Does Education Lead to People Becoming more Selfish?

Does Education Lead to People Becoming more Selfish?

I have seen that nowadays people are more intellectual and concerned with education, acquiring more and more knowledge. But on the other side they are becoming more individual and selfish. It seems like the more educated a person is, the more selfish he is. Please tell: do you agree with this?

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Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands

Are People Becoming More Selfish Through Education?

Thank you for raising this important question.
Nowadays acquiring knowledge and learning is easier than ever before. The internet is helping people to access more and better information faster and at lower cost. Everybody and in particular those people that can not afford a traditional education benefit from this (by the way, this was the reason for founding 12manage at the time as a free e-learning platform on management).
I believe if a person knows and learns more, it allows her/him to make own decisions, instead of having to rely only on what other people or groups or the media are telling us to believe. History and even present times are full of examples how risky this last thing is.
I am unsure if the above is making people somewhat more individualistic. Could be... But even that should not necessarily make them more selfish. Isn't it the responsibility of each person who acquires knowledge to decide for him/herself how and for what purpose to apply it?

Sahar Gujar
Student (University), Pakistan

Is High Education Making People Selfish?

@chitra: Yes, I do think some people become selfish as they get more educated. But the association is not (only) between high education and selfishness. I think some mediators and moderators exist in between like:
- A person's own nature,
- The problems he or she has faced during the journey to attain the position the person exists in at present, and of course
- The attitude of other people towards him/her.
Because of these factors the person might portray a fake image of "I am something very separated, unique, and/or higher than others".

Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands

Is Education Making People More Selfish?

@Sahar Gujar: I agree there are other factors than eduction that are contributing to some people becoming selfish. Thank you for reminding us of that.
The question here remains: is EDUCATION one of the factors leading to individualism and selfishness?