Problemos ISSN 1392–1126 eISSN 2424–6158

2023, vol. 104, pp. 36–46 DOI: https://doi.org/10.15388/Problemos.2023.104.3

Homoiōsis Theōi: Plato’s Ultimate Educational Aim

Alexis Deodato S. Itao
The Graduate School, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines
Social Sciences Department, Cebu Normal University, Cebu City, Philippines
Email alexisdeodato.itao.gs@ust.edu.ph
ORCID https://orcid.org/0000–0003–1160–5139

Abstract. Many academics and researchers who publish scholarly articles on Plato’s philosophy of education claim that the ultimate educational goal for Plato is simply the acquisition of virtues. While such a claim may not be entirely incorrect, it is nevertheless substantially wanting; for although the acquisition of virtue is no doubt paramount, for Plato it primarily serves as a means to another end. In this paper, I aim to show that, for Plato, the final summit of all educational enterprise is not really to become virtuous but rather to attain the state of becoming like God, and that is, homoiōsis theōi.
Keywords: Plato, education, homoiōsis theōi, becoming like God, virtue

Homoiōsis Theōi: aukščiausias ugdymo tikslas Platono filosofijoje

Santrauka. Daugelis akademikų, tyrinėjančių Platono ugdymo filosofiją, teigia, kad, anot Platono, aukščiausias ugdymo tikslas yra dorybių įgijimas. Toks požiūris nėra visiškai klaidingas, tačiau jis iš esmės nepakankamas; nors dorybių išugdymas iš tiesų yra pirmaeilės svarbos, visgi, anot Platono, ugdymas pirmiausia tarnauja kitam tikslui. Šiame straipsnyje siekiu parodyti, kad Platonui ugdymo viršūnė iš tikrųjų yra ne tapti dorybingam, o veikiau pasiekti būklę, kurioje tampama panašiam į Dievą, ir tai yra homoiōsis theōi.
Pagrindiniai žodžiai: Platonas, ugdymas, homoiōsis theōi, tapimas panašiu į Dievą, dorybė.

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Received: 16/04/2023. Accepted: 16/09/2023
Copyright © Alexis Deodato S. Itao, 2023. Published by Vilnius University Press.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Introduction

Many academics and researchers who publish scholarly articles on Plato’s philosophy of education claim that the ultimate educational goal for Plato is simply the acquisition of virtues – the sine qua non for personal development, the knowledge of the Forms, and becoming a good citizen in the polis.¹ While such a claim may not be entirely incorrect, it is nevertheless substantially wanting; for although the acquisition of virtue is no doubt paramount, for Plato it primarily serves as a means to another end, man’s final telos, and that is: homoiōsis theōi, the state of becoming like God.²

Whereas in antiquity it was common knowledge that homoiōsis theōi was the ultimate existential telos for Plato, in our time, it is something that has become rather uncommon. Sedley (1999: 309) reveals how these days, only very few – even among “those well informed about Plato” – can correctly identify homoiōsis theōi as the final telos of human existence. As Annas (1999: 53) likewise observes, there is “almost a total absence of this idea from modern interpretations and discussions of Plato.”³ In fact, it is only in the last six years that new additional studies – though still not that many – offering fresh insights on homoiōsis theōi have been published.⁴ One of these recent studies is particularly significant in that, for the first time, homoiōsis theōi is now categorically identified as an “educational ideal in Plato” (Zovko 2018). Although homoiōsis theōi does not cease to become the existential telos here, Zovko’s study has opened a new perspective about what becoming like God essentially is: an educational goal and process. I disagree with Zovko (2018: 8), however, that godlikeness and virtuousness “comprise in tandem the telos of Plato’s educational theory.” I agree that attaining virtues and living a virtuous life is “essential to divinization and its goal, the ascent to a higher realm. Nevertheless, it is not the whole story,” as Keena (2021: 92; emphasis mine) puts it. So I maintain that acquiring virtues and living virtuously is not on par with becoming like God; and that while virtuousness is indispensable as a stepping stone to godlikeness, it is not its equal in standing or in eschatological significance.⁵

In this paper, I aim to show that for Plato, the final summit of all educational enterprise is not really to become virtuous but rather to become godlike – the ultimate educational aim and ideal that many studies on Plato fail to capture. I argue that Plato’s philosophy of education remains incomplete if it fails to take into account homoiōsis theōi. The significance of the present study is therefore twofold: firstly, while countless new studies on Plato appear year after year, there is still a dearth of literature that focuses on homoiōsis theōi; and, secondly, if I may borrow the words of a respected scholar on Platonic philosophy, “many of those who are most interested in and familiar with Plato’s work do not have a corresponding interest in education or educational thought. This may be because they do not think that thinking about education has any intellectual or philosophical worth” (Barrow 2007: 140).⁶

Plato’s Moral Psychology

For Plato, man is his soul (psȳkhē).⁷ He did not view man as a body having a soul; rather man for him is a soul having a body. Plato believed that, originally, man did not have a body. Man used to be just soul. And, back then, he did not live in this material world. He dwelt in the spiritual world where he lived a blessed life, enjoying a blissful and godlike existence. Plato thought that this original condition of man is man’s ideal state of being.

But what happened? Upon birth, man finds himself imprisoned in a material body.⁸ Poor man, he is no longer a free spirit. He is now a prisoner of his newly acquired body. Fortunately, man’s case is not hopeless. He can break free from his bodily imprisonment and return to the spiritual world where he once lived. That is why, for Plato, man’s chief task is to seek liberation, because this entails not only getting out of the confines of the body but also eventually becoming godlike (see Theaetetus 176b–e). As Dombrowski (2005: 99) notes, “Assimilation to God is a return to the soul’s ‘original’ nature […] To see assimilation to God as our telos means that such assimilation is both a goal aimed for and a supreme fulfillment.”⁹ But how can man do it? What is the means by which he can get back home and reacquire his lost divine nature?

Suicide is definitely not the answer; for even if the body dies, the soul will again be imprisoned in another body. The continuous cycle of metempsychosis – that is, the transmigration of the soul from one body to another – must first be totally broken so that man will finally acquire absolute and unconditional emancipation (see Timaeus 92c1–3). Incidentally, the means to man’s liberation is all within man himself. He does not have to look elsewhere. In fact, he has within himself all the power to bring about his own deliverance. So, for Plato, man’s way out is practically simple. Man has to simply utilize all this power and break free. But what exactly is this power?

In Plato’s view, man has three seats of power. They are reason (logistikon), spirit (thumoeides), and appetite (epithumetikon) (Republic IV, 436b). All three constitute the entire man. In man’s embodied state, reason resides in the head, spirit in the heart, and appetite in the stomach. Reason is responsible for thinking and rationalizing; spirit for feeling and apprehending; and appetite for sensing and desiring. Thus, for Plato, man is a tripartite soul.¹⁰ As such, it is by optimizing these three power cores that man acquires the key that releases him from his bondage and leads him to homoiōsis theōi.

To fully develop his rational, spiritual, and appetitive parts, man has to attain the virtues proper to each part. Now, for his rational part, man needs wisdom (phronēsis; also sophia). For his spiritual part, man needs courage (andreia). For his appetitive part, man needs temperance (sōphrosynē) (Republic IV, 439a–440e). These virtues are very important for man to have. Without them, he will have no control over his reason, spirit, and appetite (Republic IV, 444e). But with these virtues at hand, man is the captain of his fate and master of his soul. And that is not even all. For, in addition to these virtues, another virtue will arise combining all three, gathering them together as one. This virtue is justice (dikaiosynē) (Republic IV, 442d). It is wisdom, courage, and temperance all rolled into one (see Republic IV, 441d–442a; see also Kepreotes 2022: 56 and 78; Kraut 2022: 299 and 304; Dahl 1999: 209; and Armstrong 2004: 180).

In Phaedrus 245c–249d, Plato depicts the soul as a flying chariot driven by a charioteer aided by two–winged horses. The charioteer represents reason, while the horses represent spirit and appetite, respectively. Now, to reach its destination, the chariot must fly and fly. That is why, it must have a competent charioteer and properly trained horses. Otherwise, the chariot will stop and cease to fly or else go to an altogether different route and direction. The charioteer’s competence, then, represents wisdom; the proper training of the horses represents courage and temperance.

But again, how will man attain wisdom? How will he gain courage? How will he develop temperance? And how will he become just? The answer is somewhat complex, but, in essence, it is through education (paideia)¹¹ that man will acquire the four virtues that he needs.

The Need for Virtue and Education

There is no question that, for Plato, to become a virtuous person is imperative, because “if one of us aspires to become like a god, this is the state he must try to attain” (Laws 792d; emphasis mine).¹² The process of acquiring virtues, however, is not a quick and easy undertaking; it involves a rather long and challenging process of paideia “because Platonic education is a preparation of the tripartite soul” (Kepreotes 2022: 60) for homoiōsis theōi.¹³

I cannot discuss all the major themes and terms in Plato’s educational philosophy here, but I would like to take as a starting point a general truth about paideia: that for Plato, it “is education from childhood in virtue” (Laws 643e; original emphasis by the editor).¹⁴ Obviously, there are two major elements that we can readily identify here: childhood and virtue. But before I say anything about these two, it should be noted that “Plato’s educational proposals are rooted in his distinctive understanding of the soul” (Patterson 2013: 373). For him, “all education was moulding the soul” (Jaeger 1986: 247), and it ought to begin in man’s earliest years, that is, during his childhood.¹⁵ This is called propaideia (προπαιδεία), the education of the children and the youth, especially in the areas of music, gymnastics, grammar, geography, and arithmetic (Republic VII, 536d).¹⁶

Plato is keenly aware of how much children tend to develop lasting habits that could either be beneficial or detrimental to their souls (Laws 792e). For this, “the soul of the child has to be prevented from getting into the habit of feeling pleasure and pain in ways not sanctioned by the law” (Laws 659d). That means that the soul, starting from childhood, should be trained to control its appetitive and affective proclivities; otherwise, the child will “become the wildest animal on the face of the earth. That’s why the legislator should not treat the education of children cursorily or as a secondary matter” (Laws 766a).¹⁷

It may not be that readily apparent, but I believe that, in the Platonic paideia, there “lies a deeper rationale” for why children have to be educated early on and for a very long time: because by letting them attain virtues, they will hopefully arrive at godlikeness. As Cleary (2013: 101) asserts, “homoiōsis theōi plays an implicit yet very important role” in Plato’s overall conception of education. Of course, homoiōsis theōi is not possible “without first preparing the non–rational parts of the soul through prolonged education in the arts and physical training” (Kepreotes 2022: 65). Thus, for Plato, all children until they reach twenty have to go through the same basic education program that focuses on learning the arts (music, poetry, etc.) and physical education (Republic VII, 537c).

After the age of twenty, those who have no aptitude for higher education yet stand out for their virtue of temperance, are incorporated back into the state, where they function as producers – i.e., as farmers, craftsmen, or artisans, offering different goods and services.¹⁸ The rest, meanwhile, go through yet another phase of education (focused on higher mathematics, geometry, and astronomy) that lasts a decade – i.e., until they all turn 30 (Republic VII, 537d). When this ten–year educative period is over, one group returns to the state and serves as auxiliaries – i.e., as soldiers and military personnel – having been noted for their virtue of courage; the remaining group, found to be outstanding in their virtue of wisdom and exceptional intelligence, continues with their higher education until they reach thirty–five, focusing their attention on the study of dialectic (Republic VII, 437c).¹⁹ The next educational stage that follows is a 15–year–long practicum where the students are compelled “to take command in matters of war and occupy the other offices suitable for young people, so that they won’t be inferior to the others in experience” (Republic 539e–540a). Finally, “at the age of fifty, those who’ve survived the tests and been successful both in practical matters and in the sciences must be led to the goal and compelled to lift up the radiant light of their souls to what itself provides light for everything” (Republic VII, 540a). This final educational stage is called philosophia (φιλοσοφία), and the aim here is no longer simply the attainment of any virtue, but “becoming as like God as possible” (Theaetetus 176b).

The Godlikeness of the Highly Educated²⁰

After half a century of educational journey, the final escape or the liberation of man from his bodily detention now seems within reach for the chosen few who make it to the stage of philosophia.²¹ Even so, nothing is yet totally guaranteed; for although philosophia will most likely make the highly educated no longer be reincarnated after their death, there are enlightened people who will still get corrupted, and hence, have to be reborn (see Republic VI, 491b–e and 496c–d). Does it mean, then, that, after reaching the summit of knowledge and contemplating the sun of truth, man should just remain outside the cave of ignorance, impiety, injustice, and vice to ensure that he will never be corrupted?

Indeed, if the highly educated have to be “as like God as possible”, does godlikeness mean they should remain ‘otherworldly’, detached from the affairs of this world? Or does godlikeness mean they should still be ‘worldly’, in the sense that they remain involved in the social, political, and economic activities in the polis? Scholars continue to debate on this issue. On the one hand, Annas (1999 and 2019) and Sedley (1999 and 2017) believe that godlikeness presupposes that the highly educated do not really have any moral obligation to engage themselves in the affairs of this material world. Both Annas and Sedley hold that having made it outside the cave of darkness, the main concern of the enlightened is now to simply bask in the sun of truth. On the other hand, Armstrong (2003) and Mahoney (2004 and 2005) are convinced that godlikeness entails that the enlightened have the duty to share their wisdom and knowledge with the world. Taking the ‘middle’ position, we have Jenkins (2016) and Lännström (2011), who accept and deny a part of both Annas’ and Sedley’s, and Armstrong’s and Mahoney’s, claims. I will no longer discuss their views, but I would recommend their works to scholars who are interested in the debate on the characteristics of godlikeness in Plato.

As for my view, I take the side of Armstrong and Mahoney. I believe that to be like God is to be like Him, foremost by imitating His being just. As Mahoney (2005: 90) underlines, “because god is supremely just, justice is the most salient feature of our likeness to god.” And what is justice if not the striving for “the harmonious good of all” (Mahoney 2005: 90)? And how can one become just if one remains detached from and indifferent to what is going on in the world around him? For this reason, I agree with Armstrong (2003: 180) that the enlightened “must follow justice.” It is not an option; for a godlikeness that does not translate into concrete acts of justice makes no sense. Justice is never an abstract virtue for Plato, because, as Mahoney (2004: 329–330) shares, “to follow the pattern of the gods, one cannot simply refrain from unjust actions; one must also engage in positive action for the sake of others.” We can look at justice, then, as a barometer of how godlike we have already become.

Unfortunately, many of those who write about Plato’s philosophy of education – either through pure negligence or sheer ignorance – often fail to mention that the highly educated have also the task of educating others (Republic VII, 540b). For once a person has succeeded in going out of the cave, he still must go back there – even if it means no one would be willing to listen to him, even if he would be rejected, or even if he should lose his life in the process. This is actually what Plato calls periagōgē (περιαγωγή) – the necessary turning–about that all those who have been and are truly highly educated must make (Republic VII, 518c–d). For, as true justice demands, knowledge and wisdom are not meant to be kept; they are always meant to be shared. This is what the godlikeness of the highly educated is and should be: not fleeing away from, but rather going towards those in need.

Conclusion

Now if we go back to the thesis that homoiōsis theōi is the ultimate educational aim for Plato, is this pathway open to everyone? The producers and the auxiliaries certainly do not enjoy the same privileges that the enlightened few do, but if in paideia homoiōsis theōi is already the implicit telos in the pursuit of virtue, then is godlikeness also a possibility for ordinary citizens? Scholars do not have a uniform answer to these questions. My answer, though, would be ‘yes’. Plato himself affirms that godlikeness is open to “anyone who eagerly wishes to become just and who makes himself as much like a god as a human can by adopting a virtuous way of life” (Republic X, 613a–b; emphasis mine). Although the highly educated, thanks to philosophia, have “a much easier access” to godlikeness, that does not mean that ordinary folks have zero opportunity to become godlike. And a very recent study confirms my view that, indeed, “the ideal of godlikeness is no longer intended for an exclusive club of philosophers, but for a diverse population of a city. This means that […] everyone in the city can ‘become like god so far as is possible’ ” (Bartninkas 2023: 205).

Thus truly, Plato’s educational philosophy is so much richer in reality. For this reason, readily equating his ultimate educational goal with the mere acquisition of virtue omits a very important component that would have afforded a much, much better appreciation for Plato’s philosophy of education. As we have seen, in Plato’s view, education is a lifelong journey towards liberation, an epic coming home; but education is not just meant for man to be back home. For Plato, this is what education is really for: to restore the original ideal nature of man – blessed, pure, and godlike. This is why the end of ends of all educational enterprise is homoiōsis theōi – man’s “becoming like god,” the very state in which man’s humanity becomes deified (Theaetetus 176bc). That explains why, for Plato, this particular state is also the very telos and apotheosis of human existence.

Now is it correct to claim that the ultimate educational goal for Plato is simply the acquisition of virtue? The answer is a big No! While the acquisition of virtue is certainly a must before attaining liberation, for Plato, it is only a means to an end: homoiōsis theōi – man’s eschatological deification. So those who write about Plato’s philosophy of education who fail to include this important concept also fail to capture the entirety of his educational philosophy. Therefore, there is really a need today to recover Plato’s ultimate educational aim.

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