From Eunomia to Paideia: The Educating Nature of Law

Education and Law are two of the institutions which most directly influence the configuration of the individual and of society. Furthermore, there is a close relationship between them in that each determines the development of the other. From their very beginnings, political and legal philosophy have asked what is Law, what is education and what should the relationship between them be. This chapter deals with the relationship between Law and education from this philosophical-practical perspective. It begins by illustrating the notable similarities between both and then goes on to address two questions: (1) whether Law should educate citizens in moral virtues; and (2) if the education of citizens should concern itself with reinforcing obedience to laws. As regards the first, I shall discuss Aristotelian thinking, while for the second Rousseau’s.