At the heart of the Western tradition of thought is what we might call the “discovery of the individual:” from Greek conceptions of the hero striving with his enemies, to the philosopher striving to know reality, to the Judaic and Christian ideas of the individual person in relationship or covenant with God, to Anglo-American ideas of autonomous citizenship, the free individual looms large in Western thought. While some strains within the Western tradition conceive of individual freedom as a negative “freedom from,” a complete and absolute independence of the individual will from all restraints, a more robust and deep-rooted way of thinking about freedom has always been as to conceive of liberty as freedom for the good, freedom to do what is right for self and for others. In this way of thinking, freedom always brings with it the obligation to pursue the good. Great Hearts has a special affinity for this Western notion of “freedom for,” as opposed to other notions of freedom.
Inherent in the human person is the unique Western notion of dignity, a moral worth and value to be found in every human being, irrespective of birth, class, or accomplishment; such a conception of human dignity is evident in Greek philosophy, in Judeo-Christian religion, and in modern ways of thinking about “the rights of man.” One particular manifestation of this thought is the Western aversion to treating any person as a mere thing, an object, a means to an end. Another, one with obvious educational implications, is the axiom that all human beings are capable of knowing truth, of doing good, and of loving beauty; if this is true, then they should be taught in a way that enables them to reach their fullest human potential, and not merely trained to perform social or economic functions.
Adapted from “Great Hearts: The Six Loves” by Andrew Ellison, Director of the St. Ambrose Center at the University of Dallas and former Executive Director of San Antonio Academies for Great Hearts Texas.