Discussions and debates on teaching and learning in educational institutions presuppose prior conceptions of "education" and "educated person" that are often taken for granted but generally not spelt out explicitly. What follows is an attempt to sketch the profile of an educated person in such a way that if we agree on the profile, we can ask how to optimize teaching and learning from this perspective.

My characterization of the educated person involves four essential ingredients, namely: knowledge, the ability to think, the ability to learn, and the ability to use language. In addition, the mental make-up of an educated person also includes relatively elusive qualities such as an awareness of the uncertainty and fallibility of knowledge, openness of mind, willingness and ability to doubt and question, personal involvement in knowledge, intellectual curiosity, and the joy of learning.