Abstract

FERNANDEZ SANTILLAN, José. Isocrates and the origin of civic education. Validity of a classical author. Convergencia [online]. 2016, vol.23, n.71, pp.63-88. ISSN 2448-5799.

Isocrates has been neglected as one of the principal figures of the main political thought. This essay tries his philosophical legacy, particularly his work as a civic educator. Today this is necessary because it is indispensable to build citizenship.

His method in order to promote democracy was public deliberation not only by means of verbal discussion, but also by disseminating his writings. Isocrates promoted the creation of public spaces in which deliberation was possible. That is why he is considered a contributor of "public spaces" as we know them today.

What we underline is that Isocrates believed in the value of the word as the main transformation of men and political regimes. The idea of democracy was the regime established by Solon and Clisthenes. He always took into account this model in order to restore civic life in Athens and governance in City-states in Greece.

Keywords : education; policy; democracy; oligarchy; citizenship.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in English | Spanish     · English ( pdf ) | Spanish ( pdf )