1. NURS 774 Educational Theory & Philosophy for Nursing Module 2 Ancient Philosophers Margaret Louis, RN, PhD, BC

2. Objectives for Module • Comparison of ancient philosophers • Discussion of how these philosophers impact or influence education today • Discussion of impact on nursing knowledge and education

3. Ancient Map of Mesopotamia

4. Ancient World • Preliterate societies • Mesopotamia 7000 BCE • Sumerians 3000 – 2250 • Egyptian civilization legacy • Consider papyrus with black ink still legible 5000 years later. Will digital be accessible in 5000 years? • Ancient China • Confucius 551-479 BCE

5. Ancient World -- • Ancient China • Confucius 551-479 BCE • China's most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, whose ideas have influenced the civilization of East Asia.

6. Confucius Quotes I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. Respect yourself and others will respect you. Study the past if you would define the future. Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star. Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it. Some of these struck me as timely for this discussion and course. Especially the first one.

7. Ancient China

8. Ancient Philosophers • Quest for knowledge = throughout history • Aristotle in Metaphysics “All men[sic] by nature desire to know” • Do you see this with nurses? Give example of how this is supported or not supported

9. Time Periods • BCE = Before Common Era • CE = Common Era or current historical period

10. Cosmology • Pre-Socratic Greeks • Interest in Cosmos (world around them) • Mostly Deductive • Underlying unity and diversity • Problem of the one and the many • In health care - Who gets the treatment? • One with great need costing $$$$ or • Many who can be helped in prevention for much less per person?

11. Greek Socrates Academic freedom of right of teacher to teach and learner to learn without arbitrary political authority or countering public opinion Socrates: “Wisest is he who knows he knows not” Plato Idealist Probed meaning of life Aristotle Realist Purpose of education to cultivate human excellence Higher education started at 21 Classical Greek Plato & Aristotle Socrates

12. Knowledge concerned with universal • Level of existence surpassed physical reality • Plato • Forms • Socrates • Ideas

13. Aristotle • Built on Socrates and Plato • Speculative (theoretical) sciences = goal of creating knowledge • 1st philosophy (metaphysics) physics, mathematics • Practical Sciences - focus on ability to act in light of knowledge ethics, politics & economics • Productive Sciences - goal to produce something • Fine arts, medicine, architecture, rhetoric

14. Greeks • “knowledge for knowledge sake” • True of nurses? Majority? • Why true or not?

15. Shift to Sophists • Used empirical, inductive • Looked for practical ends • Search for Absolute Truth = • Universally True, without doubt, not subject to change • Relative Truth = • Dependent on context, ‘relative’ to specific context or situation • Which do you fit with? • Which do most nurses you know fit with?

16. Practical End!!!

17. Key with Ancients • Sought to achieve universal, objective Truth about the world, • To be certain about what they knew to the greatest degree possible • Same as today???

18. Syllogism • Thank Aristotle for them • Derive Truth from fundamental element of logic • 3 statements (simplest truth, basic and final more comprehensive truth or general conclusion and middle connects the first and last)

19. Syllogism

20. Classical Roman • Quintilian • Self control and discipline • Father primary teacher of children • Power of Oratory • Consider commercials, political debates etc. • Use in Nursing and Health care? • Greek slaves tutored the Roman children

21. Philosophy of Education • Look at development in relation to life & times of the philosopher • Confucius - response to time of social unrest & practical turmoil • Plato - multidimensional nature and basic human questions • Aristotle - Natural Realism and ideas on schooling • Quintilian - rhetorical education, Roman who incorporated Greek concepts about education

22. Ancients Today? • What is the enduring impact of • Egyptians • Greeks • Romans • What if any of these can we use in nursing education today? • What of the following “All men by nature desire to know”The metaphysics by Aristotle • Is this quote true of Nurses today? Why, Why not?

23. Issues for Consideration • How does nursing use or not use Ancient Philosophy? • What Education Philosophy of Ancients would you say is useful today? • Why? How? In Nursing? • What of folklore, myths, legends? • What is your Philosophy of • Education related to Nursing? • Any influence from ancients? Which ones and why?