1999 Volume 66 Issue 3 Pages 259-267,365
The study of education is suffering from a lack of fundamental courses for novices, though each area has become increasingly specific. We all realize that pedagogy focused on school practices between teachers and pupils has already lost much of its influence as a culture by which a novice could be initiated into educational thought and with which the study of education might be identified as a discipline. This paper, then, examines the relevance of liberal philosophy in the improvement of culture in education, by comparing the culture of pedagogy with the culture of andragogy, to the effect that a liberal philosophy based on the value of neutrality is insufficient for the culture of education in a society of value plurality and needs to be improved by perfectionist notions. Liberal philosophy demands two different policies of education: to remain neutral against any interests and to encourage everyone to be autonomous. The liberal value of neutrality, as it is assumed to be one of the main values in the liberalism of R.Dworkin, has provided pedagogy with a foundation for its autonomy and its practice in teacher education. Yet it is regarded as a value of education provided that there exist individuals who can choose to live their own lives well and autonomously. Modemity, as A.Maclyntre argues, excludes the possibility of the existence of an 'educated public' so that it leaves the liberal value of neutrality helpless in tems of educational culture since it does not suggest what exactly the good life might be. Personal autonomy can be also regarded as a value when it is proved to be moral autonomy. So it is the value of morality that we have to clarify to improve the culture of education. Both a neutrality-stance and an autonomy-stance of liberal philosophy fail to clarify the value of morality in education, though both admit the value of morality above all others. J.Raz's perfectionist notions of liberal values, however, consider an intimate connection between autonomy and morality in terms of well-being and give us useful suggestions for public support for the citizen's education. Raz argues for self-definition and choice so far as they are not detached from the public good. The paper concludes that the arguments by liberal philosophers help us to improve the culture of education, especially the culture of andragogy, which is different from pedagogy in seeing any demands for educational support to be justified. The table of contents of this paper is as follows: [1] On the Subject [2] Dual Faces of Liberal Philosophy (1) Liberalism and the Culture of Education (2) Educational Doctrines of Liberal Philosophy (3) Dual Faces of Modem Liberal Philosophy [3] The Culture of Education from the Viewpoint of Liberal Philosophy (1) Dual Faces of Modem Education (2) Neutrality and Autonomy as Liberal Values (3) Morality as Aporia for Liberal Philosophy [4] Perfectionist Liberalism and Education as Support (1) Liberalism and Value Plurality (2) Perfectionist Liberalism (3) Perfectionist Liberalism and Education as Support [5] Conclusion
