Fundamento del derecho natural de la persona humana a la educación

Abstract

1. Human aeducationability» arises from the human mode of being, proper to man: the substantial unity of body and sould.-2. The singular and concrete human being is the person; and its decisive element is its spirituality.-3. Although the human person by its act of existence is complete in its esse, it can acquire a more pedect statum.-4. The perfection of this statum is proper to the faculties that specify the human being; reason and will, which are operative accidents of the soul.- 5. Perfection of these faculties will result in the perfection of the entire human being, since they are operative accidents of the soul; the latter constituting the principie or form through which man is and operates.-6. Virtue, or the habitual capacity to perform good (perfect) acts in the one that perfects the operative capacity of the intellect and the will. Thus, it is not sufficient to perform good isolated acts.-7. Education, which consists in acquiring the statum of human perfection, has virtue as its final end.-8. The end of education. which is virtue -both moral and intellectual- cannot be attained without the exercise of the specifically human faculties, and it affects these directly. It is possible to say that hetero-education -pedection or education through the perfecive influence of others must give way to self education- perfection achieved progressively by and intentional action over oneself.-9. The educational requirel is not strictly ontological, that is, education does not constitute the human being. The noneducated human being is complete in its esse or 'fr8ture'. However, it is a requiral derived inmmediately from its esse, or what is the same, its nature, inasmuch as the latter demands of the human being that it adjust its operations to what is properly constituent of its essence: the being of a rational animal.-10. Thus, for the human person, education consists of a moral duty, since the moral law obliges man to educate himself and to be more pedect as a human being. This obligation is understood and acted upon rationally and therefore, Freely.-11. This ethical obligation is not only proper to the singular human being, but also to other persons and societies -mainly the family, the Church, and subsidiarilly, the 8tate- because man is by nature a social being.- 12. Education is not only a subjective right and duty; it constitutes an objective right and duty from the point of view of Naural Law and natural rights to which the positive juridical order must adjust itself, recognizing and guaranteeing this right. Besides, in order to bring to its utmost fulfillment the right to an education, objective realities are necessary. That is, only if absolute truth and goodness which have God as their root and foundation are taken into consideration, will it be possible to educate man.-13. The right to an education has, then, certain fundamental characteristics: a) It is of the utmost personal character because without the express will of the person it cannot be exercised. b) It is social, beeause the person is always in need of the edueational influence of other human beings. e) It is objective, beeause justice eannot be made without absolute truth and goodness.-14. The fulfillment of justiee, which is the end of the law, demands the edueation of the human person, sinca the educational right and duty is one whieh directly derives from the proper nature of mano Thus, edueation is that whieh corresponds to man as man in order to reach the perfeet human statum.