Bringing together the history of educational philosophy, political philosophy, and rhetoric, this book examines the influence of the philosopher Isocrates on educational thought and the history of education. Unifying philosophical and historical arguments, Muir discusses the role of Isocrates in raising two central questions: What is the value of education? By what methods ought the value of education to be determined? Tracing the historical influence of Isocrates' ideas of the nature and value of education from Antiquity to the modern era, Muir questions normative assumptions about the foundations of education and considers the future status of education as an academic discipline.

Bringing together the history of educational philosophy, political philosophy, and rhetoric, this book examines the influence of the philosopher Isocrates on educational thought and the history of education. Unifying philosophical and historical arguments, Muir discusses the role of Isocrates in raising two central questions: What is the value of education? By what methods ought the value of education to be determined? Tracing the historical influence of Isocrates' ideas of the nature and value of education from Antiquity to the modern era, Muir questions normative assumptions about the foundations of education and considers the future status of education as an academic discipline.

Isocrates is one of the most remarkable and influential figures in the history of human thought. The influence of his ideas in the history of historical writing, rhetoric, the visual arts, music, religion and theology, political science, philosophy and, above all, educational philosophy and practice in Europe, Australia, North America, North Africa, and the Middle East are well established and widely known. This book argues careful study of the educational philosophy of Isocrates and its legacy can contribute to an improved understanding of the historiography of educational thought, his distinctive normative methodology in both political and educational philosophy, and his arguments about the primary importance of the virtues of self-knowledge and realistic self-appraisal for educational philosophers and practitioners. At a time when educational philosophy has an increasingly precarious academic existence and educationists are actively seeking new historiographical and methodological approaches to the philosophical study of education, there is much to be gained by recovering and reevaluating the historiography and normative methodology of Isocrates and the role they play in educational discourse and practice today.