If we do not consider the social and historical background, and only in terms of education itself, we can summarize it into the following three basic types of education.

1. Scholastic education : this kind of education is limited to the “transmission” of knowledge. Teachers just follow the text and have no creative spirit. The textbook has formed a set of fixed system. People admire authoritative writers and their books. The teacher himself is insignificant. He is just an agent and can be replaced at will. The content of teaching materials has become a fixed form. In the Middle Ages, teachers used dictation and explanation to teach. Dictation is no longer used because it can be replaced by books. But the meaning of dictation remains. People attribute their thoughts to a system of ideas in which they can live, and annihilate their own vivid personality. Because the knowledge is already fixed, students always hold the idea: Going to school is to learn fixed knowledge, learn some ready-made conclusions and answers, “Bring home the clear and unmistakable books in black and white. “. The deep-rooted foundation of this scholastic education is rational tradition.

2. The mentor-apprentice education : is characterized by a completely teacher-centered and personal tradition. The respect and love of students towards teachers is characterized by absolute obedience. This subordination distance is not only the difference between the degree and the generation gap, but also the essence. The authority of a teacher has a magical power. This power satisfies the needs of human beings who are unwilling to be responsible for themselves but are willing to depend on others, and enables people to belong to a group to reduce subordination and achieve strict education beyond their own ability.

3. Socratic education: from the point of view of education, teachers and students in this education are in an equal position. Both teaching parties can think freely. There is no fixed teaching method. Only through endless questioning can they feel that they know nothing about the absolute truth. Therefore, teachers stimulate students’ sense of responsibility for exploring and seeking knowledge, and strengthen this sense of responsibility. This is the educational principle of Socrates’ “oxygen”. That is to say, awaken the potential of the students, and urge them to generate an automatic force from the inside instead of exerting pressure from the outside. This is not to give full play to the special talents displayed by students by chance and temporary experience, but a never-ending process for students to seek themselves in exploration. Socratic teachers have always opposed to be the biggest supplier and demander of students; teachers have to divert the attention of students from teachers to students themselves, and teachers themselves have retreated to the position of suggestion. There is only a well-intentioned polemic relationship between teachers and students, and there is no submissive dependency relationship. Teachers are self-aware and require students to distinguish between God and the world. These three types of education all require students to have the awe of teachers—the teachers who guide the absolute truth and seek truth. This kind of awe has reached the pinnacle in the traditional scholastic education. The scholastic education tradition is deeply ingrained even in the current hierarchical system; the awe of the students in the master-apprentice education is manifested in the master; in Socrates The awe of students in modern education is manifested in the infiniteness of the spirit. In this infinite spirit, everyone has to take the responsibility of transcending their own existence.