Hiren Pandit: We started to learn about Socrates in the story of The Wise Man of the Old, a 6th-grade textbook. However, teachers and family members have already heard Socrates’ name. Everyone called him the father of knowledge. What is the father of knowledge again? Many such questions came up in childhood, but the matter was never clarified by asking anyone. After coming to college and university, it became clear. Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher, one of the three most significant figures of the ancient era of Western philosophy, the other two being Plato, his disciple, and Aristotle, the grandson of the disciple Plato’s disciple.
No evidence Socrates himself ever recorded these outstanding achievements in his life. According to the philosopher Plato, Socrates’ father was Sophroniscus, a sculptor by profession and, according to many, an architect, and his mother was Fineriti, a midwife by profession; Socrates’ wife was Xanthippe. He had three sons in his family life. He was not very happy in family life due to extreme poverty in the family.
He used to busy himself with philosophical discussions to get rid of the mundane pains of the world. Socrates lived in Athens in the 5th century BC. A legendary figure even in his own time, he has always been admired by his followers for his honesty, his self-mastery, his deep philosophical insight, and his excellent reasoning skills. He was the first Greek philosopher to explore questions of ethics seriously. Socrates was widely hated in Athens because he was accused of embarrassing ordinary people by showing himself as ignorant and stupid. From Socrates, the father of knowledge, to today, many philosophers, thinkers, researchers, and educators have described their respective views on the purpose of education. Even today, however, they cannot come to any common conclusion about the real purpose of education.
The first formal debate on the purpose of education began in ancient Greece. Three types of doctrines regarding the purpose of education can be observed. A class of philosophers believed that education is not a tool to earn money, but the purpose of education is to acquire knowledge. So, giving education in exchange for funds is inappropriate. Another group of philosophers believed that since education increases students’ future income, it is justified to provide education for money. Proponents of the third doctrine believed that money was necessary for learning. However, it is not advisable to make science the slave of money. According to Socrates, the real purpose of education is the development of the soul, not the making of money. He believed that selling knowledge for money was a sin. He compared education to business for cash.
Pythagoras believed that the primary purpose of education was to prepare students for success in real life. So, he used to demand very high wages for teaching. About ten thousand silver coins are used to educate each student. Aristippus also disagreed with Socrates about the purpose of education. On the other hand, he disagreed with Protagoras. He used to say that the aim of education is neither poverty nor wealth. Some people think that the real purpose of education is not only worldly welfare but also the salvation of the hereafter. They also saw religion as one with the purpose of education. Aristotle is one of them. He said that the real purpose of education is to attain happiness through the sanctioned sacred activities of religious discipline. According to Comenius, the child’s overall development should be the aim of education.
Man’s ultimate goal is to find happiness in the presence of God. On the other hand, those who did not see religion as the purpose of education, i.e., those who described the purpose of education in general, include philosophers and educators such as Herbert, John Locke, John Duke, Parker, and others. The real purpose of education is the full development of the child’s potential and passions and the expression of his moral character. According to John Locke, education aims to master the principles of nurturing a healthy mind in a healthy body. Philosopher Plato made a beautiful comment about the real purpose of education. He said that all that is necessary for the full development and improvement of body and soul is included in the purpose of education. In simpler terms, the real purpose of education should be the proper development of those qualities with which a child comes into this world. On the other hand, earning money should not be the aim of education. But it may have ulterior motives. The direct or honest objective will be imparting knowledge and acquiring knowledge.
The name of the philosopher Socrates is bright and famous all over the world. He is a logician a symbol of fearless truth, and a promoter of values and philosophical ideals that have influenced Western civilization, culture, education, and philosophy for over two thousand years. But if we think about it, it is clear that not much is known about the life and philosophy of Socrates, who is so famous worldwide as a wise philosopher. However, three critical sources of his life and philosophy can be mentioned in the era of culture and civilization in the modern world. Socrates was more interested in discussing the real issues of life and society than in debating the hidden mysteries of this world. How should human behavior be the best creature in creation? Where is the value of people?
Where is the human character? What lies in the excellence and greatness of man? Such a life is the search for answers to religious questions, and his firm belief in living a righteous and optimistic life is to know what is just and reasonable. No one can be righteous and devoted to welfare. It means that knowledge and wisdom are the basis of human behavior. A step further, Socrates says that not only is knowledge essential to conduct, but a sensible person can never do wrong. It was out of his mind how people could be prone to wrongdoing despite having the concept of justice and goodness. Taking care of one’s soul is the aim of man, which is to direct his soul to righteous and auspicious goals. Man can know the only true thing through knowledge. When the nature of truth is revealed to him, he can no longer commit any wrongdoing or sin. All sins are born of stupidity or ignorance.
He always wanted to remove the ignorance of people’s minds and awaken their sense of judgment. He gave birth to a philosophical thought that has influenced Western culture, philosophy, and civilization for over 2,000 years. Socrates was a great lay teacher who did not believe in teaching only by receiving disciples. He had no specific educational institution. He condemned our desire for human consciousness but was also delighted by beauty. But in our society, these ideas are constantly changing; we are continually giving up human qualities, morals are disappearing, and our ability to judge good and evil is disappearing. Human compassion towards human beings is disappearing in the womb of time, and love and kindness are slowly disappearing from our midst. But we have gradually lost our human qualities and started behaving cruelly like beasts by becoming inhuman and not like humans. Why is this happening?
As we get educated, our sense of humanity is constantly decreasing, and it should be increasing. But why? Educated people are supposed to have more humane qualities, but it is not seen as much now. It is undoubtedly possible to say that everyone will be at the same point about the conscience that is determined by the judgment of good and evil but will be at a different point about the separation of good and evil; that is, there will be different opinions on determining what is good and what is evil. This difference can depend on the person, society, area, time, event, etc. The work of conscience is to assist human beings in making appropriate decisions by judging future thoughts based on the present based on good and evil, advantages and disadvantages, capabilities and inabilities, and principles. Still, the being must make the actual decision. We all talk about the peace of the country, the harmony of all, brilliance, principles, truth, and success, and we even like to hear these words. In comparison, when one’s bag is not so full, the conscience becomes a monster, and whatever peace or other positive thing it had set itself up for, a sick conscience comes and covers it, like a cloud comes and blots out the blue of the sky, which causes utter misery to all. In mind, building a progressive society can also be a challenge. Now is the time to think about it.
Hiren Pandit is an essayist, researcher, and columnist.