Alexander had a splendid talent when it came to tactics, military expeditions and conquests of other people’s lands. However, these conquests led to an unimaginable cultural revolution: Hellenic culture reached all conquered peoples and the Hellenics were greatly influenced by the most diverse cultures, particularly Eastern ones. However, in contrast to culture, there was also a political turnaround, the foundation of which is the transition from Greek city-states to the authoritarian Alexandrian monarchies. Submitting all the freedom and happiness of the Greeks, supported by democracy, there is an intrinsic spiritual and political anarchy in these monarchies. In this way, the scenario boils down to the disappearance of the citizen, or even the very feeling of being a citizen, and the establishment of the individual cosmopolitan, that is, the citizen of the world.
In addition to Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum, other schools were developed in the Hellenistic period: Stoicist, Epicurean and Pyrrhonist. The schools of Plato and Aristotle played an essential role in defining and interpreting the theories of their founders. Stoicism, Epicureanism and Pyrrhonism had a different thought from these schools, seeking a different vision of ethics and, therefore, of education or Paideia, as they were based on passing on to their disciples theoretical foundations that could establish principles that would instruct a moral life correct and, essentially, a happy life. These schools differ regarding some theoretical aspects that influence the ethical principles that underlie each conception of education. Let’s see what these differences are:
O Pyrrhonism derives from the thought of Pyrrho, a philosopher who radically denied the entire Platonic-Aristotelian tradition, placing all human knowledge in doubt, as things are, in themselves, impossible to know, that is, “each thing is nothing more than that”, and thus, our representations are nullified and any attempt to form judgments about any sensation obtained is doomed to failure. In this way, those who wish to be happy must maintain abstention from judgment and always remain indifferent to things, as attempts to form any type of judgment are impossible; Therefore, those who insist on such an act will only achieve disturbance of the soul, which is totally contrary to the ideal of happiness, which is the apathy or imperturbability of the soul.
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O Epicureanism does not deny the certainty of knowledge of things, as it admits in its studies on nature that everything is matter and that all things are made up of thousands of different atoms that prove their existence as they come into contact with our sensations. In this way, our sensation is perfectly capable of referring us to the outside world and, above all, of giving us certainty of finding the truth (the thing in itself). It is in this contact with the truth that Epicurean moral precepts find their foundations: when things come into contact with our sensation, they awaken a feeling of pleasure or pain, and the criterion for discerning what is good for the individual is the pleasure; and to discern what is not good, pain.
However, not every feeling of pleasure promotes happiness; In this way, the existence of natural and necessary pleasures is explained, others are natural but not necessary and still are not natural and not necessary. Thus, Epicurus gives fundamental importance to wisdom for judging good, since by establishing the canons (maxims) designed to guide his disciples to correctly distinguish pleasures and so that they always choose natural and necessary pleasures, it provides everyone with the health of the body and tranquility of the soul and, as a result, happiness. It also constitutes the precepts of Epicurean ethics, the non-fear of the gods and death, as it contradicts Epicurus’ atomistic-materialist theory. Thus, the attitude of the wise epicure is one of great seclusion, which provides everyone with the possibility of recognizing the best pleasures, but always recognizing the importance of friendship, which opens up the opportunity to exchange knowledge with others and establish an indispensable wisdom for the formation of the individual. .
Finally, Epicurean education would aim, above all, under the foundation of wisdom, to form the moral individual and guide his actions, keeping his soul away from the fears of the vulgar, passions and vices (pain), while seeking natural and necessary pleasures for establish a healthy, peaceful and, ultimately, happy life.
Already the Stoicism conceives nature as being determined according to a pantheistic monism: monism because it is a single body called the world (All); and pantheistic because there exists in this world, disseminated everywhere, a creative and normative principle called Logos. He is present in man, but in a different way: he is a hegemonic part of the human soul, that is, in man, he is what we know as reason. Thus, man is naturally rational and this reason is responsible for leading (guiding) him.
According to the Stoics, being happy is also being or living in accordance with nature; therefore, we must first observe the nature of man. It is an animal that needs conservation, that is, it needs to feed and procreate. But this conservation is duly updated, as it has survived over the centuries. On the other hand, it is rational and, however, needs constant updating (as in body care). In this way, the Stoics determined all the necessary concepts so that the individual can become aware of their physical constitution in order to increase (perfect) their rational part, which is flawed, choosing only the goods, based on the criteria of truth, so that he keeps himself away from error (bad judgments) and, therefore, from the passions that inhabit the soul and that cause him painful unhappiness.
Thus, for the Stoics, education would be based on clarifying to the individual that, being aware and following their reason together with all the criteria of judgment, they will have the perfect condition of being constantly prudent when establishing judgments to execrate everything that does not perfect their nature, maintaining Keep away from yourself any and all passions, in order to live happily.
By João Francisco P. Cabral
Collaborator
Graduated in Philosophy from the Federal University of Uberlândia – UFU
Master’s student in Philosophy at the State University of Campinas – UNICAMP