The Idea of Europe between Utopia and Rootedness. A European Canon for the Education of a New Generation of Citizens

Abstract

Historically, Europe has always dealt with its problems through the use of terminology and the Greco-Roman classical model. Such was the case of not only the Italian humanists that created a new world through the renaissance of antiquity but also the philosophers of the enlightenement whose ideas sprouted from the basic model of the classics, consequently resulting in the fall of the ancien régime. This tradition of humanism and universalism was once again used in the 20th century by the founding fathers of a New Europe post the Second World War. Today this very idea of Europe has been put into question. As a result, there is the necessity to rethink a New European Canon that could serve as a starting point for a New Humanism of which education could constitute as an essential vehicle.