School shooting: socio-philosophical aspect of the issue

Armed students’ attacks at educational institutions for the purpose of mass murder ( school shooting ) are explored in the paper through the conception of transgression. Transgression is defined as overcoming the external and internal limits of human personality. School shooting is a destructive version of transgression. The authors suggest that an important social factor which leads to this destructive transgression is the loss of autonomy by the educational sphere and its subordination to the interests of economy and politics. The educational environment loses its own institutional boundaries. The evaluation of students’ achievements is formed indirectly: it depends on the commercialization ratings of educational institutions; the key role is played by the money of sponsors or parents, but not students’ knowledge and competences. In fact, young people are forced to take part in a competition with professional participants in the social division of labor, though not having an economic autonomy, in contrast to the latter. Thus, students lose the advantages of their age group and find themselves in a situation of artificially imposed helplessness. They feel rejection from the educational system, and aggression as its consequence. It can lead to terrible crimes. The authors believe that control of the proliferation of firearms alone, without other measures taken, is not an effective tool for blocking the destructive culture of school shooting. It is necessary to change the value system of the educational sphere. This is especially important due to the geopolitical challenges faced by our country in the recent months. The organization of the educational system should be based on the assumption that students’ digital opportunities, material well-being, inherited status and prestige, appearance, health level should not play a key role in realizing the mission of education. Otherwise, the imbalance of human and economic values will contribute into transgression of the inner limits of personality and its destruction.