Can Wisdom be Taught? Implicit and Explicit מוּסָר as the Aesthetic Pedagogy of Proverbs

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to show how Proverbs endeavours to teach for wisdom and, in so doing, to further substantiate the argument that Proverbs is an educational collection of pedagogical merit, and to provide a stimulus for reflection when considering the more philosophical question: Can wisdom be taught? A method of rhetorical analysis of the text of Proverbs is used, which draws out the מוּסָר (normally translated ‘instruction’ or ‘discipline’) of the collection. This מוּסָר is both advocated (i.e. Proverbs recommends certain courses of action) and inherent (i.e. the text itself educates the audience as they read Proverbs). The inherent מוּסָר employs several literary devices (e.g. structure, parallelism, and metaphor) to persuade, shape and direct the desires, reason, and habits of the hearer. Through exegesis of selected passages from Proverbs I have shown how the inherent מוּסָר is implemented within the text, discovering, not an articulated pedagogical system but clear pedagogical principles and methods. In Proverbs, I have argued, can be found a rich and fascinating approach to educating for wisdom and, more broadly, character, which displays a remarkable understanding of the integrated nature of the human self in its pedagogy, which I have termed the aesthetic pedagogy of מוּסָר . When Proverbs was then considered alongside some of the insights of Virtue Education, the commitment to the significance of the emotions, the power of literary form, the importance of habit, and the formation of virtuous character were all found to be shared with other voices from this field, particularly Aristotle, placing Proverbs firmly within this area of educational thought. Nonetheless, Proverbs remains a distinctive text with its own distinctive pedagogy and aims which derive from Proverbs’ underlying commitments as a text rooted in a Yahwistic worldview and operating within the covenantal framework of the wider Hebrew Bible.