Jacques Delors has passed away. With his death, Europe loses one of its most consequential political architects — and education one of its most influential contemporary advocates.
Beyond his role in European integration, Delors will be remembered for his decisive contribution to educational thought through the UNESCO report Learning: The Treasure Within (1996). In that report, he articulated what became known as the four pillars of education: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be.
The formulation was not philosophically unprecedented. The idea that education concerns the formation of the whole person has deep roots in classical and modern pedagogy. What Delors achieved was different: he gave this vision political authority and global institutional reach. Under his impetus, the four pillars became a shared reference point for educational reform across continents.
Their relevance has not diminished.
Learning to know emphasises disciplined inquiry and intellectual depth.
Learning to do connects knowledge with competence and application.
Learning to live together affirms the civic and relational dimensions of education in plural societies.
Learning to be recognises the formation of autonomy, responsibility and identity.
At a time when technological acceleration risks narrowing education to performance metrics and functional skills, Delors’ framework serves as a corrective. Artificial intelligence may transform access to information and the execution of tasks, but it does not replace the need to cultivate judgement, coexistence and character.
Delors understood that education is not ancillary to political life. It is foundational to it. Democratic stability depends not only on institutions but also on the quality of the formation those institutions presuppose.
His passing invites reflection — not merely on a legacy but on purpose.
The four pillars remain a demanding reminder that education must aim at more than efficiency. It must aim at human development in its fullest sense.