A Commentary On The Thought Of Plato's Citizen Education

Plato was not only a great philosopher, thinker, but also a great educator in ancient Greece. His devotion to education and his profound educational thought greatly influenced ancient Greece later Europe and many other countries in the world and have remained enlightening and instructive even till today. In this article , the writer has given an instruction to Plato's educational thought on citizens in the setting of Athens in which he lived, starting with the development of Athenian democracy.In the first chapter, the writer has discussed the relationship between citizens and polis. Citizens, the rulers of the polis in Greece, not only had the privilege to manage their countries and possess landed property, but also were responsible for the safety of their polis. Thanks to the developed democracy, citizens could participate in the management of the polis as mass governors. Their individual benefits were closely related to that of their countries, which was especially obvious in Athens.That the body of citizens was disintegrated and the crisis of polis emerged was dealt with in the second chapter. The war between Athens and Sparta made Athens confronted with the transition from prosperity to decline, which shocked Plato greatly. Being a patriot, he believed that his motherland could revive via educating qualified citizens.In the third chapter, the writer has discussed the system of Plato's educationalthoughts on citizens, which consists of four parts--pre-school education,primary education, secondary education and higher education. The final goal of his education was to maintain the social prosperity and stability by cultivating the...