From a "Partial Human Being" to a "Complete Human Being": The Theory and Practice of School Physical Education in Cultivating Whole-Person Homo Sapiens

The pursuit of production efficiency and scientific technology in modern society has led to an unprecedented refinement of human labor division. The increasingly specialized division of labor has driven a shift toward professionalization in the talent cultivation model within the field of education. These modes of production, life, and education have accelerated the fragmented existence of modern individuals, manifesting as the split between body and mind and the loss of subjectivity. As a practical means to promote the unity of body and mind, physical education has historically played a significant role in bridging the body-mind relationship and offers a potential solution to the fragmented existence of modern individuals. School, as the key domain for talent cultivation, has always played an indispensable role in the history of education across cultures and eras. Against the backdrop of increasingly specialized modern education, school physical education should play a pivotal role among the five educations. This is because it not only provides the physical and mental foundation necessary for shaping a "complete human being", but also coordinates with other educational areas to collectively promote the free and full development of human being. At present, China's school physical education work is facing the potential challenge of instrumental rationality in its implementation and reform. In this regard, schools should fully understand and grasp the function and value of physical education for human beings, and fulfill its role in promoting a "partial human being" to a "complete human being".