Aristotle: Mentor for the Soul

Aristotle serves as a valuable, and practical, model for mentors of adult learners. His writings give insight into mentoring even as we practice it today. Although he lived in ancient Greece (c. 384 BCE to 322 BCE) and his audience was aristocratic males, the tenets of his philosophy for adult learning hold true in the present age for learners of any race, class, or gender because they are built on human attributes common to us all. Written from the author’s perspective of more than 15 years of mentoring diverse adult learners, this article distills some principles for mentoring from Aristotle’s work that resonate with current practice: (a) mentor the soul, (b) understand the student’s “puzzle,” (c) trust our senses, and (d) develop excellence. Aristotle ideas give “form” to the task of mentoring, honoring excellence as a virtue to be sought—and achieved—in everyday actions. It is heartening to view the mentoring that we do today as part of a very long and very rich tradition, foundational to Western Civilization.