The Righteousness Question of Education

Education is the main institution of society that creates righteousness and thereby society itself. Contemporary life nullifies righteousness and puts existence on the verge of dehumanization; excludes righteousness from education, making it an institution without-righteousness. Righteousness as such is different from morality, ethics, values. It gives an internal basis for a human being to bear the name “man.” Education must redefine itself in order to become an institution of righteousness. To determine approaches to the transformation of education toward righteousness, this work separates the notions of “spiritual” and “righteous,” “person” and “human” from a philosophical viewpoint. The uncertainty of righteousness is presented as a fundamental question facing modern education. The reasons for growth in the uncertainty of righteousness are revealed and designated by categories of impenetrability, spuriousness, covertness, diffuseness, and shiftiness. The article considers the experiencing of righteousness as an educational tool for overcoming righteousness uncertainty. Didactic methods of experiencing righteousness, managing ethical risks, and a nuanced approach to ethical dilemmas that underlie the art of righteousness are discussed. The author examines the role of the experiencing of righteousness in gaining the foresight to distinguish between good and evil, and in shaping the existential center of personality. The righteous duty of education is defined as the upbringing of humanity; issues of righteousness measure and overcoming the anthropocentrism of personality are touched upon. It is shown that the redefinition of Russian education in relation to righteousness and humanity should be based on national culture. The author gives examples of a striking difference between Russian and Western cultures in terms of education, a displacement of righteousness from Russian education by Western models incorporated into it. The negative impact of the Unified State Examination on righteousness in Russian education, on its creative function, and on the scientific-technological development of the country is reviewed. The author concludes that cultivating human qualities should be the primary focus of Russian education.

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