This book analyzes the deep historical and theoretical roots of self-directed learning models in order to put forward a new conceptual understanding of self-directed learning. It utilizes philosophical methods to present arguments, both historical and contemporary, in favor of shifting education toward self-directed models and away from a view of education that places teachers, administration, curriculum, and standards at the center of the learning endeavor. This book demonstrates that self-directed learning has proven to be effective in numerous contexts and builds on this history to present a new philosophy of education termed "Eudemonic Self-Directed Learning," for individual and societal flourishing. Exploring exemplars from different cultural and historical settings to inform post-pandemic pedagogies and policies, this book will appeal to scholars and researchers of the history and philosophy of education, with interests in self-directed learning and its potential for contemporary practice.