t of an ethical consciousness informed by reason and wisdom. How such development occurs goes directly to philosophical education, which is serious civic business. It is so serious, in fact, that ethics and individual ethical development must precede development of the state: "a young man is not a proper hearer of lectures on political science; for he is inexperienced in the actions that occur in life" (Eth. 310). The Nicomachean Ethics functions educationally, to address the youthful gap in knowledge and maturity and prepare the way for eventual admittance into the body politic as a full citizen.
Where it was preserved after the decline of ancient civilization, education was viewed as an aspect of shared social values. Such concepts as the Renaissance man and cosmopolitan humanism drove the idea of education for aristocrats as preparation for their social roles as courtiers and diplomats (Gutek 105-7). In the New World, grammar-school study of languages and classics persisted among the elites, in preparation for universi
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