Abstract:
The question of what kind of person the educated should become is the core proposition of education that defines educational goals and ideals, determines educational content and methods. In the late 1970s, British educational philosopher Peters adhered to Plato's rational educational tradition of cultivating "free men", and established "education" as a value standard for measuring and judging the legitimacy and rationality of teaching and learning activities by effectively distinguishing between "education" as an ideal result and "related educational activities" such as "being taught" or "receiving curriculum training" that do not necessarily lead to this result. Furthermore, starting from the non-instrumental value and infinite nature of education itself, three value standards have been innovatively formulated for the "educated person" as the ideal result of education: first, an autonomous learning attitude oriented towards the intrinsic value of things rather than practical purposes; second, the discernment and understanding necessary for all truth-seeking activities; third, the harmony of the holistic personality beyond narrow professional training. Therefore, Peters believes that starting from the ideal of cultivating a "educated person" in infinite development, all educational activities should encourage people to ignore the unchanging view of the knowledge system and willingly accept various levels of understanding held by people. Whether or not one possesses such a sound understanding is not only a criterion for distinguishing whether a person is "educated", but also determines a person's general beliefs, attitudes, and reactions towards the universal conditions of human life. Only in this way can education transcend narrow political and economic tool positions, eliminate the arrogance and prejudice brought by pre-modern mechanized training and dogmatic indoctrination, and the resulting social divisions.