Abstract

In this article I analyze concepts from Aristotle’s “Metaphysics,” establishing connections with education and cybernetics. After having progressed from the Parmenidean view of the act as “entelecheia” to the Aristotelian view of the act as “Energeia,” we approach the aspects of “kinesis” and “praxis,” which are the act’s two modalities. In the area of education, “kinesis” is the act of teaching, and “praxis” is the act of learning. By associating the morphotelic model (which combines form and purpose) with the idea of praxis in the Nicomachean Ethics, we discover that the two are akin to the modern concept of self-regulating mechanisms. Form introduces intelligibility into the action that is being carried out, directing it toward a purpose, a goal. Therefore, the reason for acting is right is because the way can be corrected by the steersman (“kybernetes” in Classical Greek) who steers the ship toward its destination. Thus, we find a certain similarity between Nicomachean praxis and goal-oriented, feedback-controlled systems as described by Wiener, Rosenblueth, and Bigelow (1943). The same applies in education: a student, to progress, requires stability as well as dynamism, communication along with feedback.