On the Nature and Education of Man

Abstract

The article “On the Nature and Education of Man” follows up loosely on the questions put forward in the first issue of the 2016 volume of this journal (Envigogika 2016/XI/1), focusing on questions of (human) nature in the context of education and training. Already in the antiquity, the relation between phenomena such as “education” and “(human) nature” (“culture” and “nature”) was perceived as a relation of tension (paideia vs. fysis, techné vs. fysis, cultura vs. natura). When reflecting the fundamentals of education, this tension is a source of the so-called educational antinomies (Fink 1992: 11–19). In her contribution, Zuzana Svobodová focuses on reason (logos) and affection (eros, filia, agapé) as the kinds of “(human) nature” that are the foundations for cultivating human beings. The educated person is invited to use those (human) natures responsibly and at the right moment (kairos). Then it makes sense to consider the integration and co-creation of a life in harmony – based on natural diversity, using reason and affection, at an appropriate time.