6. Aesop's Fables

Just as Aristotle’s Physics forms the basis of secular learning, Aesop’s Fables inspire the beginnings of ethical thinking. Aesop lived as a slave in the Greek city of Samos during the 6th Century BC. It is likely that he devoted his life to the study of ethics and composed these tales as a means of communicating his ideas. Each short story contains a moral which, once discovered, can be evaluated and applied to one’s own ethical persuasion. We've all heard the story of the tortoise and the hare, and remember the admonition that, "Slow and steady wins the race" (Strong and Davis 124). Such ethics can be hard to quantify or explain, but through the use of simple, relatable metaphors, Aesop inspires introspection as well as exploring our relationship to other people, both of which are necessary to learning and creative cooperation. The use of stories as opposed to simply stating his ideas forces the reader to dissect the fable and recognize the ethical implications of the animals’ interactions, beginning the deconstruction side of ethical learning.