Educação e política em Platão: reflexões a partir do livro VII d’ A República

Abstract

This research investigates the relationship between education and politics according to Plato's philosophical conception, taking book VII of his work, The Republic, as a starting point for reflections on the subject. Therefore, at first, a historical survey was made about the formation of Paideia in Greek antiquity in order to investigate the main facts and conditions that led to the construction of this set of ideas about the education of the Greek citizen. In addition, the educational debate in the classical period was exposed, considering the contribution of the poets, the sophists, also the Spartan and Athenian education. Finally, Socrates is situated in the debate, considering its importance due to the uniqueness of his posture before the reflections of that time. Then, in a second moment, the philosophical assumptions that underlie Plato's contribution to the educational debate in the classical period were addressed. Among these assumptions, it is possible to identify the philosopher's anthropological conception, the peculiarities of his understanding of arete and the importance of this for the education of the virtuous man, as well as highlighting the function of music and gymnastics for the basic formation of the citizen. Finally, in a third moment, the indissociability between education and politics in Platonic philosophy was evidenced through the analysis of the Allegory of the Cave located in Plato’s The Repúblic, book VII. Some aspects were emphasized, such as the importance of the dialectical process in the search for knowledge, the philosophical walk as acquisition of the subject's autonomy and his freedom from ideologies, besides the relevance of the figure of the philosopher-king as a masterpiece resulting from the educational process according to Plato. To achieve the research objective, the bibliographical research was adopted as methodology, considering as primary sources the Platonic dialogues and, among them, The Republic, as a highlight. In addition, several works and scientific research were consulted by respected authors in the academic field, which supported the historical and philosophical understanding. Among these is the work Paideia - The Formation of the Greek Man by the German philologist Werner Jaeger. Through an investigation of a theoretical nature, based on critical rigor and philosophically reflexive, it was possible to observe the great contribution of the educating Plato not only from Greece, but from all over the West. Its overall vision, capable of encompassing Philosophy, Education and Politics, even at present, remains as a reference for the debate about the role of education, its function in a society and its importance for the autonomy of the subject.