Revisiting Humanism

As an important topic in modern society and education,education for profit has not only aroused widespread public concern,but also aroused deep thinking.Among these thinkers,the contemporary American philosopher Martha Nussbaum is particularly eye-catching because she not only positioned education for profit as a global crisis,but also because of her unique and profound analysis of the crisis.However,the current study on Nussbaum’s educational thoughts focuses more on his social or political philosophy and theory,and less on his criticism of education for profit,combining the structure and logic of education itself for systematic analysis.In view of this,this study tries to return to Nussbaum’s educational text itself,analyzing the basic approach of his criticism of education for profit,and then make necessary reflections on the rationality and current significance of this approach.Specifically,this study mainly focuses on " Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities " and " Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education ",using methods such as literature research,historical research,and philosophical analysis.A more comprehensive presentation of Nussbaum’s characterization and root analysis of education for profit as a global education crisis,as well as her humanistic insights on getting rid of the crisis.According to Nussbaum,education for profit causes the global crisis,which is reflected in the profit-seeking of the educational system,the deviation of educational purposes and the lack of emotional education,resulting in the reduction of the humanities,the promotion of science and Technology Education,public’s disciplinary bias,as well as the oversupply of talents and the devaluation of diplomas.The causes of this crisis,while seemingly related to the dominance of economic globalization and the spread of statism,are deeply related to the conflict between material and spiritual civilizations and to the loss of democratic values.To get out of the dilemma of education for profit,we need to return to the educational tradition of the humanism,reaffirm the value of literature and art as disciplines,adopt Socratic method,and finally cultivate the cosmopolitans with humanity in them.In general,Nusbaum’s critique of education for profit is profound and powerful.On the one hand,it provides a unique perspective to understand the educational crisis and analyzes the value roots of utilitarian education.On the other hand,it also provides a new way of general education for transcending education for profit.However,her criticism also faces some challenges: one is that the empirical basis of her argument focuses on the United States and India;the other is that her analytical perspective tends to be stereotyped;and the third is that her analysis of utilitarian and humanistic values ignores society-historical dimension,with a certain degree of narrowness.Nevertheless,Nussbaum’s criticism of education for profit is still of great significance to current educational theory and practice in China,including the promotion of the status of the humanities,rooted in the traditional culture of the nation,highlighting the importance of educational ideals.