What caused a man, hunting animals and gathering plants, living in primitive dwellings and engaged in activities ensuring only bare survival, to become the modern man, zoon politikon, gifted with the skills of creating computer technologies that make his life easier, moving not only on land, but even on water and in the air, developing love of the art world and the desire to create it? What aptitudes and qualities does a person have and should have to be able to make this progress? This article will try to shed light on all of this. Based on a research of available literature and documents, the chapters outline the image of a man and his behavior in the earliest historically verifiable time periods, and the beginnings of education in the territory of Central Europe in the period from the tenth century to the present day. An overview is given of the institutions carrying out this activity, i.e. the enlightenment of mankind, and describes the reforms, or legislation, that had to be put into practice and became a part of human existence over the centuries. An integral part is an individual’s view of these changes, his reactions and life attitudes. The main outcome of this article is the awareness that the progress that humanity has made, is making, and will make is not only thanks to our own experience and the experience of our ancestors, but mainly thanks to the constant desire and opportunity to self-educate.