WELLBEING
1 . Fulfilment of potential
The authors of the brief state that education ’ s ‘ central purpose ’ is human flourishing , defined as ‘ develop [ ing ] optimally and liv [ ing ] a complete human life ’ ( 1 ). They distinguish between ‘ cognitive ’ and ‘ emotional potentials ’, stating that both are needed for learning ( 2 ). They hold that ‘ children are entitled to develop their potentials to the full ’ ( 3 ) and ‘ Flourishing is conditional on the contribution of individuals and requires an enabling environment ’ ( 2 ). Among the features of an enabling environment would be access to education .
Their account holds that fulfilment of potential is a necessary condition for flourishing . Fulfilling one ’ s potential involves developing epistemic abilities – for example , a level of self-understanding . While there ’ s no explicit reference to epistemic notions in their explanation of ‘ potentials ’, we could interpret ‘ cognitive potentials ’ to include epistemic features , such as certain types , areas and levels of knowledge and understanding , and cognitive skills that support gaining knowledge and understanding . These are necessary for our optimal development .
UNESCO on human flourishing and the aims of education
Dr Jonathan Beale Teacher of Philosophy and ITL Research Fellow
A widespread view about education ’ s aims is that education ’ s overarching purpose is to support human flourishing . Among the organisations that endorse this view is UNESCO , which has recently stated that flourishing is ‘ the central purpose of education ’ ( 1 ). Yet , what we might call the ‘ orthodox view ’ on education ’ s aims is that the aim , or the primary aim , of education is epistemic : to ( i ) increase students ’ knowledge and ( ii ) advance their understanding , and ( iii ) develop the cognitive skills and epistemic virtues that support ( i ) and ( ii ), such as critical thinking skills . Whether we hold that education has a principal aim or set of aims , it ’ s uncontroversial that its goals include the epistemic aims above and supporting flourishing . So a key question to ask is , what is the relation between education ’ s epistemic aims and its aim of supporting flourishing ? In what follows , I discuss the areas of UNESCO ’ s recently published research brief in which the above view is stated that are concerned with the relationship between flourishing and education ’ s epistemic aims ( all page references with no referent are to the brief ).
2 . Living well
In their explanation of ‘ living well as a human being ’, the authors write that there ‘ are aspects of living that are good for all human beings , simply because they make a life a human life ’. They describe three categories of what constitutes ‘ good ’: relationships ; engagement in activities ; and agency . Learning is given as an example of the second . They do not explicitly state epistemic features , but it would be odd if learning did not include these ( 3 ). Our ‘ optimal continuing development ’ requires continued learning , which requires acquiring knowledge , and developing understanding and cognitive skills .
3 . Teaching
Epistemic features emerge under the authors ’ definitions of teaching and learning ( 4 ). The main feature emerges from their questionable definition of teaching as a process in which the teacher ‘ provokes students to come to understanding ’. They claim that this ‘ provocation ’ is a necessary condition for an activity to count as pedagogical : ‘ Teaching would not be teaching if students were not aroused to see the point ’. Teaching ‘ implies a relational act ’ between teacher and student , in which a teacher encourages students ‘ to act in particular ways ’. By provoking ‘ students to come to understanding ’, they mean that the teacher invites students ‘ to think for themselves ’, which they describe as ‘ a matter of being summoned to come to understanding ’ ( 5 ).
On this view , a necessary condition for teaching is to elicit independent thinking from students to foster understanding . Independent thinking skills are among the cognitive skills that support gaining knowledge and
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