A PERSON LEARNS TO BE A CITIZEN THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE: REFLECTIONS ON JULO VOOGLIDE’S BOOK “THINKING AS A CITIZEN. A GUIDE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES”

Abstract

The article unravels the main ideas of Julo Vooglide’s cultu re of citizenshi p education. His reasoning is general in natu re. The universality of the researcher’s judgments characterizes the depth, systematicity and accu racy in understanding various phenomena and facts of social life full of complexities and contradictions, demonstrates their ability to be structu red into certain models interwoven with a large number of interrelationshi ps. Yulo Vooglide calls the reader to a constructive dialogue, encou raging independent thinking in understanding the problems of civil society development and citizenshi p education. Society and man are considered by the researcher as a complex relationshi p of systems (micro and macro world). These systems have a special natu re, as they are self-regulating, oriented towards internal changes and, as a rule, left to an external organizer. For their understanding, it is important not only to take into account the multi plicity of alternative points of view, but also to use special methods of cognition that would take into account the non-lazy procedu ral natu re of their functioning and changes. Julo Vooglide suggests considering the problems of self-organized systems in a trialectic dimension (as an example, the category of unity in semantic models: circumstances-situation-situation; general-special-single; learning-upbringing-experience; cultu re-education-science; qualification-orientation-motivation; interest -will-faith; trustrespect- love; education-awareness-experience; knowledge-skill-understanding, etc.). The researcher also draws attention to the fact that the result of education is not the amount of acquired knowledge, but the ability and ability of a person to use the knowledge resou rce in solving practical tasks and life situations. The ability to make independent decisions, effectively solve practical situations and calculate the consequences of one’s actions, etc., is much more important than “filling the head” with ready-made information. Personality development is a function of creativity. It is not education that develops a person, but creativity. Yulo Vooglide advises to create prerequisites for the development of creativity in the learning process. The basic prerequisite for the development of creativity is freedom. Freedom as a basic existential of a person generates creativity and is generated by creativity. It symbolizes a person’s ability to be himself and to discover and create the world of his existence. The system of human activity and its elements, including work, leadershi p and management, is another cross-cutting theme of the book. In particular, special attention is paid to the prerequisites and stages of decision-making, the ability to present independent decisions and analyze the decisions and orders of managers. Advice is constructive in the development of trust and responsibility, the ability of citizens to be creators of their lives and their society. The formation of decisions is always accompanied by responsibility for fu rther activities, immediate results and decisions.