Role Models and Understandings of the Human Being

Abstract

This paper wants to show that (a) every pedagogy that aims at employing role models as educational means should also consider the understanding of the human being the role model expresses, and that (b) assessing and choosing role models wisely presupposes an antecedent reflection and articulation of the understanding of the human being the role models stands for. In order to do this, the first chapter provides some preliminary conceptual clarifications: It will define the concept of a role model, and then give an introduction into the concept of an understanding of the human being. In the following chapter, different aspects of the relation between role models and understandings of the human being will be explored: understandings of the human being as precondition for every pedagogy; understandings of the human being as sources of criteria for judging role models; role models as exemplary bearers and intermediaries of understandings of the human being; role models as sources of understandings of the human being. The third chapter concludes with a short summary and some recommendations.