1、What is the purpose of Whole-Person Education?The purpose of whole-person education is to help students become creative, compassionate, thoughtful, problem-solvers who find happiness as individuals and who contribute to the well-being of their families, communities, societies, and the world. It is t
2、o help students become whole people in a whole world.Whole Person Education seeks to avoid the traps of narcissism and collectivism.Whole person education rightly seeks to avoid two traps: narcissism and collectivism.The first is to focus on individual happiness at the expense of the well-being of s
3、ociety. This is a trap into which liberal educators in the West sometimes fall. They can be too student-centered, wrongly encouraging students to think that their own individual happiness and that alone is what is most important in life. When educators fall into this trap, they encourage narcissism.
4、 In the United States today, many thoughtful educators are trying to determine how to avoid the trap of excessive individualism, which has been a problem in the West since the rise of modernity. They are emphasizing community service and undergraduate research aimed at solving practical problems in
5、the world as integral aspects of holistic education.The second trap is to focus on social need and group coherence at the expense of the individual. This is a trap into which Chinese education sometimes falls. It is too society-centered and authority-based, wrongly neglecting the value and worth of
6、the individual student. In China today many thoughtful educators are trying to determine how to overcome this problem, both for the sake of the student and for the sake of the nation. They are emphasizing that a whole nation needs whole persons, and that a more student-centered approach, tailored to
7、 the needs of individuals, is good for the students and good for the nation.Whole person education is built upon the proposal the hope - that seeking happiness at a personal level and contributing to the well-being of others can be complementary rather than contradictory. Its implicit motto is “Whol
8、e Persons in a Whole World.”Whole Person Education aims at beauty.A whole person can also be called a happy person. By happiness I do not mean pleasure alone, although pleasure can be an important part of happiness. Instead I mean a sense of satisfaction that comes from fulfilling ones creative pote
9、ntial and dwelling in harmony with other people, the natural world, oneself, and the larger context of life or heaven, in a good or virtuous way. I borrow the idea that happiness and virtue are conjoined from Aristotle, who believed that the cultivation of happiness and the cultivation of virtue are
10、 two sides of a single coin. And I borrow the idea that virtue consists of harmony with other people, the natural world, ones own heart, and heaven from The Western Inscription, short article of only 253 characters written by Zhang Zai (1020-1077), a Neo-Confucian philosopher in the Song Dynasty. My
11、 suggestion, then, is that the four horizons of harmony are also four sources of happiness. Sometimes some of these sources are not available to us and we must look elsewhere. We are unhappy in our relations with other people but we turn to the natural world or heaven for solace. We are doubtful abo
12、ut our relations with heaven but we find something divine or at least sacred in our relations with other or with the natural world. In the course of a lifetime people may turn from one source to another, but the ideal is to be nourished by all four. Of course “happiness” is not the only name for hap
13、piness. In Whiteheads philosophy other words and phrases are also used to name the aim or goal of an individuals journey in life: satisfaction, richness of experience, harmony and intensity, adventure, peace, and strength of beauty. Beauty is especially important, because there is indeed an aestheti
14、c dimension to happiness that is sometimes neglected if we limit ourselves to ethical categories. Indeed Whitehead believes that the whole universe and every creature within it is always seeking beauty, understood as a combination of harmony and intensity in the enjoyment of experience. For Whitehea
15、d even heaven even God seeks beauty. Gods beauty, thinks Whitehead, is Gods love for the world and Gods reception of the world into the beauty of the divine life.Whole Person Education recognizes multiple forms of intelligence and emphasizes empathy.Here beauty is not a name for beautiful objects pe
16、rceived by the senses, though such objects can indeed be beautiful. Instead beauty is a kind of richness that emerges in, not apart from, relations with others. In human life and also in divine life, this richness includes sadness that arises through empathy. Empathy is by no means limited to human
17、beings or, for that matter, a divine being. Studies show that other animals elephants and chimpanzees, for example can also empathize. Empathy is (1) a capacity to understand and appreciate the perspective of other people, including people who are very different from them and (2) a capacity to share
18、 in, and be affected by, the subjective states of others. It is perspective-taking and state-sharing. From the perspective of constructive postmodernism, then, one of the aims of whole person education is to help people become empathic, not only so that they can help bring about the well-being of so
19、ciety, but also so that they can become happier in their own individual lives. Empathy is a form of wisdom in its own right, complementary to other forms of wisdom which are also important. A cognitive psychologist and educational theorist at Harvard, Howard Gardner, speaks of empathy as one of eigh
20、t forms intelligence. They eight forms are (1) verbal-linguistic, (2) logical-mathematical, (3) visual-spatial, (4) rhythmic-musical, (5) bodily-kinesthetic, (6) naturalistic, (7) intrapersonal (self-awareness), and (8) empathic. Constructive postmodernists agree with Gardner that each form of intel
21、ligence tells us something about ourselves and world within which we live. Philosophers sometimes speak of three kinds of knowing: knowing about things, knowing how to do things, and knowing with things (or knowing by direct acquaintance). Empathy is a way of knowing with others by imagining their p
22、erspectives and sharing in their subjective states. Whole person education seeks to foster all eight forms, not just empathy. In higher education there is sometimes a ranking of these different forms, with verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence ranking higher than the others. Constr
23、uctive postmodernists disagree, saying that each form of intelligence is important in different contexts and that each person can develop all of the forms to one degree or another. There are different ways of knowing, and whole person education values them all.Moreover, whole person education in the
24、 constructive postmodern tradition widens the meaning of critical thinking beyond conventional uses. Often in higher education people say that an important aim of education is not simply to acquire knowledge and skills, but also to learn to “think critically.” Constructive postmodernists agree, but
25、add that all eight forms of intelligence can be part of critical thinking. Indeed empathy plays a special role. In order to think critically we must imagine how the world looks and feels to people whose experience is markedly different from our own.Whole Person Education helps students contribute to
26、 the well-being of their families, their communities, their nation, and the world.One purpose of living empathically is to help build a better world. A better world is not a perfect world. There will always be tragedy. But a better world is one in which people live in greater peace and security, gre
27、ater joy and creativity, than they now live; and it is one in which other living beings and the earth itself simultaneously flourish. In the language of the Western Inscription, there is a meaningful degree of harmony among people and harmony with the earth, both of which add to the harmony of heave
28、n.The twin ideas of harmony among people and harmony with the earth at the heart of Whole Person Education as conceived in a constructively postmodern way. In East Asia, Confucian traditions have highlighted harmony among people and Taoist traditions have highlighted harmony with the earth, beginnin
29、g with harmony with ones own body. Constructive postmodernists believe that both kinds of harmony are important. Both form an essential part of the well-being that Whole Person Education seeks to promote.In the twenty-first century the idea of an Ecological Civilization combines these two kinds of h
30、armony, and this idea comes close to naming the social ideal which rightly guided Whole Person Education. For constructive postmodernists an Ecological Civilization is a culture as well as a physical state of affairs. It is a culture that is creative, compassionate, participatory, equitable, ecologi
31、cally wise, and spiritually satisfying, with no one left behind. Constructive postmodernists believe that these qualities creativity, compassion, participation, respect for difference, spiritual satisfaction are relevant to families and local communities as well as nations. They form the cultural pa
32、rt of what many people in different parts of the world now call sustainable communities. Sustainable communities are sustainable in two senses. They can be sustained into the foreseeable future given the limits of the earth and local bioregions to absorb waste and supply resources, and they provide
33、sustenance for human life. An Ecological Civilization consists of sustainable communities.Whole Person Education is immensely incomplete if it focuses on human happiness alone, much less individualized happiness. It lapses into narcissism. It is also incomplete if it focuses on social well-being alo
34、ne, neglecting the importance of the individual. The better hope is that it can keep its eye on the four kinds of harmony: harmony among people, harmony with the earth, harmony within oneself, and harmony with heaven.For constructive postmodernists, heaven dwells within each human being as an inner
35、calling to reach out and help others. In Buddhism this calling is articulated as the Bodhisattva vow: the promise never to enter into final salvation unless all beings can follow. In our time, the Bodhisattva vow can be rearticulated as a call never to lapse into privatized happiness at the expense
36、of social service. Buddhists tell us that the Bodhisattva knows that his or her own well-being cannot be separated from the well-being of others. Advocates of Whole Person Education say the same.The need in our time is to foster whole-person education at every level: primary, secondary, tertiary. Th
37、e hope of the world - in China and the United States, too - is that this can be done. And the need, of course, is to get practical. Universities and colleges with engaged education programs, such as Hendrix College where I teach and United International College in Zhuhai, China, are examples of impl
38、ementing Whole Person Education at a collegiate level. These experiments build upon the pioneering work of John Dewey and, in the case of UIC in China, the work of East Asian wisdom traditions. And yet their administrators rightly recognize that Whole Person Education must begin at home and in early
39、 childhood education.An excellent start has been made by the Roots of Empathy initiative, which started in Canada. It is an evidence-based classroom program that has shown significant effect in reducing levels of aggression among school children while raising social/emotional competence and increasi
40、ng empathy. Its mission is “to build caring, peaceful, and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults.“ It has impressive success stories in Canada, the United Kingdom, Scotland, and the United States. Its aim to expand to other parts of the world by partnering with le
41、ad agencies in those regions. It is from seeds such as these, planted by gifted teachers and administrators, that hope arises.杰伊麦克丹尼尔 撰谢邦秀 译本文是我于 2013 年 6 月在中国珠海国际联合学院的讲稿。作为中国境内的一所文理学院，该校正在成长为全人教育的领军者。全人教育的目的何在？全人教育旨在帮助学生成长为具有创造性、富有同情心的、体贴的问题解决者，使他们既能够找到个人幸福，亦能够为家人、社区、社会以及世界做出贡献。它旨在帮助学生成为一个完整的世界中的完整
42、的人。全人教育寻求避免自恋与集体主义的陷阱。全人教育适恰地寻求避免两种陷阱：自恋与集体主义。第一种陷阱以（牺牲）社会福祉为代价而关注个人幸福。西方的人文教育者有时会跌入这一陷阱。他们可能过于以学生为中心，错误地鼓励学生，致使他们认为其自身的个人幸福，而且仅此而已，才是人生最重要的东西。当教育者陷入这种陷阱时，他们就是在鼓励自恋。在今天的美国，许多深思的教育者在努力确定如何避免极端个人主义的陷阱，这与西方的现代性相伴而生。他们强调社区服务和本科生研究，作为全人教育的整体的不同方面，旨在解决世界上的实际问题。第二种陷阱以（牺牲）个人为代价而关注社会需求和团队凝聚性。中国的教育有时会落入这一陷阱。它
43、过于基于权威和社会中心，错误地无视个体学生的意义和价值。在今日中国，既为学生计亦为国家计，许多深思的教育者都在努力探索如何克服这一问题。他们强调，一个完整的国家需要完整的人， 而一种更适应个体需求的以学生为中心的（教育）途径既益于学生，亦益于国家。全人教育建立在这样的建议 希望 之上：追求个人幸福与为他人的福祉做贡献二者互为补充，而非相互矛盾。它隐含着“完整的人（生存）于完整的世界”的寓意。全人教育旨在（追求）美。一个完整的人亦即一个幸福的人。所谓幸福，我指的不单是快乐， 尽管快乐可能是幸福的重要成分。相反，我指的是一种满足感，它源自满足个人的创造性潜能，以一种善的或合乎道德的方式与他人、自然
44、界、其自我以及生命或天等更广阔的语境和谐共处。我借用亚里士多德关于幸福与美德相结合的观念，他认为培养幸福感与养成美德是一个硬币的两面。我也借鉴中国宋代新儒家哲学家张载（1020-1077）的西铭，一篇仅由 253 个汉字写成的短文，中关于美德的观念，他认为美德由与他人、自然界、个人自己的内心以及天之间的和谐构成。因此我认为，张载的四个层次的和谐就是四种幸福的源泉。有时我们够不到这些源泉中的有些方面，因此我们就得到别处去寻找。我们可能与他人关系不睦，但我们可以求助于自然界或天以获得慰藉。我们可能怀疑我们与天的关系，但我们可以在与他人或自然界的关系中发现某种神圣 或至少是庄严 的东西。在人终生的旅
45、程中，人们可能会从一种源泉转向另一种源泉，但能够得到全部四种源泉的滋养最为理想。当然，“幸福” 不是幸福的唯一名称。在怀特海的哲学中，一些其他的词语也被用来指称人生旅程中的目的或目标：满足、经验的丰富性、和谐与紧张、探险、和平、以及美的力量。美尤其重要，因为事实上，如果我们将自己局限于伦理的范畴，幸福的审美维度有时会被忽视。怀特海确实相信，整个宇宙以及其中的每一种生物都总是在寻求美，被理解为在享受经验的过程中和谐与紧张的结合。对怀特海而言，即使是天 即使是上帝 也在追求美。怀特海认为，上帝之美就是上帝对世界的爱以及上帝将世界接受进神的生命之美中。全人教育认识到智力的多种形式并重视移情作用。这里
46、美并不指感官感受到的美的物体，尽管这样的物体确实可能是美的。相反，美指的是产生于与他者的关系，而非分离，中的一种丰富性。在人的生命以及神的生命之中，这种丰富性包括产生自移情（同感）的悲伤之情。移情绝不仅限于人类或上帝。有研究表明，其他动物 如大象和黑猩猩 也会移情。移情是（1）一种理解和欣赏他人的视角的能力，包括与其自身迥然不同者；（2）一种分享他人的主观情态并受其影响的能力。移情即指接受观点和分享情态。因此，从建设性后现代的视角来看，全人教育的目的之一在于帮助人们变得懂得移情，以使他们不仅能够帮助给社会带来福祉，而且能够使他们自己的个人生活变得更幸福。移情本身是智慧的一种形式，是对其他形式的
47、同样重要的智慧的补充。哈佛的一位认知心理学家和教育理论家霍华德加德纳（Howard Gardner）认为，移情是八种智力中的一种。这八种智力包括（1）言语-语言智力、（2 ）逻辑- 数学智力、（3 ）视觉- 空间智力、（4 ）韵律-音乐智力、（5 ）身体-运动智力、（6）自然探究智力、（7）个人内心（自我认识）智力和（8）移情智力。建设性后现代主义者认同加德纳的观点，认为每一种形式的智力都能够告诉我们一些关于我们自己以及我们生活于其中的世界的事情。哲学家们有时论及三种形式的认知：认识事物、认识如何做事、认识与事物同在（或通过直接了解事物而认识）。移情就是一种通过想象他人的视角和分享其主观情态而
48、与之同在。全人教育追求培养所有八种形式的智力，而非仅培养移情。高等教育有时会对这些不同的智力形式排序，相对于其他形式的智力而言更重视言语-语言智力和逻辑-数学智力。建设性后现代主义者不赞成这种做法，认为每一种智力都在不同的语境中有其重要性，每一个人都可以在不同程度上培养所有形式的智力。存在着不同形式的认知，全人教育重视所有这些认知形式。而且，建设性后现代传统中的全人教育拓宽了批判性思维的意义，超越了其传统用途。就高等教育而言，人们往往认为，教育的目的不仅在于获取知识和技能，也在于学会“批判性地思考” 。建设性后现代主义者赞成这种说法，但有所发展，认为所有八种形式的智力都能够成为批判性思维的组成
49、部分。事实上，移情起着一种特殊的作用。为了能够批判性地思考问题，我们必须想象，那些与我们自己有迥然不同的经验的人如何看世界、如何感受世界。全人教育有助于学生为其家庭、社区、国家乃至世界做贡献。移情地生活的目的之一是帮助建设一个更美好的世界。更美好的世界并非完美无缺的世界。总会有悲剧发生。但更美好的世界是这样的一个所在，在其中，相对于其现有的生活而言，人们生活得更和平、更安全、更快乐、更富有创意；其他生物以及地球本身也同时繁荣昌盛。用西铭中的话说，人与人、人与地之间存在着某种程度的意味深长的和谐，这两者增加了天的和谐。从建设性后现代的视角来看，人与人和谐、人与地和谐这一对孪生观念是全人教育的核心。在东亚，儒家传统突显人与人之间的和谐，而道家传统则强调人与地之间的和谐，起始于人体自身的和谐。建设性后现代主义者认为，这两种和谐都重要。两者构成全人教育旨在促进的幸福的不可缺少的组成部分。在 21 世纪，一种生态文明观将这两种和谐结合起来，这种观念接近一种正确引导全人教育的社会理想。对建设性后现代主义者而言，生态文明既是一种文化也是事物存在的一种物理状态。其文化的一面在于其创造性、同情性、参与性、公平性、生态智慧以及精神满足，不落下任何人。建设性后现代主义者认为，创造性、同情、参与、
