Plato vs. Aquinas: Educational Views The field and concept of education is a vast and long-philosophized topic. For centuries, both educated and common people have lamented, argued, debated and debated its place in society. The value and necessity of education have consumed the political world for decades. A lot of effort and money is spent on educating the youth of the future. While schools in the sense in which we know them today are a relatively new concept in the landscape of the times, the broader concept of education has existed since the dawn of humanity. Just as the human species has evolved from hunter-gatherers, farmers, industrialists, the concept of education has also evolved. The human animal has always educated itself at a certain level, acquiring knowledge through interactions with the environment. Furthermore, the human species, while providing education to all, continues to maintain a hierarchy of learning, allowing some to achieve greater knowledge than others. These “chosen” educators willingly take on the role and responsibility of educating others and passing on the knowledge they have gathered to the masses. This modern scenario of teacher and pupil is similar to the idea described by Plato in the Republic, of an educational system in which morality, truth and virtue are the driving forces of those who take on the role of educator. Aquinas also advocated the importance of a teacher's beliefs and strong faithfulness in imparting knowledge to those who are the pupils. The thoughts and beliefs of these two philosophers lay the foundation for our modern education system. In today's modern society, education is considered a commodity or product. There is an obsession with quality control of our educational product, with monitoring... middle of paper......the lives of Aquinas and Plato are the infrastructure of sharing knowledge, of It is open questioning, self-discovery, and cooperative learning that allows the field of education to thrive and maintain the fortitude it has currently and for future generations to come. Sources 1) "Aquinas and wisdom as the aim of education". . Np, nd Web. 21 April 2014. .2) Muhammad, Sultan. "Plato and education". Instruction. Np, 18 November 2008. Web. 21 April 2014. .3) de la Tour, p. Herve. "EDOCATE." ST. THOMAS ON TEACHING (): 1. Print.4) Smith, Mark. "Plato on Education". lower Education, Index, Thinkers and Innovators, 8 May 1997. Web. 23 April. 2014. .