Seneca se opvoedkundige denke

Abstract

The purpose of this study is in the first place to indicate that in answer to problems that emerged in the lives of his friends and relatives Seneca endeavoured to give practical guidance which aimed at the moulding and development of the entire human being and thus in the broadest sense aimed at education, i.e. guidance and moulding which cannot be merely labelled as nonnative precepts. This investigation in the second instance attempts to emphasize the idea that Seneca deserves our attention as a pre-eminent educator and to oppose the opinion that he played an important role only as a philosopher or moralist. Consequently, this dissertation tries to throw more light on Seneca as a pedagogue. Thirdly, we point out that he was indeed no eclectic philosopher but most certainly an educator with a fine feeling for the practical who, unlike the philosopher, does not confine himself to one school of thinking only, but utilizes every way of thinking for education. In the last instance this dissertation attempts to reveal to what extent Seneca as an interpreter of contemporary thought offered correctives for the dilemma of his time. Seneca's views are compared with those of other classical authors as far as is possible, and some comparisons with other contemporary authors are meant to bring his somewhat latent educational ideas into patent perspective. Seneca is one of the most well-known and important, but also one of the most controversial ancient writers by virtue of what he said and how he said it. In the second half of the first century A.O. Seneca contributed significantly to the shaping of contemporary thought by means of his unique style and his authority as respected statesman . During the past few decades Seneca's philosophy and ethics have been emphasized by scholars whilst Seneca the educator has not received his rightful share in academic publications. Hence this dissertation joins the few classicists who realized Seneca's value as an educator. It seems, therefore, that this thesis has a contribution to make in the light of the existing lack of a comprehensive and systematized exposition of Seneca's educational thoughts. Not only the arrange= ment and systematizing of his sometimes incidental and relatively loose pedagogical ideas, but also the new perspective that may be given on Seneca as an educator may prove to be of some value. The first introductory chapter projects Seneca against the political, social and educational background of his century in order to create a more complete portrait. In the light of the above-mentioned back= ground it appears that, although Agrippina imposed certain moral obligations upon him and Nero equally brought him under pressure, Seneca nevertheless not only played a most important but also an extremely formative role in his society, since he was able to reach members of the government, and friends or relatives by way of personal but effective informal contact and influence. It is also evident that Seneca, in spite ff the fact that he sometimes addressed individuals or a small group of people, aimed his message at the reading public, namely the Roman people. Most probably, his conservative education and sound knowledge as well as his experience of practical life, made him an excellent adviser and guide in various fields of life. In this ·respect it can also be said that his writings are directed at a searching, aimless, restless and blase human being. Accepting the fact that Seneca was an· exquisite analyst of his fellow man and society, we must also above all bear in mind that his true strength actually lay in his personal and informal approach to human problems. Since prevention of character disintegration and the promotion of character development were among his main objectives, Seneca prescribed certain formative and corrective measures. It finally becomes apparent that Seneca's practical guidance does not develop from true Stoic principles. In this chapter we also come to the conclusion that he correctly interpreted the crisis of confidence of his age and counteracted it by means of precept and practical guidance. Furthermore, we are of the opinion that informal education, a concept as old as ancient civilization itself, was for the first time exploited and developed by Seneca. Lastly it is stated that Seneca did not enunciate philosophy as such. The second chapter deals initially with the concepts philosophy, ethics

and education and arrives at the conclusion that Seneca's philosophia cannot be termed sheer philosophy (in the modern sense of the word), nor can it merely be called ethics, but should rather be regarded as edification and life-moulding. Consequently, a discussion and classification of his educational thoughts is justified. His ideas can be divided into three main sections of education, namely physical, intellectual and moral education. Evidence confirms that Seneca's physical education occupies a position subordinate to his intellectual education, which in turn is an ancillary to his moral education. In fact, it can be said that both his physical and intellectual education are auxiliary disciplines of his _moral education. Seneca employed these three disciplines to fulfil the ultimate object of his education, namely the vita beata. Lastly we indicate that Seneca envisaged as a result of his broader and more human education a final product which will be capable of independent and original thought, and which will be equipped with sound, clear and correct judgement. In the third chapter Seneca's educational ideal and fundamentals are examined. Firstly, it is found that his final goal, namely the vita beata rested on the one hand on a less important pivot (as far as Seneca was concerned), namely the intellectual basis or ancillary discipline, and on the other hand is well-founded on the very important, prevailing and all -embracing moral foundation. From an educational point of view we come to the significant conclusion that Seneca invisaged a happy, balanced person, adapted to circumstances and equipped with a sound judgement and a rational appreciation of values. Secondly, the educational principles of Seneca's thought can be s_u111ned up as follows: they are primarily moral, secondarily intellectual, distinctly social, less importantly religious and very strongly psychological.