Galenus over onderwijs: verrassend hedendaags

Abstract

Education was a subject of major concern to Galen. This article offers a short overview. Galen holds that, in any form of education, it is a prerequisite to realise the ways we can attain knowledge. A good teacher teaches his pupils to trust the ‘natural criteria’, reason and experience, through which knowledge comes to us, and when these do not suffice, he shows them more specialized procedures. Both good teachers and good pupils need the right capacities and eagerness to be able to teach or learn. Not everyone has the same learning goals or capacities, so Galen arranges his works according to separate learning paths. He considers method a matter of utmost importance: without method, teaching or learning is impossible.