DIALOGUE, EDUCATION AND CHARACTER FORMATION

Education with a distinctive thrust on character formation is especially relevant in our post-truth era which is characterized by an increasing rise in moral decadence, spiritual malnourishment and existential emptiness. That is why character formation is vital, not just on the part of the students but also on the part of teachers. Buber’s educational thought conveys the idea of man as a dialogical or relational being. Buber thus considers human beings as basically relating and sharing, rather than egoistic, self-fulfilling, individually creative or simple socially-oriented creatures. Human existence is built by a mesh of various human relationships that are interactive, social and educative, and which enliven, deepen, and fulfill individual growth. In the educational sphere, such a relationship is based on trust between the teacher and the child and actualized through the “I-Thou” principle of dialogue. Hence, the main argument of the book that education cannot help us as long as it accords no place to character formation.