Episode 56: A Nice Definition of Classical Education: The Language, Metaphors, and Meaning Behind “Classical”

About this episode

Christopher Perrin explores the complexities and misunderstandings surrounding classical education, emphasizing the importance of language and metaphor in shaping educational discourse.

Description Christopher Perrin explores why “classical education” is both widely used and widely misunderstood—and why the language we choose matters. He surveys common assumptions people attach to the word classical (Greek and Roman history, Great Books, elitism, Eurocentrism) and explains why the modern renewal is, for better or worse, “stuck” with the adjective. Perrin argues that we cannot speak clearly about education without metaphor and analogy, since language itself is rooted in metaphor (from lingua , “tongue”). He then turns to the ancient Greek and Latin vocabularies of education—especially paideia (formation) and trophē (nourishment)—to show how earlier cultures understood education as shaping a human person, not merely transmitting information. Using Ephesians 6:4, he compares Greek and Latin renderings (Paul and Jerome) to illustrate how meaning is often “lost in translation” when rich terms are flattened into single English words. Perrin closes by suggesting that if he had to choose one word to gather the tradition, it would be formation —a metaphor that points to education’s deepest aim. Episode Outline Why “classical education” is misunderstood: common reactions…

People in this episode

Host: Christopher Perrin

Topics covered

• classical education
• language and metaphor
• cultural assumptions
• Greek and Latin education
• formation and nourishment

Keywords

• classical education
• metaphor
• paideia
• trophē
• cultural assumptions
• Ephesians 6:4

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Ephesians 6:4, Great Books

Places: Greece, Rome

More episodes of The Christopher Perrin Show

• Episode 61: Hildegard College: Restoring Polymathy and Redemptive Entrepreneurship · May 27, 2026 · 1h 26m
• Episode 60: A Living Tradition: Classical Education Without Nostalgia · April 22, 2026 · 1h 31m
• Episode 59: American Education: What It Was and Can Be Again · April 15, 2026 · 1h 11m
• Episode 58: The Divided Soul and the Prodigal Pattern: Duty, Desire, and the Way Home · March 25, 2026 · 1h 27m
• Episode 57: Remembering Well: Restoring History Through Sympathy, Story, and Place · February 25, 2026 · 1h 15m
• Episode 55: From Fragmentation to Fellowship: The Intellectual Renewal Behind Classical Education · January 14, 2026 · 29 min