ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes that the idea of a social studies education is the Good Life as first framed in Greek antiquity. Modernity has created a society where students, more than ever, need moral guidance and nurturing to achieve that life. Leading students to an authentic and autonomous, personal and civic identity requires a social studies teacher willing to take on the role of philosophical counselor and pursue the exalted aims of social studies education. The exalted aim is a democratic ideology which is the product of a disposition to forge an identity based on at least the four cardinal virtues of courage, justice, moderation, and wisdom; the democratic ideals of equality and liberty; and the civic values of critical thinking, engaged discourse impartiality, open-mindedness, and search for the truth. Social studies teachers prepared to take on the more demanding role of philosophical counselor are needed for the good of the individual and society.
