Abstract
The article examines written works of John Amos Comenius and Hryhoriy Skovoroda, the outstanding educators and humanists of the 17th-18th centuries in the context of their interpretation of the concept “freedom”. The analysis of the published works of the philosophers reveals multidimensionality of this category. Specifically, freedom is viewed as a universal culture; an individual and social value; an extent of responsibility, et cetera. The research shows that these scholars established dialectical links between freedom, education, culture and humanistic thinking. Culture and erudition of a person develop under the conditions of freedom of the individual and society. Education of a person is a life-long process, it is a basis of virtuous human behaviour, morality and spirituality. John Amos Comenius Comenius and Hryhoriy Skovoroda considered school and university to perform not only educational role, but above all cultural and developmental ones. In the context of pedagogical grounds and principles of the philosophers, training and education should be appropriate to human nature and culture. A school should serve as a “workshop of humanity”, which requires the activities to be well organised, the attitude to be humane, fair and impartial. Under these conditions, a school becomes a place of true paradise and pleasure as opposed to humiliation, indifference and torture. The paper underlines that the freedom of society largely determines the level of individual freedom. Freedom is an extent of teacher’s responsibility.
Highlights
The essence of the notion “freedom” has always been the subject of research of philosophers, educators, psychologists, sociologists and culture experts
It is obvious that Comenius was thinking dialectically: he proved a close relationship between freedom, culture and education, their mutual influence
The scholar considered schools from early stages to university to perform educational role, but above all cultural and developmental ones. This opinion is shared by Skovoroda, who wrote that God creates a spirit of freedom in a human being
Summary
The essence of the notion “freedom” has always been the subject of research of philosophers, educators, psychologists, sociologists and culture experts. Classical philosophy was dominated by two main approaches to the interpretation of the nature and content of the category: subjective (Immanuel Kant – individual freedom) and objective (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel – the basis of freedom is an Absolute idea – the God). These approaches remain valid today in different interpretations. A man, according to the scholar, is a universe in miniature This wondrous microcosm of endless possibilities may be reached under the conditions of internal and external freedom. The aim of the article is to analyse the category of freedom in the written heritage of Comenius and Skovoroda in the context of modern realities of education
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
