The Seven Liberal Arts & Philosophical Education

[Sagwort 833]

 

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The following manuscript is a pursuit in defining the branches of scholastic and philosophical thought.  So often, in the realms of academia and education, do we compose the most absurd of synopsis on what we consider “fields of study”.  The true philosopher knows the nomenclature of what his mind might delve into, as well as the nature of such subjects as one might find it in a dictionary.

 

Dr. Ambros, Wiz.D.

 

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On the Nature of Magic

When we define “magic” we are tempted to conjure images of conical hats and old, gnarled wands.  This would be the plebeian view, as it were.  Nae, there is a difference between the philosopher and the magician.  While the magician may be content to busy themselves with repeating magical formulae, or reproducing known effects, the philosopher wishes to understand the nature of these formulae in terms of natural laws and universal truths.  The the magician simply regurgitates known knowledge, while the philosopher codifies what is unknown into something the magician might understand.

 

Let is be, then, that those who summon the undead, or whisper to plants, or conjure flame from the nixian planes are by all definitions of the word: magicians, casters, conjurers, warlocks, regurgitators of knowledge.  It is not until these masters of manipulation question their disciplines do they become philosophers.

 

All philosophers are magicians, but not all magicians are philosophers.

 

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The Nature of Philosophy

So often does the view of the public to philosophers boil down to those who roll seemingly frivolous questions about their minds until they have gone mad.  While this may be true of some, the field of philosophy is the art of questioning.  The philosopher might question the composition of trees, or the structure of monarchic courts.  Any true thinker might call themselves philosophers, thus philosophy must be divided into various fields for further understanding.  However, before one may embark on any of these disciplines of study they must learn the fundamentals, the primordial sort of knowledge all intelligent mortals must master before further study.  They are known as the Trivium and are as follows:

 

The Trivium

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Grammar

While all men know how to speak, not all men know.  Grammar is the fine art of putting knowledge into transmittable terms through the mechanics of language.  It is the art of definition and defining the senses.

 

Logic

Mayhaps the most necessary of philosophical studies, the study of logic is the study of the mechanics of thought and analysis.  It is through the processes of logic we develop universal truths and knowledge as well as dispute and confront falsities.  It is the study of arriving at truth.

 

Rhetoric

It will do a philosopher no good to have a grasp of definition and understanding such definitions if they do not know the most effective ways of conveying such definitions.  Through rhetoric one learns to persuade and transmit knowledge to an audience, for what good is knowledge known by none?

 

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Once the student has mastered the Trivium through several years of rigorous study they might continue onto more advanced forms of philosophical thought, applying their prowess in definition, understanding, and wisdom to the Quadrivium:

 

The Quadrivium

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Natural Philosophy

This is the study of the physical world, otherwise known simply as physics, that which can be sensed.  It is the study of the nature of organisms, and energy, physical mechanics, astronomy, mathematics, musical theory and forces as they influence the mortal realms.  Many a magician best delve into the studies of natural philosophy as an understanding of the void is just as important as an understand of the nature of flame and water.

 

Metaphysics

The study of being, that which cannot be perceived through the senses.  Philosophers of metaphysics ask two questions: “What is there?” and “What is it like?”.  They bring up such inquiries as the creation and qualities of the cosmos, cosmology, or the nature of consciousness, the existence and properties of deities, and the idiosyncrasies of the void and realms beyond.

 

Axiology

The fine, and more subtle, philosophy of aesthetics and ethics, it is the study of value, it is the study of defining good and immoral, and how one might identify these qualities in other things.

 

Civics

The study of the duties and rights of citizenship and government.  Any true nobleman or royal courtier had best take efforts into studying the philosophy of civics, as every king ought to be a philosopher.

 

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The above divisions will best lay a foundation for future education in philosophy and scholastic inquiry.  For so long have the educated public simply defined themselves as “academic” should they have taken a few years in the pursuit of the study of evocation or the history and tenets of Canon Law.  Nae, we must ask “why” and not simply “what.”

 

Once one has mastered the essentials of Trivium and the elegance of the Quadrivium they might begin to apply their knowledge to more pragmatic matters, such as the fields of theology, medicine, politics, law and engineering.

[Daisy 9740]

Moved to The Great Library. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.

 

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