Abstract

This paper attempts to present a Marxist-inspired approach to the content of philosophical thinking about education in relation to a relevant definition of the specific characteristics of philosophy. Philosophy is conceived as a form of social consciousness, the specificity of which consists in lending meaning to the existence of humans as subjects in their relation to other humans-subjects and within their interaction with objective reality. Philosophy is also presented as the privileged intellectual field for the critical assessment of all aspects of the human condition, in a quest of life prospects and ideals. In connection with that, philosophy is defined as the form of social consciousness which reflects upon consciousness itself. In the paper it is suggested that the content of the philosophical thinking about education mainly consists in the formation of the aims of education, in relation to both the critical examination of the position of education in the social totality and the critical assessment of the inherited knowledge traditions. Within this frame of analysis it is considered of paramount importance the philosophical examination of the relation between education and social labour.