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The Essential Role of the Quadrivium in Classical Education
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March 12, 2024The quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy) and the trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) make up the seven classical liberal arts of antiquity. This is the education that the great minds of the past such as Plato, Aristotle, and Saint Thomas Aquinas would have received. However, if you were to do a Google search on classical education, you would see much fanfare regarding the trivium, but little on the quadrivium. So much so in fact, that one could easily mistake that classical education is nothing more than reading great books and learning Latin. However, the quadrivium is not merely an afterthought tacked on to the trivium, but a vital component of the classically educated mind.
What is the Quadrivium?
The quadrivium is the study of arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy. These four disciplines observed the laws of the natural world through the study of multitude (quantity) and magnitude (size). Mathematics, more than any other subject, builds upon the previous layers of knowledge. The quadrivium naturally recognizes that and establishes a systemic approach to learning that forms the student’s mind gradually over time by building on the progress made previously.- Arithmetic (absolute multitude) introduces the student to the relationship of quantities or number.
- Music (relative multitude) introduces the student to abstract ratios experienced concretely through musical theory or number in time.
- Geometry (stationary magnitude) introduces the student to the concept of mass in different shapes and sizes at rest or number in space.
- Astronomy (magnitude in motion) introduces the student to the concept of masses in motion. Through studying celestial bodies and their predictable movements, students can observe number moving through time and space.
How Does the Quadrivium Make Better Students?
At first glance, it may seem strange to the modern person that the ancient world was so concerned with subjects that in the modern era are too often perceived as “less-important electives” or are subsets covered within a broader subject matter IF there is time. However, the quadrivium, along with the trivium, were considered the base foundation necessary to tackle the “higher faculties” of learning, such as jurisprudence (law), medicine, and theology, by ancient scholars in their quest for wisdom precisely because it formed the mind to be open to higher modes of learning.
Plato alleged inscribed above his academy, “Let no man ignorant of geometry enter” because Plato knew that if a student could not master geometry that he was not yet prepared intellectually to tackle the greater academic pursuits of medicine, law, or theology. Sadly, the wisdom of Plato has been forgotten in the modern era.
In the modern age, there was a shift in educational thinking to focus more on utility skills for the rapidly expanding industrial workforce. However, as technology advances and continues to disrupt various sectors of the economy, merely having technical knowledge is increasingly insufficient in the ever-growing competitive environment. AI and other forms of technology can increasingly do more skills-based computing tasks. Employers and universities are desperate to find well-rounded thinkers that not only have the technical background to work technology but have the abstract reasoning and problem-solving skills that one receives by mastering the quadrivium as well as the communication skills to understand, service and persuade learned in the trivium. Classical education sets the student on a path to discover what is true, good, and beautiful in the world, and in the process, gives the student the tools they need to be competitive in the today’s academic and employment environments.
Why is the Quadrivium Important in Classical Catholic Education?
Ancient philosophers sought wisdom as the highest virtue, so much so, in fact, that the word philosophy itself can be translated to “love of wisdom”. Wisdom to the ancient Romans and Greeks was more than a simply a body of knowledge to be learned or sound decision making, it was the ability to understand deeply the order and harmony of the natural world around them. The unchanging truth of mathematics allowed ancient philosophers to understand the universe through the natural laws that govern the physical world. In other words, to be a wise man, was to profoundly understand the highest truths of the universe.
However, the ancient Greeks and Roman philosophers could only understand truth to a certain point through natural reason. Christianity eventually perfected wisdom through grace and divine revelation, bridging the final gap between man and the divine. The quadrivium, centered in a Christian worldview, allows us to know and love God more deeply through the study of His created world. Every law of nature and observation of the natural world give us a tiny glimpse into the divine. In a sense, the seven classical liberal arts form the mind to better understand God through revelation written in Sacred Scripture as well as the Natural Law that’s written on our hearts.
Bottom Line
The reasoning skills that a student learns from the quadrivium (arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy) are essential now more than ever. Technology and society are constantly changing, but the wisdom of brilliant minds, like Aristotle and Saint Thomas Aquinas, has withstood the test of time. By mastering the seven classical liberal arts, a student is not only setting themselves up for future success but is also nurturing their soul by more proudly understanding God through the pursuit of what is true, good and beautiful.
