On the one hand, he said, there is the exclusionary elitism of ancient higher education.
As the empire crumbled and Christianity became ascendant, as cities decayed, trade declined, and an anxious populace scanned the horizon for barbarian armies, the ancient system of education fell apart.
-Why did philosophy develop as a major form of education in ancient Greece?
"And a sweet Planet it is!" It was the first of the great romantic escapes that would mark the next century, from Mary Shelley to Elizabeth Barrett: Italy now meant not merely ruins and Raphael, education in ancient cities, but sex and sunshine, love in a warm climate.
The key point is that as few extra-literary concerns as possible should stand in the way of good writers – not the claim that no one should ever write about experience not their own, nor the sustenance of ancient privileges of race, education, sexuality and class.
Rand's formal philosophical education included ancient philosophy (especially Plato and Aristotle), logic, philosophical psychology, Marxism-Leninism, and non-Marxist political thought.
Moreover, according to Condorcet, the ancient ideal of communal education rested on two assumptions which did not pertain to modern society: First, a slave class, which in turn freed a small group of citizens to perform civic functions; and second, the assumption that "citizens existed only to be molded for service to the state".
Ancient Israel provided community education for all (male) children.
The system that sedates everybody, our Ancient Greek ancestry, our education, have all brought us to this point.
Philosophy and contemplating the big questions were key parts of education in ancient societies, such as the Greeks.
