From TES (Techne, Episteme, Sophia) to STEAM: A Note

Avtorji

Gregory T Papanikos
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USAUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

Kratka vsebina

This paper argues that contemporary STEAM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics), while widely studied in pedagogical and policy terms, lacks a deeper epistemic foundation. It proposes the ancient Greek framework of Techne, Episteme, and Sophia (TES), drawn from Plato and Aristotle, as a philosophical structure for understanding STEAM. The author reconstructs TES as a dual-axis model: a vertical axis of cognitive depth (from practical skill, to theoretical knowledge, to reflective wisdom) intersecting with the horizontal axis of STEAM disciplines. This model suggests that all STEAM fields operate simultaneously across all three levels, yet mod-ern education tends to prioritize techne and episteme while neglecting sophia—wisdom concerning the good of the whole. Through examples in medicine, architecture, and artificial intelligence, the paper shows how TES helps address ethical and governance questions that purely technical frameworks cannot resolve. It also revisits educational ideas in Plato and Aristotle to compare approaches to curriculum and formation. The paper concludes that TES is a useful analytical tool for rethinking education’s purpose and structure, and proposes extending it to a four-part framework – Techne, Episteme, Phronēsis, and Sophia (TEPS) – as a direction for future research.

Prenosi

Izdano

5 August 2026

Kako citirati

Papanikos, G. T. (2026). From TES (Techne, Episteme, Sophia) to STEAM: A Note. In A. Romolo, V. Kralj-Iglič, & Y. Istileulova (Eds.), & N. M. Rahmoun, Socratic Lectures 14th International Symposium, Ljubljana, April 17, 2026: Part IV– Interdisciplinary Science (pp. 68-71). Založba Univerze v Ljubljani. https://ebooks.uni-lj.si/ZalozbaUL/catalog/book/946/chapter/4883