7 Complex Lessons for Education in the Future

   Edgar Morin, a French  philosopher and sociologist,  takes into account a series of  fundamental issues that have  been ignored or forgotten and  which are necessary for  future education. He presents  those problematic issues as  “seven complex lessons” that  should be examined in every  cultural group. By doing this,  Morin opens up a debate,  which contributes to helping  teachers and leaders to clarify their own thoughts on  this vital issue.
For instance, one of the lessons Edgar Morin  proposes is ‘Understanding each other’. What he  points out is that although people are better  communicated that any time in the past thanks to  the technological improvements, lack of  comprehension is still present and in fact, it  continues growing throughout time. So, this  problem should be taken into account in our  education systems since understanding is a crucial  aspect for human beings. Differently from  communication means, we cannot digitalize  understanding. Educating for human understanding  is a key point for the protection of humanity’s moral  and intellectual solidarity. Morin considers that the problem of understanding is double-edged:  understanding between human beings of different  cultures, races, etnias, and then, individual  understanding between closely related people in  private relations which are increasingly threatened  by incomprehension. Moreover, as communication  does not bring understanding, we (teachers) should focus on intelligibility and explanation so that our  students can achieve intellectual comprehension.  Morin lists a number of obstacles which may lead  to misunderstanding yet he highlights the relevance  of indifference, egocentrism, ethnocentrism and  sociocentrism in such a process. Finally, the  author mentions ‘throughout thinking’, introspection and tolerance as important human  practices that can be included within the classroom  so as to fully achieve intellectual understanding.