Magnifica humanitas has been widely discussed for its approach to artificial intelligence. Pope Leo emphasizes the importance of the schools for training people to retain their humanity in the face of these challenges. If we took the encyclical as a guide to education, what sort of education would that be?
An essential goal would be to educate students about the dignity of the human person and what is required for the integral development: body, soul, and spirit. It would teach students that, “elevating any single dimension of human existence to an absolute is always a mistake.” The university would have to model this respect for dignity in its own actions and in the rules governing the community. A Catholic university would teach its students not only about rights, but also about their responsibilities and duties. Such an education would consider the nature of the common good and our obligations to it.
Given the pope’s comments, an authentic education would be one in which “a love for truth” is fostered. “When people come to believe that nothing is genuinely true and that principles are hollow,” he writes, “when questions about what is true lose their appeal, and a pragmatism takes hold
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