Paideia is a concept from ancient Greece that referred to the training and education of the ideal aristocratic member of the city-state. This training included the liberal arts, philosophy, sciences, being a moral person, and also being physically fit. It derives from the Greek word for the rearing of a child or discipline (in the sense of discipleship).
To the Greeks, the polis was the only world that mattered, and meaning was determined in relation to one’s status in the community. The greatest work of art was not their plays, statues, or temples, but man himself, man perfected to excellence in a diversity of areas. Paideia was the method of training that could create the ideal person.
Thus, paideia encompassed much more than just being well-rounded, or having a smattering of knowledge about a wide variety of things. It was true excellence in a variety of fields, at least as each individual had the capacity for. Paideia was necessary for the cultivation of educated and responsible citizens. Echoing Plato in his Laws: “So long as the young generation is, and continues to be, well brought up, our ship of state will have a fair voyage; otherwise the consequences are better left unspoken.”
Paideia included the liberal arts such as rhetoric, grammar, poetry, music, philosophy, and Greek plays; sciences like arithmetic, astrology, medicine, geography, natural history, and the physical sciences; ethics; philosophy; politics; and physical fitness, such as gymnastics, wrestling, and combat training. To be a dumb jock or effete intellectual was to be sorely lacking.
Why should we care about paideia today? Because, as Plato knew, a society can only be as cultivated, just, and enjoyable to live in as its citizens. If we abandon education in some areas, we’ll have a society incapable of electing good leaders or passing fair laws. We’ll have a mass of people who are swayed by rhetoric rather than reason. Ultimately we’ll have tyrannical rule by the uneducated the masses. Some would say we’ve been there for generations now.
The Greeks knew that education shaped the type of person a child became—it creates their morality, their interpretation of history, their political views, and life philosophy. Today’s schools are no different, and increasingly public schools are turning into Left-wing propaganda machines. (It doesn’t appear to be working on everyone, as Gen Z kids are more conservative than their parents.) This should be enough to make every parent concerned enough to get involved in their children’s educations, and to advocate against the liberal monopoly that’s seen in so many classrooms.
Paideia is also important as a measuring stick for our own lives. Where are we lacking, and what should we cultivate to fulfill ourselves more as human beings and members of our families and communities? Paideia ultimately describes an ideal, an image we can hold in our minds to study and strive toward.