Pedagogy of Happiness: A Russian View

Valerii Chernik,Iulia Afonkina,Tatiana Kuzmicheva

doi:10.3390/educsci11090503

Abstract

For thousands of years the topic of happiness has attracted attention from the representatives of various sciences. However, until now there has been no unity in understanding the essence, sources, and components of happiness. Quite often, the interpretation of the phenomenon of happiness is limited to the analysis of the works of philosophers of antiquity, the European Middle Ages, modern and recent history, and many researchers are in a kind of Eurocentric captivity. Consciously or accidentally, the works of Russian thinkers are often not considered. This hinders the creation of a holistic and more objective picture of such an important aspect of every person’s life. In order to overcome this Eurocentric bias, this study suggests tracing back the main stages of the development of the idea of happiness in Russia from the era of Peter the Great to the present. For this purpose, the authors used the methods of theoretical, comparative, and retrospective analysis. The authors believe that currently the pedagogy of happiness is being actively formed. To educate happy people, teachers should master the art of the pedagogy of happiness.

Highlights

For thousands of years the topic of happiness has attracted attention from the representatives of various sciences
Having received an invitation to take part in a special issue of the journal dedicated to the philosophy of education, we asked ourselves if all authors understand and interpret the essence of this concept in the same way
The authors believe that this principle of research enables getting a better understanding of the Russian view on its essence in the description, comparative analysis and interpretation of the genesis of the concept of “happiness” in the history of pedagogy and philosophy of education in Russia

Summary

Introduction

Having received an invitation to take part in a special issue of the journal dedicated to the philosophy of education, we asked ourselves if all authors understand and interpret the essence of this concept in the same way. The authors believe that this principle of research enables getting a better understanding of the Russian view on its essence in the description, comparative analysis and interpretation of the genesis of the concept of “happiness” in the history of pedagogy and philosophy of education in Russia. This idea of Arthur Lovejoy in a certain way coincides with the appeal of the founder of scientific pedagogy in Russia, Konstantin Ushinsky (1824–1870), who wrote: “If we want to fully bring up a child, we must first fully understand this child” [8] May this be due to the fact that a person is a unity of the physical and the spiritual? We presume that this kind of dichotomy is one of the reasons for different approaches to understanding the essence of happiness which were developed already in ancient philosophy: hedonism, utilitarianism, and eudemonism

Happiness in the Tsarist Russia

Happiness in the Soviet Russia

Happiness in the Post-Soviet Russia

Conclusions