Written by Nethra Singhi
The Philosophy of Education is a reflection on the nature, aims and problems of education. It is a branch of applied philosophy that borrows from epistemology, metaphysics, language etc. It looks at both the theoretical and practical aspects of education from a philosophical angle. Now, because educational practice is so vast and varied around the world, there are, of course, variations in the philosophy of education as well.
This series of articles aims at analysing the different theories on education famous philosophers across history had and their application in the modern education system. Today, we talk about Desiderius Erasmus, the Renaissance thinker after whom the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Scholarship is named.
Erasmus’s Philosophy
‘Christian humanism’ best describes Erasmus’s philosophy, combining Christian thought with the classical tradition revived by Renaissance humanists (aka classical humanists), and giving philology prominence over philosophy.
He believed in the vital role of classical culture in a Christian society and created a redefined “philosophy of Christ” that contrasted the prevailing university discipline of philosophy. As Erasmus explains in his book Antibarbari, he believed Christ was the father of philosophy; hence Christ intended everything valuable about pagan culture to be used to enrich Christian culture.
Erasmus was a humanist who studied language, literature, and rhetoric in the renaissance era. Humanists borrowed their ideas from ancient Greek and Roman books and put man at the forefront of their views on good, bad, life, raising children etc. This is where Erasmus’s belief in free will came into play. While he believed in Christian divinity, he also believed that humans have free will. This free will, if aligned with divinity, will become spiritual.
Erasmian Take On Education
Erasmus embraced the humanistic belief in an individual’s capacity for self-improvement and the fundamental role of education in raising rational human beings above the level of brute animals. (note: in the renaissance era, everyone believed humans to be rational and self-aware, an essential quality of distinction that set them apart from animals and helped form organised, civilised societies).
His educational pedagogy promoted docta pietas, a combination of piety and learning that he termed the “philosophy of Christ”. Erasmus believed in the preponderance of nurture over nature because of free will. He was thus was optimistic about the potential of human beings for self-improvement. Hence, it was necessary to provide the proper nurture for children to become pious and free-thinking. It was the duty of parents and teachers to ensure that children fulfilled their potential and lived up to it.
Throughout Erasmus’ writings on education, he emphasises four themes: the humanising effect of education, the effectiveness of cooperative methods over coercive ones, the ability of both sexes to benefit from education, and the importance of internalising the material taught.
The first theme indicates his belief that human beings without education had no humanity. Education made them rational and kept them above the level of beasts. A well-educated child meant a contributing member of society and a good caretaker of the family.
But this education had to be cooperative, not coercive. If a child is forced into learning, they will not enjoy it and thus not gain from it. This is where the second theme comes into play. Educational material should be presented in an entertaining instructional manner that holds a student’s interest. Using punishing methods is detrimental to the cause of learning as it would instil fear and discourage students from making an effort.
While Erasmus initially believed that women were morally and intellectually inferior to men, like most of his contemporaries, his views changed when he came into contact with Thomas More’s (a prominent humanitarian) daughters, who were highly educated and intelligent. Thus while his initial writings on education did not include women, he later acknowledged that education would benefit women as well and that they were on par, sometimes ahead, in terms of intellectual capability.
The fourth theme dictates the method of learning Erasmus believed worked best. He gave less importance to memorisation and imitation, which were the most common educational methods then. Instead, he felt that material needed to be internalised and properly understood.
Ultimately, the education one gained was to be used to celebrate the glory of Christ.
Application of Erasmus’s Educational Philosophy to Modern Education
Erasmus was one of the first thinkers of the renaissance era to give equal importance to the education of men and women. This equality is reflected in India’s RTE (Right to Education Act), which provides every child with freedom of learning.
But moving on to actual educational methods, the Erasmian style of education is reflected in contemporary education, especially in the field of liberal arts — a successor of humanitarian studies. Today, much importance is placed on rhetoric and the critical thinking required to fully internalise any field of study.
There is also an effort to move education away from rote learning to thinking-oriented learning that emphasises the student understanding the subject matter rather than merely memorising it to fulfil educational obligations. More positive reinforcement methods are put in place to interest children and less punitive measures that would scare them away.
Overall, while education is now secular, unlike the Erasmian Christian education, the fundamental beliefs of Erasmus and other classical humanists are imbibed in modern educational approaches.
References
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Desiderius Erasmus summary”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 May. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/summary/Erasmus-Dutch-humanist. Accessed 28 February 2022.
Erasmus Center. “Erasmus Humanism.” Humanism- Erasmus Center for Early Modern Studies, https://www.erasmus.org/index.cfm?itm_name=humanism-EN.
Erasmus, Desiderius. “The education of a Christian prince.” (1965).
MacPhail, Eric. “Desiderius Erasmus (1468? — 1536).” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://iep.utm.edu/erasmus/#SH3a.
Nørgaard, Thomas. “Liberal education in the Erasmus programme.” Internationalisation of higher education and global mobility (2014): 99–118.
Rummel, Erika, and Eric MacPhail. “Desiderius Erasmus.” (2017).
Rummel, Erika. Erasmus, Desiderius (c.1466–1536), 1998, doi:10.4324/9780415249126-C014–1. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Taylor and Francis, https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/biographical/erasmus-desiderius-c-1466-1536/v-1.
