The Principles of Farabi's Educational Thought

In his educational thought Farabi, inspired by the principles of Islam, believes that man is created by and return to God. Farabi, who believes that ethics is variable and so it is considered as something acquired, no virtue that man has is innate and no man is born perfect, holds that no one can attain happiness and perfection without receiving education through voluntary actions. He proposes two ways to acquire various virtues; the first is receiving "education" for accomplishing theoretical virtues and the second is "disciplinary action" for accomplishing moral and practical virtues. He maintains that if one wants to achieve happiness one should know what happiness, is what the factors of happiness are, and what action to take. Farabi's educational thought is influenced by his own philosophical approach, which is more or less abstract. Therefore, this idea seems idealistic and rather unattainable.