Educated Man: What It Means To Be Educated

Would you believe if I tell you that an educated man is a perilous man? Full of danger, it attacks an attack and questions everything; skepticism. It does not settle for what it is served— challenges the status quo. It prevails from the battle of shams and wickedness, the embodiment of virtue, integrity and compassion all at once. And most of all, it has the backbone to go to a journey that has no end. What is an unending journey? Let’s all find out.

In the words of a Greek philosopher, Socrates, “All I know is I know nothing.” The mark of an educated man is admitting the vastness of a knowledge that he/she could still acquire. Yet it does not boast. An educated man keeps on learning because education is finite, a journey and a destination at once.

An educated man challenges the status quo; it prevails from the dirty, dishonest and deceiving government. They are conscious of social, political, environmental, economic situation and act on it. It does not settle for what it is served, it eagerly pushes through for something that should be. It’s the prisoner in Plato’s Cave, the one who refused to believe the “shadows” and escaped to seek and unravel the truth.

Some would claim that they are educated while showing off their badges, awards, trophies ergo the evidences. However, education is not linear, it’s boundless and in order to be called an educated man one must possess the equilibrium of cognitive and affective, a human being of substance. It’s not only “all-knowing” but applying. It does not only perfect the logic, reasoning, writing and speech but it practice virtue, integrity and compassion every day. One can see it in the way he interacts with people, the way he faces a problem, and the way he live an impactful life.

An educated man is truly a perilous man; its power will draw a whole body, together with the mind, soul, and heart towards the enhancement, development and examined life. If you notice, the qualities that were mentioned impacts three things, to him, to people, and to the environment/government. There are a lot of people who possesses those marks and characteristics, and do you know what their similarities aside from being “educated” are? In the words of Jovito Salonga, “But there is one thing we should always remember and it is this — that far more important than the making of a living, is a living of life — a good life, a meaningful life, an abundant life.” It is the vastness of education; these are the marks of an educated man.