Introduction

Political socialization is the process by which citizens become acquainted with their political roles, rights, and duties while becoming familiar with the values and norms that govern the political system. Having a plan and model of political education is necessary for the success of governments' policies and programs in the process of political socialization. On the one hand, political education is the basis of political socialization, and on the other hand, in this process, interdisciplinary connections must be established between different fields of science, namely philosophy, political sciences, educational sciences, sociology, and law. It should be noted that the issue of political education has always been the focus of great thinkers and scholars from the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome and Iran (Plato, Aristotle, Cicero and Zoroaster). In the new era, great thinkers have directly or indirectly paid attention to the importance, necessity, tools and resources of political education. Thinkers such as Saint Augustine in City of God (2012), Hobbes in Leviathan (1985), John Locke in Two government treatises (1997) and Fārābī in The Votes of the People of Utopianism (1991), Ibn Sina in Politics (1985) and Khawaja Nasir al-Din Tusi in Naseri ethics (1373) are among these thinkers. A noteworthy point in examining the works of these thinkers is the intellectual tradition to which they belong and on which they have based their educational foundations and views. The intellectual tradition influenced by the views of philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle, which was later followed by the views of the Neoplatonist, Fārābī, Ibn Rushd, and Thomas Aquinas, has been designed on the issue of political education on the basis of "wisdom." It can be argued that, at present, all views of political education are somehow in line with or critique of that view. Given the profound impact of this intellectual tradition, this article seeks to explain the wise political education and its impact on the political and social life of Muslims at a time in history. In this regard, the following questions need to be answered:

What is wise political education?

What are the principles of wise political education?

Has wise political education been effective in Islamic societies?

The historical course of wise political education

The intellectual and practical roots of wise political education are to be found in the schools of thought of ancient Greece. In ancient Greece, the main problem was the thought of education. Athens and Sparta, two representatives of the city-states of ancient Greece, were largely based on political education. Noting that Athens has a special and privileged position in the history of philosophy, art and Sparta in the history of education. In Plato's view, Sparta excelled the democracy of Athens, which had created problems in educating the people because it was based on a wise educational system; and it has been considered a kind of intellectual and educational model of Plato in the book Republic (2012). The communal life of the Spartans, military organizations, the superiority of social life over the private one, the upbringing of children by the government, having an educational system for political elites are among the characteristics of Spartan life that has been considered by Plato (MAYER, 1374, p. 142).

Werner Jaeger, the German-Greek scholar, in his famous and classic book, Paideia (1939), considers the spirit of Greek culture and civilization as the education. Paideia in Greek means raising a child or upbringing. In ancient Greece, paideia was an educational system in which children were supervised and educated from an early age by the state education system and were taught subjects including rhetoric, mathematics, music, philosophy, geography, natural history, and gymnastics to be prepared for social and political life and moving towards perfection and happiness. According to Werner Jaeger, in ancient Greece, on the one hand, the Sophists claimed to have paideia, and by teaching mathematics, grammar, music, and sports, they tried to prepare young people for government jobs by preparing their souls and teaching them eloquence. On the other hand, Socrates and his disciples tried with their philosophical method to reveal the ignorance of all the claimants of paideia. In this book, the author of paideia shows that the philosophy of Socrates and Plato is basically the philosophy of education, and they always tried to introduce knowledge so that people in society can know the truth and achieve the happiness of society by performing moral virtues. Socrates has an irreplaceable role in the wise educational system of ancient Greece. In his critique of the Sophists, Socrates put the rational principles of behavior and social life at the forefront of educational programs. In Socrates' view, the management of government should be the responsibility of those who have the deepest wisdom and the highest virtues. He considered man a political animal and owed his growth and development to the state. Socrates considered it his duty to teach wisdom to the people and believed that everywhere is the field of education and everyone equally needs real education (HOSSEINI; QAEMI, 2013, p. 20). Such an understanding of education and wisdom was followed by the eminent disciple of Socrates, Plato. In Plato's view, only the king philosopher deserves to rule. Really, who is the king philosopher? A person who, on the one hand, has achieved the knowledge of truth and moral virtues based on wisdom, and on the other hand, has learned the art of governing by mental and physical training and can lead the society to happiness by making and enforcing laws. According to Plato, men and women should grow up from childhood under the supervision of the educational system. Plato believed that the cultivation of good habits should begin in childhood and continue until the age of thirty-five. In this educational process, people up to the age of 20 learn morality, sexual intercourse, physical education and military training, and only talented people continue the training program. These people learn wisdom at the age of thirty and are qualified to run the government from the age of thirty-five (PLATO, 1390, p. 437-446).

Aristotle, a student of Plato, also has a special place in the thought of political education. He tried to take a more realistic view to political education, citing his educational votes in two books of Nicomachus namely politics and ethics. In Aristotle's view, the most important element of education is leisure time and one can think only in leisure time and become aware of one's higher powers, and as a result, work is a secondary activity. In Aristotle's view, good government is responsible for educating the people. The education system must be for all citizens and supported by all. In this view, everyone who doesn’t learn to obey cannot be a good ruler. An efficient education system must train good people and prepare people with moral values and virtues for a happy life (ALAM, 1385, p. 144). In Nicomachean ethics, Aristotle describes the system of wise education by proposing a theory of moderation while explaining the nature of virtue. According to Aristotle, the human soul consists of three components: rational power, lust power, and anger power, and moral virtues must be based on these three powers. Aristotle enumerates four main virtues for the human soul: wisdom, courage, chastity and justice. These virtues are in fact the middle ground between the two extremes of the three forces. In other words, the excess of any of the three forces is a vice. Wisdom is the virtue of the rational power, courage is the virtue of the power of anger, chastity is the virtue of the lustful power and justice regulates the mentioned virtues. Accordingly, the requirement of any political education is the government's efforts to institutionalize these four main virtues in the educational system governing that society. This view of Aristotle was later considered by Muslim thinkers such as Fārābī (1371), Ameri (1408), Ibn Sina (1318), Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tusi and Mulla Sadra (1981) and became the mainstream, political education in the middle period of Islamic civilization.

What is wise political education?

The historical course of wise political education indicates that the epistemological basis of this type of education is based on a special knowledge called "wisdom". There are different definitions of wisdom in different cultures. In a general definition, wisdom means a knowledge with which man can understand the truth and try to do right and avoid wrong. In the system of classification of sciences, wisdom has a special place in the view of Muslim thinkers. Unlike today, in the past the frontiers of science were not separated. In other words, the sciences supported each other and the benefits of the different sciences directly served each other. Most Muslim sages divided wisdom into two types: 1. Theoretical wisdom 2. Practical wisdom. Based on this division, theoretical wisdom consisted of philosophy, mathematics, and natural sciences, and practical wisdom consisted of ethics, family planning, and civil politics. From the range of issues that have been considered by wisdom, it can be concluded that the subject and consequences of the knowledge of wisdom is the physical and spiritual education of human beings in the individual and social dimensions of life. Theoretical wisdom is in fact the provider of the rational basis of action. Theoretical wisdom is the science of perceiving truth and practical wisdom, the science of what human behavior should be.

In this approach, wisdom has a close relationship with political education. On the one hand, the subject of wisdom is ultimately preparing individuals for individual and social life, and on the other hand, wisdom teaches the method and process of socialization of genuine individual and social values and norms. It prepares individuals to accept family, social, and political roles. That is why wisdom was doubly important to Muslim thinkers and provided a basis for Muslim thinkers to write a book on the subject of ethics and at different times, to submit to Muslim rulers to get acquainted with the principles of ruling and governing the society. Although the title of these books is ethics, it should be noted that the concept of morality has a broader meaning than it does today. In fact, Islamic thinkers viewed practical wisdom with a moral approach. It can be said that the spirit that governs the teachings of practical wisdom is morality. In these books, the issue of education is a central and fundamental issue and covers all issues, including politics (DINANI, 1386, p. 503). The book of Naseri ethics is one of the most important books that has been written about practical wisdom and has been a model for writing books on practical wisdom such as glorious ethics in later times. This book has also been translated into English due to its importance and impact. Considering the importance and position of Khajeh Nasir al-Din, the explanation of the wise political education with emphasis on his views is the focus of this article. In the book of Naseri ethics, the following three chapters have been considered by the authors on the subject of ethics, housekeeping and civil policy:

Chapter of Ethics: This part of practical wisdom pays attention to the individual education of human beings and tries to acquaint human beings with the factors of happiness and cheerfulness through the science of ethics, and through this, the ground for adjusting carnal powers and achieves the four main virtues (wisdom, courage, chastity and justice). In fact, this part of practical wisdom is responsible for preparing human beings for family, social and political roles. In other words, a person cannot be a good parent for the family or a good citizen for the society and the government unless he has a mental and physical education. In individual education, the difference between human beings in talent, awareness, temperament, effort and the degree of endurance of hardships is respected and pluralism is accepted in human happiness and perfection (NASIR, 1373, p. 90).

Chapter of Home planning (family): This part of practical wisdom emphasizes the family upbringing of human beings. In fact, human beings should be familiar with their duties, family rights, and plans. Marital relations, children's relationship with parents, love, sacrifice, cooperation, affection, livelihood and division of duties are among the topics that are considered by this part of practical wisdom. In this view, the head of the family, on the one hand, is the most honorable member of a family as a physician, and should be aware of the abilities and characteristics of each member of the family in order to bring the members to the perfection they deserve by guiding them on the basis of justice and to prevent any deviation and destruction. The purpose of marriage is peace, preservation of wealth and generational desires. Discipline and upbringing of children should begin from infancy (NASIR, 1373, p. 212). No virtue in the family is superior to the observance of parents' rights and their consent, and the relationship between parents and children must be based on love (NASIR, 1373, p. 238). According to Nasir, although family education is related to the smallest social institution, but the general public, i.e., the ruler and citizens need to learn it. This is because people in society are responsible for each other, and family life is an experience and a preparation to take on political and social responsibilities in society.

Chapter of Civil Policy: The two parts of morality and family planning in practical wisdom are the basis of civil policy. In the educational view of scholars such as Khajeh Nasir al-Din, practical wisdom is also responsible for the political education of the people. The issues and topics raised in the subject of civil policy, in addition to the chain-linked relationship with family ethics and planning, are essentially issues that emphasize political education and the process of socialization of values and collective norms. Civil politics is a science that deals with the management of social life and by explaining the cause and how to spread virtues and vices in society, introduces the best type of political system that can provide the basis for human happiness and perfection (NASIR, 1373, p. 111).

In this view, the scope of politics is not limited to the public sphere and society. Based on the principle of education-oriented in practical wisdom, the scope of politics has gone beyond the public sphere and political power and has been extended to the private sphere (individual and family education). However, the main focus of politics in Khajeh Nasir's thought is society. In this view, the political citizen in the position of an educable person should distance himself from moral vices and, by learning moral virtues, step on the path of the utopia; a city in which, if realized, the prosperity of the political community will be realized.

Principles of Wise Political Education

In the process of wise political education, the nature and type of political system that is responsible for educating citizens is important. In a general division, philosophers divide the political system into two types, the utilitarian and the non-utilitarian political system. And they believe that individuals can learn the principles and rules governing wise education only in the context of the utopian political system. In this view, politics has an educational role and is a guide for citizens to achieve happiness. According to this view, "the authority of society depends on the state and the permanence and survival of the state depends on policies and the strength of politics depends on wisdom" (NASIR, 1373, p. 309). If wisdom is institutionalized in society through government policies, the social system will be on the path to perfection and prosperity. In this process, the most important principles of political education are:

Social Participation and Cooperation

In wise political education, man is a civil being by nature and needs to cooperate with others in order to survive and complete virtues. This human characteristic causes human beings to stand together and, by taking on social responsibilities, lay the groundwork for the formation of human civilization. A civilization in which human beings serve each other and meet each other's needs (NASIR, 1373, p. 251-252).

In this view, the state remains as the human body, which has been composed of different members, and each of these members has a specific function, so that the duties of each member together lead to the formation of the human body. Khajeh Nasir uses this allegory to explain the foundations of the formation of the state and believes that in human society, there are people with different talents and this difference in talents has caused each of them while superior to others in a particular talent, create the field of need, cooperation and interaction among themselves (NASIR, 1373, p. 303). Wise political education can institutionalize the culture of social cooperation and participation in human beings and prevent the emergence of selfish and totalitarian human beings who violate the rights of other citizens.

Affection

The need for love in human societies in wise political education is rooted in socialist philosophy. In fact, love is the foundation of friendship between people who are inherently in need of each other to meet their requirements, so that all people serve and help each other as one. According to Khajeh Nasir, the virtue of love and affection takes precedence over justice (NASIR, 1373, p. 259-260).

This view recognizes the need for justice in human society due to the lack of love. Whereas if love prevails among human beings, there is no need for justice and fairness, and justice submits to love with that awe (NASIR, 1373, p. 259). Khajeh Nasir divides the types of love into natural and voluntary. Natural love is like a mother's love for her child. Voluntary love is like human love for each other, which has various causes such as pleasure, benefit and goodness. According to him, among the various causes of love, the only cause of "goodness" leads to love and affection. Because, firstly, there is no shortage in that, and secondly, the "evilness" and ill-temperedness of individuals can not affect it. This kind of affection is directed to benevolent people and can lead to civilization and the connection of hearts. Khajeh Nasir, based on love whose cause is "goodness" and not "benefit and pleasure", in the field of politics offers solutions to maintain the social system. According to him, there should be love between the rulers and the people, as well as the people with the people. Accordingly, the affection among the rulers for the people should be paternal love and the love of the people for the rulers should be boyish love and the love of the people for each other should be brotherly love. In fact, the paternal love of the rulers for the people is because they should treat the people like compassionate fathers in kindness, compassion, care, expediency, and "absorbing good and repelling evil." On the contrary, the boyish love of the people for the rulers is due to the fact that they treat as wise children to their fathers in obedience, criticism and advice, honoring and bowing down to values and norms (NASIR, 1373, p. 269).

Friendship

In the opinion of Muhaqiq Tūsī, friendship and making friends have a high status, as he has dealt with this issue separately in a speech independent of the book of Naseri ethics in the section of civil policy. In fact, civil man, in order to achieve complete happiness, needs true friends to complete his virtues by associating with them. However, true friends are very few (NASIR, 1373, p. 321). And this has led to the attention to details in the quality of socializing with friends and the continuity of friendship.

According to Khajeh Nasir, trusted friends are always human helpers in sensitive situations. Khajeh Nasir has also considered the social dimension of friendship and making friends and believes that the rulers should find friends among the people through their behavior and actions in order to be with them in the joys and sorrows of the times. In fact, it is the support of the lovers of the government that can compensate for the defects and shortcomings and can improve the efficiency of the government through cooperation with them, (NASIR, 1373, p. 322-323).

Competence

In the process of wise political education, planning must be done to train future statesmen and managers. In fact, government officials must have the characteristics and traits to be able to govern well. In this view, the theory of elitism in different guilds is considered. The difference between human beings in talents and capacities is respected and it is emphasized that human beings have the ability to express and flourish their talents in certain fields. Accordingly, in governance, only a handful of individuals are qualified to rule and can take responsibility for running the government. In Khajeh Nasir's view, people who want to reach government positions must have seven qualities: Abbot (fatherhood), high effort, determination, strong will, patience, wealth, good companions (NASIR, 1373, p. 301-302). In this view, the ruling person or the head of government, in addition to the above seven attributes, must have the attributes of recognizing pain and healing. The reason for this is that some government officials are corrupt and some evil people are looking for chaos in the society. The ruler can provide appropriate prescriptions and serve the interests of the citizens by recognizing the political and social pains in a timely manner.

Law-Abiding

The enactment and implementation of law based on wisdom is the basis of political education and causes the stability of the effluent political system and people's attention to happiness and perfection. These laws should have four characteristics: 1. providing the interests of individuals in the community. 2. The benefits of the laws should be for the general public and should not conflict with the interests of the community. 3. The law should be based on cooperation of individuals in the society. 4. The purpose of such laws is to achieve happiness (RAD, 1380, p. 140).

The law must govern the process of individual and political education of the people, and all people are equal before the law. The law based on wisdom has the role of institutionalizing the values and norms of the utopia political system. Law-abiding prepares people to accept social roles and responsibilities. In this view, there is a difference between a good person and a good citizen. A good person is not necessarily a good citizen. A good citizen is one who performs the duties of a citizen well and brings goodness to the people. The goal of political education is to provide a good citizen for society.

The effectiveness of wise political education

The time of Khajeh Nasir al-Din coincides with the brutal invasion of the Mongols to Islamic lands as well as Iran. The Mongol invasion to the Islamic world, in addition to shifting the balance of world politics in favor of the West, led to the fall of the five-hundred-year-old Abbasid caliphate (656 AH). During this period, Khajeh Nasir al-Din used his efforts to train the savage and bloodthirsty people such as the Mongols to take care of the affairs of society and culture instead of sabotage and destruction. Those who had put their efforts in the destruction of the manifestations of civilization did not take long to become so integrated into the Iranian-Islamic culture that they became the pioneers of the advancement of science and knowledge (AKBARIAN, 1386). Khajeh Nasir al-Din's intellectual and cultural revolution not only managed to change the minds of many people, but after the Mongol ruler became a Muslim after Hulagu Khan, all the Mongols converted to Islam. In this way, the Iranians, who had been defeated militarily by a rebellious and looting people, were able to overcome them intellectually and culturally and show them the right way and the way of salvation. Hakim Tus knew very well that with the conquest of hearts, which is achieved through education and wisdom, many problems can be overcome (HALABĪ, 1373). Khajeh Nasir played two major roles in educating the Mongols: 1. When Khajeh Nasir was forced to serve as a consultant to the Mongol rulers, was able to prevent the destruction of many libraries by influencing them and saved many scientists and elites 2. The Muslims were not able to confront the Mongols militarily and defensively, and only rich knowledge and culture could transform the Mongols. Khajeh Nasir, based on practical wisdom and with wise political education, was able to change the spirit of destruction and bloodshed of the Mongols into a constructive power to revive and advance Islamic civilization, and he trained those savage people who became the pioneers of Islamic culture and civilization.

Mongol invasion to Iran led by Genghis Khan had begun in the year 616 AH and after forty years of war, killing, bloodshed and destruction, they finally formed the Ilkhanate government. The establishment of the Ilkhanate state provided an opportunity for the Islamic elite to revive their nationality and culture. Two educated Iranian personalities, namely Shams al-Din Juwaynī and Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tūsī, who ruled "one ruling over the body" and "the other ruling over the soul" of the Ilkhanate government, respectively, played a significant role in this development (BAYĀNĪ, 1370, p. 349). In the process of wise political education exercised by Khajeh Nasir al-Din and his disciples, the Mongols gradually abandoned the spirit of violence and greed and began to talk and associate with scholars. They chose Khajeh Shams al-Din Juwaynī and his brother Ata Mulk Juwaynī and Rashid al-Din Faḍlullāh as their advisor and minister (REZAYEE, 1378, p. 770). The reign of the Ilkhanate is considered the beginning of a dramatic social change in the history of Iran. During the two generations of rule, the Mongol Ilkhanate converted to Islam, and once again the "experience of the dissolution of the conquering people in the culture of the defeated people" took place in the history of Iranian socio-political life, and no doubt the reason was political education. The Mongols initially invaded Islamic lands with a "plan to unite with the Crusaders against the Muslims," but eventually defended Muslim territory against enemy attacks in the second or third generation, and the strategy of overthrowing and overcoming Muslims through trade and commerce between East and West changed nature. The political education of the Mongols led to the growth of various sciences such as medicine, astronomy, mathematics, historiography and the emergence of a distinguished architectural style which was in fact compensation for damage, bloodshed and destructions caused by the Mongol invasion to Islamic civilization (JUWAYNĪ, 1378, p. 535-536).

Conclusion

Plato in the book “the Republic” distinguishes between "Good Man" and "Good Citizen" and believes that not every good person is necessarily a good citizen. A good citizen is one who is loyal to political and social values and norms, who respects and obeys the law. In fact, the main purpose of political education is to cultivate a good citizen for society. A citizen who is familiar with his political and social roles and while knowing his political and civil rights, performs his political and social duties well. Educating a good citizen requires a model and training program that must be carefully and logically considered in the growth process. In this regard, the model of wise political education has three unique features: First, it has been established and supplemented by philosophical elites throughout history based on rational reasoning. Since philosophers have always sought the truth, they have tried to introduce what is good for human. If human goodness is institutionalized in the process of education, with values and norms, the happiness of individual and social life will be ensured. Second, social virtues such as friendship, cooperation, morality, courage, sacrifice, law-abiding, and love for others are at the heart of this educational program. Third, historical experience also confirms the effectiveness of the model of wise political education. The city-states of ancient Greece and the Muslim communities, after the Mongol invasion, were able to re-establish social order and political authority through the use of this educational model. In today's societies, civil disobedience and political violence are rooted in disregard for political education or dysfunctional patterns of political education. It seems that given the global developments, governments can only educate good citizens loyal to social values and norms and ensure political cohesion and social order through an efficient political education model.

REFERENCES

AKBARIAN, R. Relationships between religion and philosophy in the Islamic world. Tehran: Publishing Organization of the Institute of Islamic Culture and Thought, 1386.

AMERI, M. Al-Sa’adah wa al-As’ad fi al-Sīrah al-Insaniyah. Edited by Mojtaba Minuyi. Tehran: University of Tehran, 1408.

AUGUSTINE in The City of God. Edited by James Wetze. Cambridge University Press, 2012.

BAYĀNĪ, S. Religion and government in Mongol Iran. Tehran: University Publishing Center, 1370 HS.

DINANI, G. H. I. D. The story of philosophical thought in the Islamic world. Tehran: New design, 1371 HS.

FĀRĀBĪ, A. N. The views of the people of Utopia, Research, Nader Nasri. Beirut: Dar al-Mashreq, 1991.

FĀRĀBĪ, M. Punishment for the sake of happiness. Edited by Ja’far Al Yassin. Tehran: Hekmat, 1371.

HALABĪ, A. A. History of Philosophy in Iran and the Islamic World. Tehran: Asatir Publications, 1373.

HOBBES, T. Leviathan. Edited by C, B, MacPherson. Penguin Classics, 1985.

Hosseini, A. A.; QAEMI, F. Linkage the Education and Politics in Ancient Greek Political Thought. Political Research, n. 2, p. 8-25, 1390.

IBN SINA, A. A. Ar-Rasā’il (treatise on the science of ethics). Bombay: Golzar Hassani Printing House, 1318.

IBN SINA, A. A. As-Siyāsah. Cairo: Dar al-Arab, 1985.

JAEGER, W. Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture: Archaic Greece. Translated by Gilbert Highet. Oxford University Press, 1939.

JUWAYNĪ, A.-M. I. M. Tārīkh-i Jahāngushāy Juwaynī. Edited by Muhammad Qazwīnī. Tehran: Bamdad, 1329.

LOKE, J. Two Treatises of Government. Edited by Petter Laslett. Cambridge University Press, 1997.

MAYER, F. History of educational ideas. Translated by Ali Asghar Fayyaz. Tehran: Samt, 1374. v. 1.

MOTE’ALLEHIN, M. S. The transcendent wisdom in the four intellectual journeys. Beirut: Dar al-Īhyā al-Turāth al-Arabī, 1981.

PLATO The Republic. Edited by Christopher Rowe. Penguin Classics, 2012.

PLATO The Republic. Tehran: Scientific and Cultural Publications, 1390.

RAD, M. Y. Political Thought of Khajeh Nasir al-Din Tūsī. Qom: Book Garden, 1380.

REZAYEE, A. A. History of Iranians. Tehran: Publications of Durr, 1378.

TŪSĪ, N. A.-D. The Nasirean Ethics. Edited by Mojtaba Minuyi and Alireza Heydari. Tehran: Kharazmi, 1373.

TŪSĪ, N. A.-D. The Nasirean Ethics. London: george allen and unwin, 1964.

Notas de autor

Información adicional

How to reference this article: NADERİ, M.; PİRANİ, S. Wise political education: characteristics, principles and efficiency. Revista on line de Política e Gestão Educacional, Araraquara, v. 25, n. 3, p. 2641-2654, Sep./Dec. 2021. e-ISSN:1519-9029. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22633/rpge.v25i3.15471