The person between the vertical of spirit and the horizon of soul: Pedagogical processes of personal growing, development and formation in the light of Orthodox anthropology

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between pedagogical processes of personal growing, development, and formation in the light of Orthodox anthropology. The author makes an attempt to coordinate the concepts of theological anthropology with pedagogical terminology, as well as to harmonize key principles of Soviet, humanistic, and co-Image Orthodox-oriented pedagogy on the basis of an anthropological approach. Particular attention is paid to an attempt to explain the essence of the spiritual and mental structure of human nature without using theological terminology for lay teachers. This is done with the help of the basic metaphors of “spiritual formation vertical” and “mental development horizon”, which make it possible to explain clearly the fundamental differences between the spiritual and mental components of human nature. Spiritual development is seen as a process of human improvement through overcoming moral relativism and temptations by sin and vice, and mental development as an expansion and dissemination of reasonable, volitional, and sensual-emotional forces of a person through the creation of favorable conditions. The formation of a person through external influence on the mental part of human nature is an organized process that balances the spontaneity of the process of mental development. The article makes an attempt to reconcile the patristic doctrine of man and the provisions of modern pedagogical anthropology.