Παιδεία, εκπαίδευση και ηδονή στους Νόμους του Πλάτωνος
Σβίντζου , Ειρήνη
There is no doubt that education is a major issue for Plato, especially in the Laws; perhaps the most important one. The aim of education is to make people decide what to keep and what to avoid from what they love or detest. It is the only approved way of understanding our own feelings, of distinguishing between pleasure and pain and of learning how to control relevant situations and be brave in facing them. Education in the Laws is the explicit program of lessons and trainings, totally systemized and organized to its last details in its practical applications, the path that will guide citizens to a pleasant, eudemonic life. For Plato, it is the way to show his deeper understanding of human nature, it is his second and best look into the possibility of people living in harmony with the universe, near Gods, according to the Law, in virtue and because (or despite) of all that, in happiness. Education is their means and pleasure is their aim.