The Pursuit of Truth and Education

ISSN 2788-1180 https://tape.academy 1 Theology and Philosophy of Education 2025, vol. 4, no. 2, editorial, p. 1–2 Editorial The Pursuit of Truth and Education Zuzana Svobodová “Above all, the search after truth and its eager pursuit are peculiar to man. And so, when we have leisure from the demands of business cares, we are eager to see, to hear, to learn something new, and we esteem a desire to know the secrets or wonders of creation as indispensable to a happy life. Thus we come to understand that what is true, simple, and genuine appeals most strongly to a man’s nature. To this passion for discovering truth there is added a hungering, as it were, for independence, so that a mind well-moulded by Nature is unwilling to be subject to anybody save one who gives rules of conduct or is a teacher of truth or who, for the general good, rules according to justice and law. From this attitude come greatness of soul and a sense of superiority to worldly conditions.” (Cicero, De off. I, 4) These words are dedicated by a father to his son, by an educator to his educatee. Cicero entrusted them to his son Marcus, who studied in Athens, with the aim of growing into a man capable of speaking and acting correctly. His son was urgently reminded that the main goal is to act honestly (Lat. honestum), even if no one praises him for it (“it merits praise, even though it be praised by none”). On the one hand, it refers to the significant human feature (Lat. primisque hominis) of searching and pursuing the truth, and on the other hand, it refers to cultural, cultivated virtuous, honorable behavior that is not derived from the opinions of others, but is related to beauty, integrity, purity, or decency, with order in thoughts and actions. On the one hand, there is a kind of natural inclination that leads people to seek and investigate (Lat. inquisitio atque investigatio) the truth; on the other hand, there is the effort of (self-)education to act honestly. Both of these “hands” must, of course, work together; truth and education belong together, they must act in concert, in unison. If we cease to perceive human beings as striving for truth and speak of today’s world as a posttruth era, then education is also in danger of becoming indoctrination rather than an effort to act honorably. What is generally recognized and praised here and now may not be a virtue. If the true form and face of virtue could be seen with the eyes, it would inspire an amazing love (Lat. mirabiles amores) of wisdom (“a marvellous love of wisdom” – De off. I, 5), Cicero recalls Plato’s idea (Phaedr. 205d). Cicero wants to write to his son about this love of wisdom, so that it may become the guiding principle of his entire life. It is because of this love of wisdom that we also publish our journal Theology and Philosophy of Education. https://tape.academy DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17983877 2 The Pursuit of Truth and Education We are pleased to offer articles in this issue by authors who pursue the truth and seek the face of virtue, motivated by a love of wisdom. In the article “The Teacher as an Authority: Between Heracles and Gregor Samsa,” Michal Černý examines two models of authority from a philosophy of education perspective. Justin Nicholas Micallef provides a theological and philosophical inquiry into integral human development in the educational vision of Pope Francis. Jeffrey Ober introduces internal and external applications of modern apologetics. How church space didactics fosters deeper religious literacy and sustainable, reflective learning is explained in the article, “Churches as School Learning Spaces – Perspectives on Didactics of Sacred Spaces,” by Rudolf Sitzberger. In her article, Michaela Pachelová highlights the influence of teachers’ values and personal beliefs on their resilience against burnout. Writing about supporting children of re-emigrant families in Polish schools, Anna Sarbiewska argues that recognizing students’ multilingual competencies can be a pedagogical response to learning difficulties. In the section of discussion, Roland Urbain advocates a form of teaching that, beyond the acquisition of competencies, also emphasizes the possibilities of inner transformation and individuation of students. Dear readers of Theology and Philosophy of Education, I wish you a marvellous love of wisdom by your pursuit of truth and (self-)education, Zuzana Svobodová References Cicero, Marcus Tullius. 1913. De officiis. With an English translation by Walter Miller. London: Heinemann. https://archive.org/details/deofficiiswithen00ciceuoft/page/14/mode/2up Plato. 1903. “Φαῖδρος” In Platonis Opera. Ed. John Burnet. Oxford University Press. http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg012. Plato. 1925. “Phaedrus.” In Plato in Twelve Volumes. Vol. 9 translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg012.perseus-eng1. doc. PhDr. Zuzana Svobodová, Ph.D. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5151-056X Charles University Third Faculty of Medicine Department of Medical Ethics and Humanities Ruská 87, 100 00 Praha 10 Czech Republic Theology and Philosophy of Education editor in chief [email protected]