Demystification and Re-enchantment of the Essence of Education: Breaking Through the Epistemological Dilemma in the Age of Artificial Intelligence and the Reconstruction of Education

Abstract

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into education is transforming the production, dissemination, and acquisition of knowledge while challenging established assumptions about the purposes, authority, and humanistic foundations of education. This paper develops a conceptual framework of educational “demystification” and “re-enchantment” to examine the epistemological dilemmas emerging in the AI era and to propose pathways for educational reconstruction. It argues that educational demystification is manifested in four interconnected dimensions: the growing dominance of technological rationality, the narrowing of educational objectives, the transformation of traditional teacher authority, and the increasing reliance on quantitative and standardized evaluation. These developments are associated with three fundamental epistemological dilemmas concerning the nature, value, and power of knowledge. Specifically, the instrumental and fragmented use of knowledge may marginalize its cultural and meaning-making dimensions; the increasing emphasis on intellectual and utilitarian outcomes may weaken moral cultivation; and the diffusion of AI-generated knowledge may disrupt traditional structures of teacher epistemic authority. In response, the paper proposes an approach of educational “re-enchantment” centered on human development rather than technological efficiency alone. Four reconstruction pathways are advanced: transforming educational objectives toward intellectual empowerment and moral cultivation; redesigning teaching content and methods through cognitive friction and meaning construction; transforming teachers from knowledge transmitters into holistic educators; and reconstructing evaluation through multidimensional, process-oriented growth assessment. The paper concludes that AI should function as an educational instrument rather than an educational end, and that the enduring mission of education lies in integrating knowledge, competence, character, and humanistic values to support the holistic development of individuals.