“A humanistic approach to education and development is the common thread that weaves together the diversity of contributions into a rich tapestry on learning. The approach is grounded in a vision of development that is economically inclusive, socially just and environmentally sustainable. A vision that acknowledges the diversity of knowledge systems, worldviews and conceptions of well-being, while reaffirming a common core of universally shared values. It is a vision that promotes an integrated approach to learning, acknowledging the multiple personal, social, civic and economic purposes of education…” Stefania Giannini
Humanistic futures of learning. Perspectives from UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks. Published in 2020 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization,7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France. © UNESCO 2020. ISBN 9789231003691. This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en). (p. 167-168)
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An interdisciplinary humanistic approach to education
LI Chen, UNESCO Chair in Copyright and Neighbouring Rights, Renmin University of China, China.
This thought piece calls for an interdisciplinary approach to education to prepare learners for a future world where technological skill and social science knowledge will be required in tandem. The author argues that a humanistic approach to education is sorely needed to promote self-expression and spark creative thinking for the common good.
In modern higher education, disciplinary division is universal as is necessitated by the development of knowledge. Thus, since the beginning of the twentieth century, encyclopedic academics have been a rarity. Nonetheless, since life is a coherent whole and livelihood is also a coherent whole, a disciplinary vision that is too narrow may give rise to myriad and varied problem.
Education for an interdisciplinary world
One example of how disciplines that are neatly separated in institutions of learning merge in real life scenarios relates to the intermingling of artificial intelligence (AI) and social sciences. Since AI technologies came to prominence, the legal community has been discussing whether copyright applies to machine-produced works or whether AI will qualify as a legal subject – without looking deeply into the meaning of ‘subject’ and ‘creation’, as if humanness can be inferred directly from ‘capacity.’ What is overlooked here is free will as a philosophical symbol of humanity, thus severing the link between creation and the human being. Law belongs under the auspices of social sciences while social sciences have always been closely connected to the humanities, and legal philosophy has long been a branch of law. However, except for the teaching of legal philosophy and jurisprudence, the departmental sciences of law have been shifting farther and farther away from philosophy. If the education of social sciences has shifted in such a manner, it is not difficult to imagine the same happening for the natural sciences.
‘Real’ thinking to build a capacity for the judgement of values
In this age of constantly updated technologies, knowledge can be acquired through an increasing number of channels, and resources on the internet can help students learn without dependence on a university classroom. Today, what is in need is not knowledge but ‘real’ thinking as what is difficult is not the identification of ‘facts’ but the judgement of values. In this age of new technologies, universities have to redefine the humanist value of education, rather than allow themselves to become institutions of vocational training. Today, the fear of humans being replaced by machines is prevalent, which echoes the modern individual’s lack of self-confidence in their own free will and creativity. The more technologies develop, the more guidance individuals need from the discipline of philosophy. Zhuang Zi, an ancient Chinese philosopher, advocated the idea of “utility of futility”, which suggests that knowledge that seems to be ‘futile’ is itself the most useful. Otherwise, people risk lose direction in life, even though technologies may increase their capacity.
With the development of technologies, more and more physical labour and non-creative intellectual activities can be handed over to machines, bringing the creativity of humans into fuller play. If traditional education featured much skill-based training, the cultivation of creativity will surely be the sole focus of future education. The main source of creativity is a free mind and strong will of self-expression, and these can only be nourished through humanistic education.
The purpose of education in the future
The ultimate purpose of education is to foster well-being. Regardless of the type of knowledge, its teachings should bring to light the connection between knowledge and the meaning of life. The more granular the division of labour in society, the less essential an individual will seem. Failure to perceive the wholeness of life and grasp what this means can render us vulnerable to a myriad of psychological issues. Reshaping the human mind and equipping it through humanistic education to promote interdisciplinary dialogue should be the goal and direction for future education.