The Ideal of Humanization and the Role of Universities

Páll Skúlason

March 3, Edinburgh

Overview

I. An Ethical Approach

II. The European University

III. Why and How We have Failed

IV. The Task Ahead

An Ethical Approach

Perspectives on the University

• Community– academic and human values

• Institution – dedicated to the advancement of public

good

• Organisation – to be managed and operated in an effective

and efficient manner

An Ethical Approach

Ethical Domain: Moral rules and principles Virtues and vices Values like solidarity, friendship,

freedom

The Ethical Endeavor: To discover and to do what is just, right and good Thoughtlessness: a most serious vice

An Ethical View of the University

The university is a community of teachers and students whose steady purpose is the acquisition, preservation and transmission of knowledge in the service of humanity/mankind.

Moral rules and principles Virtues and vices Values

Two Questions for reflection

What kind of world – ver-öld – is in the making?

The present Crisis: Does our society have the inherent possibilities to become a good place for our grand-children and future generations?

Who are we, human beings?

We are thinking, self-conscious individuals

We are Scots, Icelanders ...

We are members of the human species (globalisation)

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Why Universities have survived

• We are self-conscious, thinking beings: Ideas, beliefs, reasons and views are the raw materials out of which our existence as thinking beings is made.

• The university is the only institution that, through the centuries, has focused upon this basic fact of human existence

The Main Question for us, the Educators

Are we preparing our students to deal properly, as reflective and thinking beings, with their life-problems?

Have we made adequate effort to answer this question?

Why did our graduates fail in leading the companies and institutions they were trusted with?

Problems-of life – different values

To live with oneself: What is true and right, good and beautiful?

Organize our life in common: What should be forbidden?

Economic tasks: What is possible?

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The European university

The European University

Three different academic traditions:

The German tradition (Humboldt) - science

The French tradition (Napoleon) - nation

The British tradition (Newman) - individual student

New problems

• The institutions have been asked to provide more services to the society without getting more financial support

• They also have to earn their keep by fulfilling specific easily identifiable demands made by the academic and educational market

Economic globalisation and academic globalisation

Globalisation of things and phenomena which can be bought with money

Globalisation of knowledge (ideas, thoughts and theories, and perhaps visions)

Why and how we have failed

The three missions of serving

• The Sciences

• The Nation

• The Individual student

put aside in favour of

• Economic interests – financial globalisation

European universities

have succumbed to the “technological temptation” (successes of scientific specialization and technological innovation)

must endeavour to recover the ideal of humanization

Internal goals of education

Ethical development (behaviour, action, decision...)

Training (read, write, calculate ...)

Dissemination of information and understanding

Weaknesses of recent Academic Education

Overemphasis on technical skills and training

Instruction rather than human development

Lack of reflection and of critical discussion

Too much negative competition

Three Areas of Life-Problems

Internal life: self-knowledge and self-acceptance: Humanities, art, and literature

Social life: attitude to family, strangers,

friends, sex, authority, violence: Politics, Morality and Law

Physical life: satisfaction of various physiological needs, health, shelter, and protection: Science and Technology

Business Ideology

most human relations are, at bottom, business relations

earning money is the most important thing in life

private enterprise is always more efficient than

public institutions

competition is always good.

Humanization of the world

cultivate human relationships

concentrate on spiritual and ethical values

learn to share things

learn to work together

The Task ahead

Prioreties

Introduce reflective and critical practices within each and every field of study

Secure proper teaching on ethical and humanistic subjects

Reflective and Critical Thinking

On problems and issues within each field of study – technical training

On global problems and issues inherent in our human condition

On our conceptual frameworks for understanding the world and ourselves

Knowledge requires

• a constant investigation into the pursuit of knowledge itself

• reflexivity which makes inquiry an open-ended enterprise and a self-correcting process leading in unexpected directions

• on-going discussions on criteria and standards in the activity of learning

Three types of knowledge

• Theoretical:

• truth, coherence, understanding

• Technical:

• Efficiency, reliability, effectiveness

• Ethical

• solidarity, friendship, freedom

Must be understood separately but be integrated in reality

Three misunderstandings

– Ethical Knowledge is subjective (relative to my personal feelings and my social situation)

– Theoretical Knowledge makes us more capable of understanding moral issues

– Technological Knowledge makes us more capable of overcoming morally unacceptable situations

The commitment to Truth

is ethical and theoretical at the same time, and this applies within every discipline

The Ideal of Humanization

refers to the mission of serving not only science, nation and the individual student, but humanity itself by revealing the truth about the world and ourselves.

Thank you

for your attention!