Existential aspects in modern education

Abstract

The authors analyse the current objectives of modern education, based on recent studies of human existence revealing its multidirectional and multifaceted nature and determining the life position and behaviour of a person. The levels of the modern education system often do not focus on the existential aspect because of the educational goals and objectives, which is to prepare the workforce for the labour market. The transformation of the negative form of a student’s existence into the existence of a person struggling with the absurdity and meaninglessness of life is not included in the educational process. The authors propose an original way of solving this urgent problem of modern education. The research methodology is based on the concepts introduced by M. Gordon, S. Bakewell, T. Staehler, and V.V. Varava about the possibility of using the “dark aspects” of existence as a source for personal development. Besides, the concept developed by T.M. Makhamatov about the multidirectional phenomena of existence has been used to analyse the problem. The authors conclude that today, the education system focuses not only on high professionalism among students but also on such existential aspects as Sisyphean dedication and determination, as well as the ability to deal with meaninglessness, absurdity, anxiety, and fear and the ability to turn them into a source for self-affirmation. It is possible to implement this task by developing such an ability to overcome the absurdity of human interaction with external being, as Sisyphean labour, as a search for meaning in something meaningless.