1st Edition
Education and the Pursuit of Wisdom The Aims of Education Revisited
Education and the Pursuit of Wisdom examines the ways in which the timeless human search for wisdom relates to current educational practices. This book challenges the current approach of an economically-driven system preparing students solely for the workplace, and instead discusses the importance of teaching wisdom in order to enrich all aspects of the lives of students. Ozoliņš discusses how teaching young people how to make decisions will not only benefit them in everyday life, but will benefit society as a whole.
Drawing on religious and classical texts such as Benedictine and Confucian works, Ozoliņš’ book assesses and re-evaluates the central aim of education, and moves toward developing a robust understanding of the value of wisdom and its implications. Alternative approaches to education and the ways in which educators can establish agency in this process are also carefully considered.
Detailed, well-researched, and with an international scope, Education and the Pursuit of Wisdom is an ideal reference work for researchers, lecturers and postgraduate students of education, and in particular the philosophy of education and the concept of wisdom.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
About the Author
Introduction
Chapter One: The Concept of Wisdom
Chapter Two: Augustine on wisdom and education
Chapter Three: Bonaventure’s conception of wisdom
Chapter Four: Wisdom as aim of education in East and West
Chapter Five: Aquinas and wisdom as the aim of education
Chapter Six: Confucian heritage culture, education and wisdom
Chapter Seven: Cultivating the virtues in Mencius and Aquinas: East and West compared
Chapter Eight: Newman and the idea of a university
Chapter Nine: Liberal arts, generic skills and the aims of education
Chapter Ten: A. D. Sertillanges on wisdom and the intellectual life
Chapter Eleven: Conclusion: Final thoughts
Index
Biography
Jānis (John) Tālivaldis Ozoliņš is Professor, College of Philosophy and Theology, University of Notre Dame Australia, former Professor of Philosophy at Australian Catholic University, Australia, and permanent Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, University of Latvia. He is Reviews Editor for Educational Philosophy and Theory.