IVAN ILLICH’S PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION: FROM THE DESCHOOLING SOCIETY TO THE EPIMETHEAN MAN

The article is devoted to the philosophical and pedagogical ideas of Ivan Illich, a philosopher, theologian, educator, and radical critic of modern social institutions. In particular, the author analyzes his philosophy of education, which is set forth in the book Deschooling Society (1971). It is substantiated that the term deschooling, which gained popularity thanks to Ivan Illich’s book, does not mean the elimination of schools, but a call to overcome the despotic power of the school over society. According to Illich, schools serve more for social control and oppression than for learning and personal development. It is found that this position is due to both Illich’s personal experience of working in the education system and his long-term analysis of schooling. The main provisions of Illich’s criticism of traditional school education are analyzed. First, the compulsory and authoritarian nature of schooling contradicts the basic principles of a liberal democratic state. Secondly, the school implements hidden curricula based on the ideology of the government, the ruling class, the ruling party, etc. Thirdly, the commercialization and institutionalization of education turns schooling into a ritual of initiation into the consumer society. Thus, according to Illich, compulsory school attendance for most people is an obstacle to the realization of the right to education. It has been determined that as an alternative to traditional schooling, Illich proposes a “network structure of mutual access” or “a web of learning opportunities”, that is, communication in communities of interest, emphasizing the importance of a true teacher-student relationship It has been proved that the concept of the “Epimethean man”, outlined by Illich in the last chapter of the book, is a metaphorical representation of a new person who emphasizes learning through experience, mistakes and interaction with the world around him, contrasting them with the systematic and technocratic approach of institutional education. The article concludes by noting that Illich’s proposals help to recognize the hidden phases and mechanisms that are present in any institutional educational process.