Shame-less education a reading of Alcibiades I (119a-135e)

Abstract

The present article aims to think of shame as a condition of the possibility of education. For this purpose, it is based on sections 119a-135e of Plato's Alcibiades I Dialogue. Thus, shame is oriented in two directions: the first in its broad and affirmative sense, the second in a specific and negative sense. In any case, we do not intend to sustain the idea that shame or shame-lessness by itself is the natural and efficient cause of education, since this would imply an annulment of the work of the educator and the student. On the contrary, we seek to rescue the work of the educator in the face of the situation presented to him. We will proceed, first, to frame the terms education and shame, specifying what the former implies in the context of the referred dialogue. Secondly, we will present three ways in which shame can be confronted in order to promote education: the use of the λόγος (thinking), the act of looking, and the acceptance of God. Finally, we will show the conclusions obtained through this approach that ought to be problematic.