Isocrates and the origin of civic education. Validity of a classical author

Isocrates and the origin of civic education. Validity of a classical author José Fernández-Santillán / Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus, Mexico Abstract: Isocrates has been neglected as one of the principal figures of the main political thought. This essay tries his philosophical legacy, particularly his work as a civic educator. Today this is necessary because it is indispensable to build citizenship. His method in order to promote democracy was public deliberation not only by means of verbal discussion, but also by disseminating his writings. Isocrates promoted the creation of public spaces in which deliberation was possible. That is why he is considered a contributor of “public spaces” as we know them today. What we underline is that Isocrates believed in the value of the word as the main transformation of men and political regimes. The idea of democracy was the regime established by Solon and Clisthenes. He always took into account this model in order to restore civic life in Athens and governance in Citystates in Greece. Key words: civic education, policy, democracy, oligarchy, citizenship. Resumen: Isocrates ha sido descuidado como una figura señera entre los grandes pensadores políticos de la Grecia antigua. El presente ensayo rescata el legado de este filósofo, particularmente su trabajo como educador cívico, hoy tan necesario para construir ciudadanía. El método que utilizó para promover la democracia fue la deliberación pública, no solamente a través de la discusión verbal sino también de la difusión de escritos. En consecuencia, Isocrates contribuyó a crear espacios de discusión muy semejantes a lo que ahora conocemos como “esfera pública”. Lo que ponemos de relieve es que Isocrates creyó en el papel de la palabra como eje transformador tanto de los hombres como del régimen político. El ideal de democracia que tuvo en mente fue el régimen instaurado por Solón y Clístenes. Siempre tuvo en cuenta ese modelo para restaurar la vida cívica en Atenas y en las ciudades Estado de la Grecia antigua. Palabra clave: educación cívica, política, democracia, oligarquía, ciudadanía. e-ISSN 2448-5799, UAEM, no. 71, May - August 2016 Convergencia, Revista de Ciencias Sociales, no. 71, 2016, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México Introduction “Civic education” as a concept has attracted an increasing interest of specialists in the political theory, but also of the promoters of the so-called civic culture (governments and parties). Obviously, much has been written in this regard, since the classic book of Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba (1989: 374). Compared to a concept of this nature, like so many others of the political language, attention is immediately paid to the historical roots, which means the Greeks and, particularly, Aristotle. As two specialists in the field say: “among the Greeks who wrote on political issues, it is Aristotle who had the lion’s share as attention received” (Poulakos and Depew, 2004: 1). It is attributed to the Stagirite, in addition to being the main political Greek writer, the role of civic educator. However, there are studies that report other results: “Isocrates was a high-profile figure in civic education, as for capability of rhetorical discussion. Much more than Aristotle (Poulakos and Depew, 2004: 2). This is an assertion based on a serious research work: Isocrates is more important than Aristotle regarding civic education. Statement backed up by several analysts as A. E. Raubitschek, who says that Isocrates’ educational technique and rhetoric was picked up and transmitted by Cicero (Collier’s Encyclopaedia, 1993: 319-320). Isocrates lived a long life (436 BC-338 BC). Accordingly, he was a witness to many events: the confrontation between Greeks and Persians, the rivalry between the Greek City-states and as if were not enough, revolts aplenty in his native city, Athens. There were two fundamental purposes that moved him to act in public life: restore the Athenian greatness and unite the Greek cities to face the common enemy, the Persians. In order to achieve these tasks he considered that they should appeal to the power that once characterized his city, culture. It was mandatory to return to the foundations that had made the polis famous, the privileged instrument should be the education. The method that Isocrates utilized to develop his educational project was dissemination writings of “deliberative philosophy” (Raubitschek, 1992: 319). The deliberation as the art of education. Isocrates promoted the exchange of ideas through controversy; he discovered that the discussion was an effective method to educate both the people and the elites. That is why his writings gained new vigor in the Italian renaissance. The idea was to recover the principle of contradiction by means of the discussion of ideas. This principle of contradiction, in fact, is one of the pillars of modernity. John Milton was the thinker who brought Isocrates’ legacy to modern times. 2 José Fernández-Santillán. Isocrates and the origin of civic education. Validity of a classical author As it can be easily deduced, public discussion cannot be carried out if it is not supported and based on the individual freedom to express freely their thoughts and publish what they deem appropriate. The rights of freedom of expression and press are in debt with both Isocrates and John Milton indeed. It is no coincidence that these authors – as distant as they were in time- are precursors of what today is known as “public space”; i.e., the place where topics of general interest are discussed. Both, Isocrates and Milton, used reasons over force. The crucial point to improve a society is education and, particularly, civic education as a way to recover and strengthen democracy. What is demonstrated in this article is that Isocrates was a passionate defender of democracy. As he lived at times when Athens was declining, he was hurt to see Athens plunging into degradation; mired in personal ambitions and insatiable appetite for material wealth. A completely different spirit had been the one used to build the Athenian greatness in the times of Solon and Cleisthenes; this is, when Athens was full of virtues that were an example for other Greek cities. What Isocrates did, with the eagerness of raising his city from prostration, was to make evident the contrast between the ideal democracy (that of Solon and Cleisthenes) and the shadow of democracy that he had before his eyes. The solution, from his view, was to re-educate the rulers and the governed: recover the old spirit of sacrifice, virtue, for the good of the city and leave personal interests behind. He improved the art of rhetoric as a mechanism to disseminate his ideas verbally and in a written way. By generating controversy “public opinion” is born; listen to what others say and answer them; create a didactical dynamic in which everyone participates in parity of circumstances. The most important thing was to have general (...truncated)