Education, Erasmian humanism and More’s Utopia

Abstract

The humanist movement of the Northern Renaissance—often called ‘Christian humanism’ or ‘Erasmian humanism’ (after its most famous member, Desiderius Erasmus)—had a lasting impact on many areas of European intellectual and cultural life. This paper reviews the contribution of Erasmus and his circle to the theory and practice of education. After first outlining the main features of the Erasmian humanist tradition more generally, the paper then explores in greater detail two specific works on education by Erasmus himself—his treatises on The education of a Christian prince (1515) and his later work On the education of children (1529). The paper then investigates Thomas More’s Utopia (1516), perhaps the most enduring literary achievement of Erasmian humanism, showing how Utopia displays the educational philosophy of the movement in such a way as to bring out its larger implications for moral and political theory and practice. Finally, the paper briefly considers the contemporary legacy of the tradition of Erasmian humanism for educational theory and reform.