A Dialectical Exploration Of "What Education Is"

To dialectically explore what education is to grasp education through "the flow of concepts" (history of education) and "the net of concepts" (education and its correlative sciences). The "education" of the three great men of the ancient Greece can be concluded as "leading", "shaping" and "instruction". The three concepts assimilate each other and become a "dialectical circle" which is vividly demonstrated by the metaphor of the river.We can be enlightened by anthropology and science of culture on what education is. Heredity is the essential property of life and imprinting as the social learning of the animals can be regarded as the sequel of heredity. In the same way, the human cultural imprinting can be regarded as the sequel of the habit imprinting of the animals. The cultural imprinting consists of commands which include compulsory ones and romantic ones. Education is specialized cultural imprinting, in brief, "education is imprinting" (Proposition I ). Imprinting is instruction at first ,and then shaping ,and at last, leading. Then the proposition transits to "education is growth" (Proposition II). Action toward growth is firstly leading, secondly shaping, and instruction at last. The two propositions transit to each other and the synthesis is reached: "education is the forming of disposition", meanwhile growth and imprinting are established as the basic contradiction of education. The two sides of the contradiction mediate each other and transform into each other, and at the same time, conflict with each other. "Forming of disposition" can be regarded as the general definition of education, but for us 'education is activation"(Proposition HI). Activation covers the whole of humanity, as education it is the unification of the aim and the means.