When we look at the great philosophical diversity (humanism, Roman Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, socialism, liberalism, etc.) that we find in the Netherlands, it is almost impossible to imagine that there will be unanimity among educators with regard to all kinds of educational goals.
Human vision
We do not want to suggest here that this is worth pursuing, we merely note a great diversity. Yet over time attempts have been made to put forward educational goals that extend beyond this or that philosophy of life. We will explain an example of this here. The next view of humanity comes from the science that deals with the study of humans, namely anthropology.
Based on the question of what is typically human, a number of aspects of being human have been highlighted that are also important for educators. After all, if one is of the opinion that education is about educating people, these aspects will have to be taken into account, according to the thinking. The following aspects of being human are distinguished:
- the biological aspect;
- the social aspect;
- the cultural aspect;
- the personal aspect.
We will discuss them in turn below.
The biological aspect
Man as a biological being (the biological aspect). Many properties, qualities, etc. can be attributed to people. When we look around us and see what achievements people are capable of, we must conclude that people distinguish themselves from other living nature (animals and plants). But despite this distinction, they also have a lot in common.
People, just like plants and animals, are part of a living nature, which is regulated by biological laws. In humans, for example, biological needs must be satisfied to stay alive1 or to develop healthily. It is clear that newborn children cannot yet do this independently. It is therefore the task of educators to meet these needs by protecting, caring for, feeding, etc. children.
But educators cannot do this permanently; they will have to help children become independent and self-reliant as quickly as possible. This often happens by introducing a certain order and regularity into the lives of children. In this way, habits are formed on the basis of which children can manage themselves, for example washing, dressing, feeding themselves, etc.