Search For Existentialism Meaning Of Learning

The alienation of learning is the most serious problem in basic education of China. It means that the activity of leaning originally belonging to "human" becomes the power to oppress and control human. The rich significance of learning is replaced by indoctrinating and training with mechanical and industrial character. The spirit world of human is twisted by uniform knowledge teaching. The two roots of the alienation of learning are the psychological understanding of the nature of learning and the utilitarianism understanding of the value. Both of them finally control human spirit world by means of controlling leaning modes.In order to overcome the alienation of learning, "the forget of human" in learning, to end the history of unilateral meaning of learning and the destruction of the integrity of human spirit world, and revive the freedom and dignity of human as integrity, we need to find ways out from two dimensions. Firstly, we should transcend the seeking of laws of learning in psychology, turn to the request of meaning of learning in philosophy. Secondly, we should understand leaning from the angle of existentialism, reinstate the creativity of learners, and revive the essential meaning of learning as the way that human relate to the world.The first chapter is on the history of existentialism meaning of learning .As early as Before Chin Dynasty, the Confucianists had developed the learning tradition that virtue and truth were emphasized equally. Their learning principle was self-cultivation in both benevolence and wisdom, i.e. moral inquiry.The learning tradition of ancient West mainly means the learning tradition created by Socrates and developed by Plato and Aristotle. It paid close attention to existence and the intrinsic consistence of knowledge and benevolence.The Enlightenment had dual influence on existentialism meaning of learning. For one thing, it created conditions for the liberation of human. The call for ration, freedom and democracy aroused inquiry spirit in education. For another, "subject-object" dualism looked oh scientific knowledge as rigid object truth, and human mind became "mirror" to reflect the objective reality. So education degenerated into knowledge indoctrinating and skills training. It depressed inquiry spirit and human creative personality.The second chapter is contemporary ideas on existentialism meaning of learning. It mainly analyzes five figures' thought including John Dewey's empirical learning, Maxine Greene's existential learning, Paulo Freire's liberated learning, SatoManabu's learning trinity of cognitive practice, social practice and ethical practice and Nel Noddings's learning based on care.The third and fourth chapters are on the personal meaning and social meaning of learning. The former argues a student as an investigator of knowledge and creator of meaning, as well as a participator of the world. Based on belief that the school is a social organization and school life is a form of social life, the latter argues that the students should reflect the life world, participate in democratic life, learn to understand and reconstruct meaning in communication and dialogue.The fifth chapter considers "teaching as encounter" based on existentialism. It includes three aspects: encounter between human and knowledge, encounter between human and phenomenon, and encounter between human and human.