Home – Home – Jornals – "Philosophy of Education" 2009 number 4

Why metaphysics of education? Because it is important to look at education in the context of the world outlook evolution. N. O. Lossky wrote that the world outlook aspires « to understand what the world is as a whole, comprehend the meaning of the world process, and, at the same time, define both the position and purpose in the world »; metaphysics « is a science about the world as a whole; it gives the general picture of the world as a basis for all particular statements about it » [1, pp. 4-5]. Metaphysics is fundamental penetration into the core of any process, fostering comprehension of its meaning. For this reason, it is necessary to turn to metaphysics for revealing the general picture of education as the foundation of all particular conclusions about it.
Depending on the set goals, the approaches to education can (and should) be different. But sooner or later researchers should come to the question of the foundations of education. Certainly, it is possible to pretend that the foundations of education do not exist at all; especially, because the way to them is hard, it does not tolerate fussiness and does not promise immediate practical results. Entering it, it is impossible to count on the prompt political or economic benefits. But it is necessary to pass this way in order to reach the meaning of education; then it is possible to go deep safely into the empirical part of education, where its meanings function, to understand how they operate. All this allows seeing more comprehensively the consequences of the reforms in education.