually realized, and this change can be seen in the educational thought of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
(1) Socrates' educational rationality
On the basis of the concept of "Nus", Socrates clearly put forward the idea that "human reason is the measure of all things", which opened the logical process of seeking a universal "Logos", thus highlighting the subjective position of reason.
If the human being, as a rational subject, does not want to be swayed by desires, he must use reason as a means and at the same time rationalize the rules, so that he can truly know himself, that is, "know thyself" as Socrates said.
To know oneself is to pay attention to one's own thinking, which is not nonsense, but based on reason, and only through thinking can one understand oneself and the outside world.
In order to help people to think critically, Socrates disseminated educational ideas through questions and answers, debates, etc., to stimulate people's curiosity and ability to actively explore, to guide people to think rationally, and finally to obtain correct knowledge with universal significance.
The central proposition of Socratic educational thought is that "virtue is knowledge". This proposition emphasizes that virtue is not merely a good deed, but also has a universal rational basis.
Socrates believed that all knowledge involves reason, so knowledge itself is reason, and knowledge in the universal sense is universal reason, which is something universal that develops from everyday concrete things, which is the universal reason "Logos".
In other words, knowledge does not represent natural knowledge, scientific knowledge, but a rational and inevitably good knowledge.
In education, it is precisely because knowledge is a rational and universal truth that the imparting of rational knowledge should become the highest purpose of education and teaching.
Unlike the earlier philosophers, Socrates was imbued with rational wisdom in every word he spoke.
His pursuit of universal rationality further promoted people's attention to rationality, promoted the development process of rationality, and laid the foundation for the rational tradition of Western thought.
(2) Plato's educational rationality
Plato further developed Socrates' idea of educational rationality, which he defined as "ideas" and proposed a kingdom of "ideas" constructed by pure reason, thus forming his "Theory of Ideas", the purpose of which was to recognize the inner nature of thought and promote the development of reason.
According to Plato, reason is the supreme being that transcends the sensibility, and the highest idea in the world of ideas is the idea of the "good", and the idea of the "good" can "give truth to the object of knowledge".
Plato constantly perfected his rational thought in the pursuit of the idea of "good", and it was with the help of rational thought that he was able to understand the idea of "good".
Plato's metaphor of the cave also expresses the pursuit of the idea of the "supreme good". It can be seen that the pursuit of the concept of "goodness" should be the highest goal of education. Plato not only attributed the acquisition of knowledge to reason, but also combined truth, goodness, beauty and reason for the first time.
"Unlike the Sophists, who sought immediate practical results, Plato based his educational system on the basic concept of 'truth,' and he believed that truth could only be obtained with the help of rational knowledge."
Plato placed reason at the highest level of philosophy, and to a certain extent raised reason to the level of universalism.
(3) Aristotle's educational rationality
Aristotle developed the rationality of ancient Greece to the highest level, thus laying the foundation of Western rationalist culture for more than 2,000 years.
He believed that reason is the fundamental difference between man and other animals, a unique trait of man, and the best and most important part of man's essence.
On this basis, Aristotle put forward the proposition that "man is a rational animal". That is, people can use reason to govern their own behavior, control their own desires, and make their actions moral.
Reason, as advocated by Aristotle, is the essence of the world and the highest essence of man.
He inherited and developed the rational ideas of Socrates and Plato, proposed to explain the reasons for the change of things with the "form-material theory", and demonstrated the view of the supremacy of reason from a new perspective.
It can be said that Aristotle developed the rational philosophy of ancient Greece, which laid the foundation for the rational analysis of Western philosophy and science in the future.
To sum up, the educational ideas of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle all start from reason, emphasize the lofty status of reason, regard reason as an important content of ancient Greek education, and Aristotle pushed the rationality of ancient Greek educational thought to a new height.
epilogue
Ancient Greek culture was a culture based on the spirit of free inquiry, and it always had an attitude and spirit of reason and reason above faith, logic and science over superstition about something that it had never recognized.
The ancient Greeks always explored nature and society with their own rationality, and enriched their rationality in practice, thus "creating" human reason.
Their thirst for knowledge, curiosity about the world, and rational exploration of the unknown are always the driving force for the continuous development of human society. Rationality is the eternal theme of ancient Greek educational thought, and it is also a prominent feature of ancient Greek educational thought.
The "science", "truth" and "knowledge" that all mankind is pursuing today are inherited from the rational wisdom of the ancient Greeks.
Ancient Greek education emphasized the use of knowledge to guide people to pursue reason, and believed that the human nature of education is reason. In other words, education is, in the final analysis, to guide people to pursue knowledge and develop reason.
This is not only a "Greek miracle", but also a "shining pearl" of ancient Greek educational thought.
We hope that by asking why rationality has become a characteristic of ancient Greek educational thought, we can strengthen our understanding of citizens' rational consciousness and rational education to a certain extent, and develop and promote rational education in a timely manner in combination with the contemporary social and political environment, so as to promote social progress.
Rationality is still an important way to emancipate the mind, and the purpose of modern education should pay attention to the cultivation of students' rationality.