Classical paideia as the integral cultivation of the human being

The cultivation of the human being and his/her humanity is one of the most important human activities. This is why paideia (cultura, humanitas in Latin), as the universal ideal of comprehensive education and upbringing, not only refers to physical cultivation but also, and primarily, the shaping of the spirit – the rational soul. Upbringing and education are more important than technology, economics and politics. They can’t be separated from the truth about the human being. They also can’t be accidental or serve any ideologies or utopias. Paideia should be based on metaphysical and epistemological realism. The aim of this paper to present paideia from the point of view of classical philosophy. It presents the results of paideia in upbringing and education. The final result of paideia is the perfection of human nature and even human sanctity. The different aspects constituting paideia are shown in this paper. Apart from its nature in the historical aspect, the relation of paideia to the challenges and problems of modern and contemporary pedagogy is presented here. As it is the human being who is being cultivated, this paper presents the anthropological basis of paideia – human nature, anthropological error, the ethics of personal relations, culture and civilization. Paideia is the integral cultivation of human potential, i.e., of the integral human being, his/her intellect, free will, emotions, sensory potential, including vis cogi tativa. In this paper, the metaphysical method of identification, developed in the consistent Thomism of Professor Mieczysław Gogacz, is used.