Ashley Hassitt
The Educational influences of Plato and Bacon
Plato and Bacon have both influenced the way we view education in a variety of ways.
They both have strong opinions on what is important to learn and who can reach enlightenment.
Each philosopher depicts his ideas about humanity and its flaws in categorical groups that
explain human desires and how we can search for knowledge. Their theories have become
important parts of the modern educational system that influences the youth of today.
Human desires have often been seen as a major flaw in humanity. Plato places human
desires into three groups; the Appetite (food, sex, and money), the Spirit (honor and victory), and
the Rational (knowledge/truth). The desires of appetite and spirit hinder humanities ability to
realize the rational. Plato’s goal for humanity is to eliminate the desires of appetite and spirit so
only the truth and desire for knowledge remain. Plato asserts that not all people are capable of
eliminating the desires of the appetite and of the spirit. In the allegory of the cave, Plato explains
that people learn not by listening to the truth as told by others, but by leaving the cave and
experiencing the world for themselves. We cannot hope to understand the truth if we simply
listen to the explanations of others, for we must exit the cave and view the true objects to gain
understanding of the world around us. We will only see shadows until we experience the light of
truth for ourselves. However, as discussed in the myth of the metals, Plato does not believe that
all people are equally suited for the pursuit of knowledge. He believes people are born with
certain capabilities and attributes that force them into a certain position in life, be it a ruler or a
craftsmen.
To Plato, the most successful human society is that of the commonwealth. He states that “our
aim in founding the commonwealth was not to make any one class specially happy but to secure
the greatest possible happiness for the community as a whole” (Plato, 8). Thus the
commonwealth is the ideal society because no single class is more successful than any other and
the society is happy as a whole. This view of a collective society working together is depicted in
today’s classrooms where the activities are devised for the entire group as a whole, not for each
individual student. The modern educational system is set up in such a way that the majority of
students will succeed in a wide variety of tasks where no one subject is dominant. This set up is
reflective of Plato’s theme of the happiness for the collective, not the individual.
Similar to Plato, Bacon categorizes the false truths man believes in into four groups known as
the idols of the mind. Bacon describes his idols of the mind, beginning with the idols of the tribe,
or mans habit of perceiving the world by how it relates to humanity, which creates “an uneven
mirror receiving rays from things and merging its own nature with the nature of things, which
thus distorts and corrupts it” (Bacon, 41). The next idol Bacon discusses is the idols of the cave,
or the individual’s weaknesses in reason caused by personal experiences, traits, upbringing,
and/or culture. The third idols are those of the marketplace, or the “ illusions which seem to arise
by agreement and from men’s associations with each other” including false ideas traded from
one individual to another through word of mouth and poor understanding caused by insufficient
language skills (Bacon, 41). The final idols Bacon defines are the idols of the theatre, which are
the misunderstandings that continue to exist through incorrect principles passed on through
traditions or beliefs. These idols are similar to Plato’s appetite, spirit, and rational desires. Both
Bacon and Plato believe that to create an intellectual society, the individual must remove the
unnecessary desires/idols and focus on the search for truth.
One major difference between Plato and Bacon is of who is able to attain enlightenment.
Bacon believed that anyone who applies themselves to the pursuit of knowledge can become
enlightened if they use the correct methods. Bacon believed “his true mission was to recall men
from the study of words to that of things, to point out to them the power and advantage to be
gained from a true knowledge of nature, as well as to set forth the method by means of which he
believed such knowledge could be gained” (Bacon, iv). Following this belief, Bacon created the
Baconian method, a precursor to the scientific method. Bacon insisted that “it is the business of
man to be the interpreter of nature; and, to this end, that he must turn from words to a study of
things, in order to discover nature’s laws” (Bacon, vii). Through the experimentation and
analysis the truth could be found, because by only listening to what others say is not true
understanding. This concept is very similar to Plato’s allegory of the cave. Both men believe that
we must use science and experimentation to reach a true understanding of the world around us.
The two men, however, do disagree on the point of who can attain the truth. Plato believes only a
select view who are born with the correct attributes may reach enlightenment while Bacon
believes that as long as the correct methods are used, anyone can become enlightened.
Bacon strongly believed that people should not blindly follow others, but experience the
world for themselves so they are better able to understand the laws and the importance of
organized society. To prove this point, Bacon said “to say that blind custom of obedience should
be safer obligation than duty, taught and understood, is to say that a blind man may tread surer
by a guide than a man with his eyes open can by light. And, doubtless, learning makes the mind
gentle and pliable to government, whereas ignorance renders it churlish and mutinous” (Bacon,
9). This is similar to Plato’s allegory of the cave in the way that those inside the cave where
unable to understand the truth as the people who left the cave explained it. Both philosophers
stress the importance of a society in which blind obedience does not exist but the masses
understand the importance of the laws and thus follow them knowing their significance.
Part 2:
Throughout my educational experiences, Plato’s ideas have played an important role in
many aspects of my schooling. The classes we take are often determined by a supposed natural
ability to understand a given subject. Plato also implies the necessity of the enlightened teaching
the masses, which is shown by the fact that the teacher is dominant over the students in our
classrooms because they are seen as the possessor of knowledge while the students must simply
listen and absorb the knowledge they are given by the teacher. Many of Plato’s ideas are still
commonly practiced in classrooms today.
Plato believes that each individual has a particular role to perform and they must develop
those skills as best they can. He states that “each individual should be put to the use for which
nature intended him”, which is why certain students excel at particular subjects and should thus
study more of that particular discipline (Plato, 1). Because I received high marks in my English
classes early on in my educational career, I was pressured into taking many English classes even
though I did not enjoy writing. This idea of natural ability has led schools to create different level
classes for a perceived ability early on in life. Once placed in a particular track, it is nearly
impossible to change lanes or focus on a different subject. The tests that often place us into
particular tracks do not take into account many factors, including language barriers, level of
exposure to a subject, and level of interest in the subject. In the myth of the metals, Plato
explains that "we shall have to watch them from earliest childhood and set them tasks” and if the
child succeeds in these tasks, they are destined to work in whichever field they showed success
in while “all who do not reach this standard we must reject” (Plato, 5). Being pressured into
particular subjects at a young age is still a common practice in schools today.
Plato also describes a structured educational system where the person with the knowledge
passes on the information to the rest of the masses. This idea is often reflected in the teacherstudent relationships seen in classrooms today. In the allegory of the cave, the guardians “must
be made to descend again among the prisoners in the den and partake in their labours and
honors” (Plato, 8). The teacher is the person who has left the cave and returned to bring
knowledge to those still only able to view shadows. Plato also believed that “our youth should be
trained from the first in a stricter system, for if amusements become lawless, and the youths
themselves become lawless, they can never grow up into well-conducted and virtuous citizens”
(Plato, 2). In my own educational experiences, the rigid class structure has been apparent. In my
elementary school we were taught the importance of manners, such as raising our hands to ask
questions and cleaning up after ourselves. These habits are important to keep society organized
and to reduce the risk of bad encounters with our peers.
The ideas expressed by Plato are still evident in our educational system today. The
teacher is still depicted as the bringer of information while the students are the ignorant people
still trapped in the cave. We continue to be placed into tracks based on perceived ability early on
in life, whether we enjoy the subject matter or not. The influences of Plato and Bacon are evident
in the modern educational system and their ideas continue to influence our society today.
Works cited:
Bacon, Francis, and James E. Creighton. Advancement of Learning and Novum Organum. The
Colonial, 1900. Google Books. Web. 13 Aug. 2009.
<http://books.google.com/books?id=JdhBAAAAIAAJ&ots=y0Py5fVhR&dq=Francis%20Bacon&lr=&pg=PR1#v=onepage&q=&f=false>.
Bacon, Francis. Aphorisms on the Interpretation of Nature and on the Kindom of Man. The New
Organum. 1620. 32-57. Print.
Plato. "Education and the State." The Republic. 366 B.C.E. Print.