Piety And Wholeness:Research On Xenophon’s Educational Philosophy

Even though Xenophon was born in a wealthy family and dedicated half of his life to military career, Xenophon has no desire for wealth or fame. Throughout his life, Xenophon is concerned with the education of the Athenian youths. Xenophon’s educational philosophy is the philosophy of humanization, which is focused on the wholistic development of human body and soul based on the prototype of the gods. In this dissertation we will start from looking into the academic relationship between Xenophon and Socrates, and then systematically analyze Xenophon’s educational philosophy from the perspective of Gods and piety, physical education and temperance. In the conclusion we will point out the possible lessons we could learn from Xenophon’s educational philosophy in allusion to the ignorance and neglect of the nature, human being and the society in our contemporary education in order to cultivate a good human being and a good citizen.To start with, we will discuss Xenophon’s encounter with Socrates event as a pivotal event which directs Xenophon into education and humanization. When awoken by Socrates’s cane, Xenophon woke up from his own ignorance and the ignorance of human being in general, and followed Socrates into the path of wisdom and virtue, i.e., the path of education. Then we will use Gods as a key word to discuss Xenophon’s understanding of Gods and human being, Gods and knowledge, Gods and wisdom so as to point out that Gods as the symbol of the nature is the essential foundation of Xenophon’s educational philosophy and the fundamental horizon of human existence and human education. The acknowledgment of self-ignorance starts from the acknowledgment of Gods, the origin of education originates in the comprehension of Gods. Afterwards, we will expound Xenophon’s philosophy on physical education and temperance. Xenophon considers human body as of pivotal importance to human education as human spirit and soul essentially exist in human body. Therefore, it is of significant meaning to cultivate the body for the purpose of improving the soul and spirit. In a word, Humanization starts from physical education. Humanization, first and formost, means to cultivate physical excellence through exercise and toil. In the meantime, to realize excellence in human being, it is important to cultivate not only the virtue of body but also the excellence of soul which lies in the cultivation and exercise of temperance. Only through temperance could human being become free from the burden of desires and achieve spiritual liberation which would keep the soul open to the Good and the Beauty of things, which could potentially lead to human excellence and happiness.Regarding to how human being achieve excellence in education, Xenophon never gives a perfect answer. However, it is still hopeful that we could find certain clues through reading and interpreting Xenophon’s educational philosophy. First, education starts from the body. Body is the fundamental link between human being and the universe instead of being a mere instrument of learning. Therefore, physical education should be embodied in day-to-day classroom as opposed to one or two curriculum practice and should be directed towards the cultivation of human being as a whole being. Secondly, human education should not be limited to the maximization of grades or enrollment rates. It ought to be related to the holistic development and happiness of a human being within the universe. To this end, temperance is of significant importance to maintain the balance of body and soul which is of pivotal importance in human development. Thirdly, human education is not limited to knowledge acquirement or any specific aspect of human potentials. Gods as the symbol of the universe and the transcendent existence of human being could potentially open up the window of wonder and the opportunity of education. More importantly, gods as the fundamental model of humanization provoke the aspiration for human being to achieve the wholeness of life based on the balance of body and soul as opposed to merely a means of material gains or personal interests. However, how to achieve nobility and happiness of human being through education and cultivation would always be aporia that constantly motivates us to inquire, contemplate and research.