Ageometretos medeis eisito

Aγεωμέτρητος μηδεὶς εἰσίτω

Ageōmetrētos mēdeis eisitō.

"Let no-one without knowledge of geometry enter". Motto over the entrance to Plato's Academy (quoted in Elias' commentary on Aristotle's Categories).

Hey

I enjoy looking in to the roots of the various worlds like Religion, Art, Government, Business and medicine. We are being further initiated into the powerful universe of Academia by becoming academic researchers. I thought it fitting to do some research into Academia and would like to share my findings.

Here is a definition I found in my Webster Dictionary for Academic, “1. Pertaining to an Academy esp. relating to a University. 2. Pedantic, too much occupied with the rules of an Academy or University; hence unpractical: academic manner; academic discussion; purely theoretical, having no practical result. 3. Frigid, inhuman (of men and manners).

I think this is kind of a hard definition but I wonder if it has some merit?! I saw that the definition for Academic mentioned the word Academy so I looked up the definition of that word as well.

“1. a. The garden near Athens where Plato taught; b. the followers of Plato; the school or system of philosophy founded by Plato. 2. A chartered corporation of scholars, artists, men of letters, men of sciences.

So, how I see it at least, Academia is to Plato what Christianity is to Jesus. I wonder what Plato was all about. By figuring this out I think we may be able to better understand the Ethos of the Academic world.

I also did a little research into the etymology of the term as well.

1474, from L. academia, from Gk. Akademeia "grove of Akademos," a legendary Athenian of the Trojan War tales (his name apparently means "of a silent district"), whose estate, six stadia from Athens, was the enclosure where Plato taught his school. Sense broadened 16c. into any school or training place. Poetic form Academe first attested 1588 in sense of "academy;" 1849 with meaning "the world of universities and scholarship," from phrase the groves of Academe, translating Horace's silvas Academi; in this sense, Academia is recorded from 1956. Academic "relating to an academy" first recorded 1586; sense of "not leading to a decision" (like university debates or classroom legal exercises) is from 1886. Academy awards (1941) so called for their distributor, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

I want to wish everyone luck as we each set out in our new and exiting experiences.