The arrow cannot be aimed at the past; it must be aimed at the future. Yet, thanks to civilization, we have transferred archery onto paper, and some people are drawing arrows toward the past. The transition of education from the past to the future is often overlooked. Both the past and the future are important, but education that does not target the future is a betrayal to the student. Education that does not prepare for the realities of the future is a betrayal to humanity. Wherever there is a failing state or individual, it is the product of education accelerated in the wrong direction, clinging to the simplistic answers of the past.
Education is preparation for life.
It is harmful to fulfill every desire of a student, just as it is harmful to ignore all their desires. Being too lenient is damaging, and so is being too harsh. Too much education is harmful, as is too little. It is crucial to provide a moderate education tailored to the student’s future life, leaving the rest to their own development.
Today’s education prepares individuals for past lives. In other words, we are preparing people for the past while facing future challenges. This oddity stems from the difficulty of updating societal institutions. Since individuals are products of societal institutions, meaningful learning does not occur unless they address ignorance and respond correctly to it.
The future can be understood from the present.
For those asking, “How can we prepare people for a future no one knows?” the journey begins now. “Time is an illusion; there is nothing but the present,” they say. What does today’s dissatisfaction tell us? If education is supposed to be beneficial, why does it not bring happiness? Yes, children do not know what is beneficial for them, but this also ties back to education from a young age. Individuals who do not learn to benefit themselves tend to approach education or any effort with reluctance.
The future is determined by the present.
If future events are shaped by today’s actions, an honest view of the world suffices to reform education. In the future, machines will perform most tasks more efficiently. Keeping individuals engaged and addressing unemployment will be among the most critical challenges. Yet, we prefer to ignore this problem. This tendency to overlook is increasing. We still base our lessons and courses on memory-level achievements and legitimize our institutions through authority.
Play is more exhausting but attracts more demand.
We can dedicate years to computer games, going hungry and thirsty for them. Yet, we hesitate to devote even a day to a work that could change our outlook on life. We willingly engage in pursuits that are undoubtedly a waste of time but shy away from beneficial ones. This is tied to the essence of existence and society. Humans survive not because they are the best but because they are coded, and some among us can alter this code. Consequently, troubles arise.
We are an excessively social, overly coded species with no choice but to live according to others. Whether society deserves good individuals or not, even if we realize this, we cannot change it. Together, we are all human and bound by the fundamental rules of existence. Life is a game within the limits of space-time. We play with these limits, and our education largely shapes the games we play.
In the future, limits must be transcendent.
Individuals live to show they have surpassed or conformed to a limit. What we call success is essentially a societal game of limits. But what will success look like in the future? Machines will take over all tasks, and finding life’s purpose will become the greatest challenge. The main issue of education will not be employment or income generation but motivating individuals for life and instilling transcendent purposes. Transcendent limits require education that fosters meditation, awareness, and dialectics—an elevation to maturity and perfection.
In an ordinary school, limits are memorized. Few institutions teach how to apply or solve problems within those limits. Education for jobs that still require humans should be turned into problem-solving computer games. We don’t force people to play games; they play willingly. People learn the knowledge they need by themselves.
Future education should not teach limits, nor even the exceeding of limits, but rather transcendent limits. That is, it should teach stopping, meditating, thinking, and viewing the universe with a human gaze. The primary reason for this is that there is no other way to manage people who meet minimum standards but lack a sense of societal status or limit-transcending achievement. If people do not overcome their animalistic tendencies or excessive humanity, they may believe the problem lies within themselves. This leads to chronic depression and eventual extinction.
The superpower of humanity—intellect—prepares us for the future.
Amid artificial occupations, universal basic income, entertainment, and other diversions, the ultimate educational strategy for the future will center on the use of human intellect. Life is not solely about pleasure and success; it is lived through the mind. Thus, humanity can prepare for the inevitable, including death, only through intellect.
