Educating to Wholesome Selves

The present contribution is based on conversations with students, in line with theeducational philosophy of Martin Buber. For the latter, the essence of education is the education of character, which in turn is the education for community. Pointing to the selfhood-devouring power of collectivism, he emphasized the necessity of helping young people regain the desire to become their own unique wholesome selves so that they may be able to accept the responsibility for communal life. In other words, education has the twofold aim of cultivating wholeness of being and citizenship. These two aims are intricately connected: a genuine democratic community is dependent on wholesome selves who are able to commit to its core ideals of civic friendship and justice. Teachers, too, have the task of helping youngsters become such wholesome selves. But do they indeed succeed in keeping this desire to wholeness alive? When and why do they fail to do so? Does education cultivate the personal aspirations of students? When do students feel that their work becomes meaningful? Political collectivism might not be so prominently present today, and yet there are many forces that demand conformism and hence devour selfhood. What are these forces? Moreover, what can we (students, teachers, and others) do to ensure that universities become academic communities that fulfill their humanizing tasks? These are some of the questions that are addressed in this contribution.