The Ontology of Education in Relation to the Metaphysical Aspect of Human Existence

The research examines the issues related to determining a strategy for the development of university education in the present and in the future. Based on the concepts of contemporary philosopher Bill Readings, the problem of the mission and idea of the modern university is discussed. In this regard, the main stages of historical development of the university education system and the university ideas relevant to each stage are given. The particular attention is paid to the role of humanities education in its structure. It is shown that teaching is now becoming increasingly important not only and not primarily for the purpose of imparting the “ready-made” knowledge, but primarily to encourage the students to think deeply and independently, while developing the ability to apply the knowledge gained in a broadly understood practical context. Another important issue is the relations between the humanities knowledge, particularly philosophical knowledge, and the real cultural requirements for it. This article presents a conception of the German philosopher Max Scheler that actualizes the principles of connection between the historically emerged forms of knowledge and education. This concept helps clarify the situation of educational development in the realities of contemporary culture and its prospects. In this context, the very idea of modernity is analyzed that, as shown, is related to the idea of relevance. Modernity is not a property of some general abstract chronology; it lies in the interaction of various independent attitudes and mutually influencing activities. The contemporary practices shall retain their original heterogeneity, conditioned both by the time of their origin and by the planes of existence implied. The myth of modernity encompasses the concepts of multi-temporality and multiple localities. Particular attention is given to the metaphysical aspect of human existence that contributes to the establishment of a person’s essential attitude to the true foundation of things in its connection with education and the humanization process of human existence, cognition, and the world.