With increasing influence of illiberalism, freedom should not be considered or interpreted lightly. Post-truth contexts provide grounds for alt-right movements to capture and pervert notions of freedom of speech, making universities battlefields of politicised emotions and expressions. In societies facing these pressures around the world, academic freedom has never been challenged as much as it is today. As Peters and colleagues note, conceptualisations of ‘facts’ and ‘evidences’ are politically, socially, and epistemically reconstructed in post-truth contexts. At the (...) same time, with intelligence commodified, reified or marginalised, freedom of speech and of mobility can entail fights for entitlements, or escapes from local responsibilities. The decline and corruptions of democratic free speech and academic freedom, or the absence of forces to defend them, are thus serious challenges. These challenges grow as the competition of ideas, sometimes under the rubric of academic freedom, often implies the power struggle and questioning of statuses in the so-called ‘marketplace of ideas’. Competition as a value invoked in some conceptualisations of freedom, becomes more important than human dignity, which was originally supposed to expand and strengthen under democratic conceptions of freedom in higher education. What had been happening to freedoms, of speech, teaching, and learning, across different subject positions and cultures of higher education, remains largely underexplored, as alt-right movements, neoliberalism and illiberalism, and post-truthism values and orientations expand. (shrink)

Freedom to innovate in teaching and learning are essential to meaningful higher education. Universities’ rhetorical commitments to freedom and innovation are ubiquitous and quite homogenous. Beneath the rhetoric, however, lie sharp divides between neo-liberal and Humboldtian approaches to innovation, course design, teaching and learning. This article argues that to understand the authentic approach of a university to innovation requires going beyond the rhetoric. We must instead examine context-specific experiences and understandings of the curriculum, especially in terms of teaching, (...) learning, assessment and evaluation. Making this critical examination, we see that Humboldtian frameworks rely on broad understandings of value connected to learners and their communities. Neoliberal frameworks by contrast reduce and essentialise these understandings to customer service provision. Treating students as customers has significant implications for how innovation is defined and enacted through increasing aversion to the risks inherent to attempting innovation. Quality evaluation and assurance processes inevitably align with an institution’s authentic approach, regardless of what rhetorical commitments suggest. The article concludes by suggesting ways forward grounded in teaching, learning and evaluation. These are congruent with a Humboldtian approach and may, through their application bring the rhetoric of teaching and learning innovation into alignment with experienced reality. (shrink)

This article articulates a range of possible pedagogical goals for courses in comparative philosophy, and discusses a number of methods and strategies for teaching courses intended to achieve those ends. Ultimately, it argues that the assignment to teach comparative philosophy represents an opportunity to design a course with remarkable freedom and tremendous potential. Comparative philosophy courses can engage students in unique ways that not only increase their understanding of the fundamental assumptions and beliefs of non-Western traditions, but also (...) facilitate the development of the skills and dispositions that enable them to become better philosophers. (shrink)

‘Twelve Step' recovery programmes such as Alcoholics Anonymous teach that an alcoholic, or other addict, has a disease, and needs to accept that she is ‘powerless' over her addiction before recovery can begin. However, the disease model of addiction has been criticised on the grounds that some addicts recover without external intervention. This critique is questionable, not because such recovery does not occur, but because many genuine diseases are self-limiting. However, the disease model is better criticised on other grounds. (...) Central here is the idea of powerlessness. This article explores various supposed instances of powerlessness, including that induced by extreme fear, provocation and obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is argued that while addiction is a genuine phenomenon, it is strictly inaccurate to describe it as a lack of power. However, there is a deeper sense in which the autonomy of addicts is compromised, although this does not show that addiction is a disease. (shrink)

This paper analyzes the entanglement of the modern concepts of freedom, autonomy, and the modern notion of the subject and how a passion for and insistence on freedom has undermined the reconstruction of human subjectivity in Heidegger and Foucault, and how such passion has also limited the educational effort at addressing the problems brought to education by the modern notion of the subject. Drawing on Levinas, it suggests that a new understanding of freedom as heteronomy will allow (...) us to envision an open subjectivity that is essential for education. Particularly, it looks at Gert Biesta’s recent campaigns for “subjectification” and “the gift of teaching” to analyze the underlying contradictions caused by the entanglement of freedom and subjectivity. (shrink)

The essay represents teaching as the coming to be of the human individual. In order to do so, it reflects on the character of human life by which it is knowledge of itself. Being knowledge of itself, human life is self-determining or free. Therefore generality and particularity come together in the human being in a distinctive way: a human being is not an exemplar, instance or specimen of a species, nature or life-form. Rather, she is her own principle. This is (...) captured in the idea of the human being as an individual. The essay reveals teaching to be the form of coming to be which is proper to what is an individual in this sense. In this way, the essay shows teaching to be internal to human freedom. (shrink)

The editors of the JRE collected short essays from scholars of religion in response to a recent incident at Hamline University that made national headlines. Last fall, Hamline University administrators refused to extend a contract to an adjunct professor of art history after a Muslim student accused her of Islamophobia for showing a 14th‐century image of Mohammad in an online class. The event provoked intense conversations about issues of academic freedom, religious diversity, the status of contingent faculty, and race. (...) These essays bring together scholarly and personal reflections about the incident at Hamline and what it means for the pedagogy of religious studies. (shrink)

Sketched in somewhat general terms, there are two basic ways of going about teaching ethics: the moral indoctrination approach, which is essentially a rote learning exercise; and the moral engagement approach, which emphasizes listening to others in an open-minded manner and coming to carefully considered conclusions only after thoughtful reflection about differing views concerning matters of controversy. For reasons both practical and philosophical, the second approach, which emphasizes the development of critical thinking skills, is vastly preferable. If the moral engagement (...) approach is to work, however, it is essential that academic freedom for students in the classroom be ensured, for developing critical thinking skills is not possible if there is not freedom to think.The professor has the primary responsibility for maintaining a classroom environment in which students are comfortable giving expression to their views and for assisting students in the development of their critical thinking skills. (shrink)

For decades, remedial education in math and English language coursework has been viewed as essential for social equity in US higher education, ensuring access to college for millions of students wh...

Academic freedom is seriously under threat. Here I will consider how the marketisation of Higher Education has exacerbated the decline of ‘academic freedom’. While the effects of a ‘cancel culture’ on university provision are difficult to ignore, threats to academic freedom raise a number of questions, such as: ‘who is allowed to speak on campus?’, ‘to whom?’, and ‘about what?’. These questions are fundamental to the academic profession, and therefore have clear implications for teaching and learning in (...) Higher Education. Through an analysis of Netflix’s The Chair (2021), and drawing on the works of Martin Buber, I argue that academics’ freedom to teach is implicitly constrained by student-consumer desires, and in turn this reduces the space for genuine dialogue on university campuses. Rather than closing down debate and the discussion of ‘controversial’ topics, universities instead need to cultivate a climate of trust, openness, and reciprocity on campuses, such that genuine staff-student dialogue can flourish. University campuses are precisely the places where academics should be able to engage in scholarly debate on matters of importance – where students may be exposed to radically different viewpoints and perspectives – and film and TV series can be used to initiate such conversations. (shrink)

Freedom of expression is one of the issues of concern to human societies in the contemporary world, because this issue is one of the most important basic rights of people in societies due to its special nature, and on the other hand, it is always in conflict with the authoritarian point of view. Islam accepts freedom of expression for everyone in the Islamic society, but it has specified limits and regulations for it. These restrictions and conditions, more than (...) cumbersome and intolerable regulations, are instructions for better use of freedom, which if not followed, not only the freedom of everyone in the society will not be realized, but also the category it will become anti-value and create cultural chaos. Imam Ali (peace be upon him), during his rule period, not only did not limit the freedom of expression, but also emphasized the expansion of this freedom. Based on Islam, since man is a free being, the privacy of his freedom must always be preserved; Therefore, freedom is the natural right of every human being and cannot be taken away from him. The practical life of Imam Ali (PBUH) and his advice to his agents in caring for freedom of expression in society and politics, bring its importance to the fore. Considering the importance of this issue, the purpose of this research is to study freedom of expression in Islamic teachings with emphasis on Nahj al-Balagha. Based on this, the related themes to freedom of expression have been extracted and explained from the point of view of Nahj al-Balagha, and conclusions have been presented in this regard. Contribution: This research showed that in the Islamic system, all citizens have the right to freedom of speech in ideological, political and social issues (according to the limits set by Islamic teachings and prevent the violation of Islamic values and other human values). These points are emphasized in Islamic teachings, especially in Nahj al-Balagha. (shrink)

An exploration of everything Kant's philosophy can teach us about being the best people we can be, from using our human reasoning to its fullest potential to being affably drunk at dinner parties. Immanuel Kant is well known as one of the towering figures of Western philosophical history, but he is less well known for his savvy advice about hosting dinner parties. This philosophical genius was a man of many interests and talents: his famously formal and abstract ethical system (...) is only part of his story. But Kant not only made a profound impact on how people think about big questions like how to treat one another -- he also offered wise insights on things people confront in everyday life: things like gossip, friendship, manners, self-respect, cheerfulness, gratitude, mockery, contempt, and yes, dinner parties. In this book, philosopher Karen Stohr shows how Kant's whole ethical picture fits together. It's a picture that is as relevant and useful now as it was in the 18th century--and maybe even more so. A Kantian way of living means using reason to guide your choices so that your life reflects your true nature as a free, rational being. This nature is one we share with others; Kantianism emphasizes the fundamental dignity and equality of each person. It presents an ideal for how we should live together without downplaying the challenges we face in the actual world. Though realistic about human weaknesses, Kant remained optimistic about our capacities and possibilities. He had great faith in the ability of human reason to point us in the direction of moral progress and to get us there. Each of us has the power within us to know and choose the right path--we just have to be willing to make that choice, and to discover how worthwhile life can be in the process. (shrink)

‘...if you learn to think like Peter Cave – with freshness, humour, objectivity and penetration – you will have been amply rewarded.’ :::: Prof. Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, University of Notre Dame __________________ Chapter Titles:>>> ___ 1 Lao Tzu: The Way to Tao >>> 2 Sappho: Lover >>> 3 Zeno of Elea: Tortoise Backer, Parmenidean Helper >>> 4 Gadfly: aka ‘Socrates’ >>> 5 Plato: Charioteer, Magnificent Footnote Inspirer – ‘Nobody Does It Better’ >>> 6 Aristotle: Earth-Bound, Walking >>> 7 Epicurus: Gardener, Curing (...) the Soul, Ably Assisted by Lucretius >>> 8 Avicenna: Flying Man, Unifier >>> 9 Descartes: With Princess, With Queen >>> 10 Spinoza: God-Intoxicated Atheist >>> 11 Leibniz: Monad Man >>> 12 Bishop Berkeley, ‘That Paradoxical Irishman’: Immaterialist, Tar-Water Advocate >>> 13 David Hume: The Great Infidel or Le Bon David >>> 14 Kant: Duty Calls, Categorically >>> 15 Schopenhauer: Pessimism With Flute >>> 16 John Stuart Mill: Utility Man, With Harriet, Soul-Mate >>> 17 Søren Kierkegaard: Who? >>> 18 Karl Marx: Hegelian, Freedom-Fighter >>> 19 Lewis Carroll: Curiouser and Curiouser >>> 20 Nietzsche: God-Slaying Jester, Trans-Valuer >>>> 21 Bertrand Russell: Radical, Aristocrat >>> 22 G. E. Moore: Common-Sense Defender, Bloomsbury’s Sage >>> 23 Heidegger: Hyphenater >>> 24 Jean-Paul Sartre: Existentialist, Novelist, French >>> 25 Simone Weil: Refuser and Would-Be Rescuer >>> 26 Simone de Beauvoir: Situated, Protester, Feminist >>> 27 Ludwig Wittgenstein: Therapist >>> 28 Hannah Arendt: Controversialist, Journalist? >>> 29 Iris Murdoch: Attender >>> 30 Samuel Beckett: Not I >>>. (shrink)

We have built our understanding of politics (the understanding that is today, letting us down) on a one-sided understanding of freedom as the ability or capacity to do as we wish, and have forgotten the role that self-discipline—self-control and self-mastery—have in ensuring real freedom. And we have done this at the same time as losing our capacity to think of polhics in terms of the virtues and vices of our ruling elites. To rectify these connected failures we need (...) to look again at Plato's politics. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education: From Understanding to Application by Vicky R. Lind and Constance L. McKoyEric ShiehVicky R. Lind and Constance L. McKoy, Culturally Responsive Teaching in Music Education: From Understanding to Application (New York, NY: Routledge, 2016).In the book’s penultimate chapter, titled “Community,” we encounter a teacher who agrees to a student’s request to start a mariachi band and gets “more than he bargained for.”1 (...) We hear from a teacher who seeks a greater understanding of the context for her Black students and finds herself the only White person in many of the community events she attends. We learn about a teacher who has her marching band, predominantly comprised of Latinx students, march in annual Korean and Black community parades in the city and why she does this. What to make of these stories—inspiring, provocative, suffused with honesty? I found myself restless to share these narratives with my own teaching colleagues, to ask not simply “What do you see happening here?” but also “Where would something like this take us?”What is notable about Vicky Lind and Constance McKoy’s achievement here is that they have given us a very full book and one that provides many different points of entry—stories and theories and activities and questions—through which to engage with ideas of culturally responsive teaching. In just under 150 [End Page 210] pages with index and references, the book encompasses four chapters that review various academic traditions connected to culturally responsive teaching, concludes with three chapters that relay narratives and vignettes from K-12 music teachers, and includes throughout lists of reflection questions and teaching strategies. The primary audience is pre-service and in-service K-12 music teachers. If a key requirement for culturally responsive teaching is continuous reflection over the impacts our pedagogies have on our students and ourselves as teachers, this book’s wide-ranging engagement is indeed a welcome one.What I offer here in terms of review, then, is first a consideration of the book’s various components and where they might lead us. Second, I bring its ideas of cultural responsiveness into dialogue with ideas more commonly found in anti-racist and social justice approaches to education—traditions the book does not directly engage with but which certainly have a place in conversations around it. This is a particularly relevant time, I suggest, to engage with questions of cultural responsiveness alongside perhaps more politically-minded approaches: this book will be read, I hope, by teachers grappling with our age of renewed and visible racial struggle, increased forced migration, and cultural insecurity.The first half of the book is explicitly dedicated to “understanding” culturally responsive teaching. Its chapters present a historical overview of its conceptual development, explicate the centrality of culture and cultural competence to teaching, and discuss the connection between music and identity in young people. The authors center their conceptualization of culturally responsive teaching around Geneva Gay’s framework, outlined in her Culturally Responsive Teaching, as “using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant to and effective for them.”2 “Effective,” here, is understood broadly and includes academic competence, self-efficacy, social critique, and the freedom to be “ethnically expressive.”3In laying this foundation, the authors negotiate thoughtfully a number of tensions inherent in this work that are too often simplified in the classroom. They recognize, for example, the need to acknowledge culture as a category through which human experience is mediated, but also one that too easily gives way to stereotyping. When discussing issues of music and identity they remind readers that musical identities are multiple and suggest that musical identities might be viewed as both “bottom-up” and “top-down”—constructed through a variety of ongoing experiences as much as they are constituted by national or ethnic affiliation.4 They also do not shy from language such as “high expectations” and “academic competence” when discussing the need for comprehensive and supportive classrooms, despite the uneasiness with which these terms often sit in arts education and alongside purposes of engendering social critique... (shrink)

Academic freedom in China is unquestionably under threat from various quarters. Yet the assumption that only the logics of authoritarian Communist Party power shape the terrain in which scholars operate provides us with a limited perspective on these threats. The Chinese academy has become deeply entangled with transnational forces, and is increasingly driven by similar business logics to those in play in universities around the world. We argue that these forces too contribute to the context for the exercise of (...) academic freedom and its restriction. As is the case elsewhere, discourses around developing the national ‘knowledge economy’ and related logics of securitisation around knowledge production create conditions in which some forms of academic research are prioritised over others. Echoing the ‘culture wars’ plaguing the academy in many other countries, the research agendas most under threat in China are ones that connect to transnational movements and struggles, especially those focussed on labour and class, gender and feminism, race and ethnicity and human rights. In this article, we outline what we see as the key forces shaping the landscape for academic freedom in China, with a concentration on areas of research and teaching in the social sciences and humanities that are most at risk in the current conjuncture. (shrink)

Writing in the foreword to Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind and speaking of his upbringing in Chicago between the wars Saul Bellow attests that …as a Midwesterner, the son of immigrant parents, I recognized at an early stage that I was called upon to decide for myself to what extent my Jewish origins, my surroundings [‘the accidental circumstances of Chicago’], my schooling, were to be allowed to determine the course of my life. I did not intend to (...) be wholly dependent upon history and culture. Full dependency must mean that I was done for. The commonest teaching of the civilized world in our time can be stated simply: ‘Tell me where you come from and I'll tell you what you are’. (shrink)

Philosophy & Social Criticism, Volume 48, Issue 4, Page 642-651, May 2022. Academic freedom in China is unquestionably under threat from various quarters. Yet the assumption that only the logics of authoritarian Communist Party power shape the terrain in which scholars operate provides us with a limited perspective on these threats. The Chinese academy has become deeply entangled with transnational forces, and is increasingly driven by similar business logics to those in play in universities around the world. We argue (...) that these forces too contribute to the context for the exercise of academic freedom and its restriction. As is the case elsewhere, discourses around developing the national ‘knowledge economy’ and related logics of securitisation around knowledge production create conditions in which some forms of academic research are prioritised over others. Echoing the ‘culture wars’ plaguing the academy in many other countries, the research agendas most under threat in China are ones that connect to transnational movements and struggles, especially those focussed on labour and class, gender and feminism, race and ethnicity and human rights. In this article, we outline what we see as the key forces shaping the landscape for academic freedom in China, with a concentration on areas of research and teaching in the social sciences and humanities that are most at risk in the current conjuncture. (shrink)

Philosophy & Social Criticism, Volume 48, Issue 4, Page 642-651, May 2022. Academic freedom in China is unquestionably under threat from various quarters. Yet the assumption that only the logics of authoritarian Communist Party power shape the terrain in which scholars operate provides us with a limited perspective on these threats. The Chinese academy has become deeply entangled with transnational forces, and is increasingly driven by similar business logics to those in play in universities around the world. We argue (...) that these forces too contribute to the context for the exercise of academic freedom and its restriction. As is the case elsewhere, discourses around developing the national ‘knowledge economy’ and related logics of securitisation around knowledge production create conditions in which some forms of academic research are prioritised over others. Echoing the ‘culture wars’ plaguing the academy in many other countries, the research agendas most under threat in China are ones that connect to transnational movements and struggles, especially those focussed on labour and class, gender and feminism, race and ethnicity and human rights. In this article, we outline what we see as the key forces shaping the landscape for academic freedom in China, with a concentration on areas of research and teaching in the social sciences and humanities that are most at risk in the current conjuncture. (shrink)

Rousseau’s account of the “legislator” or “lawgiver” is commonly regarded as one of the most far-fetched, ominous, and baffling parts of his teaching in the Social Contract. In brief, Rousseau’s lawgiver seems to be a proto-totalitarian figure whose self-appointed mission is to found a political community by “denaturing” people at a single stroke and who may be a mere figment of Rousseau’s overheated imagination. Accordingly, this part of the Social Contract threatens to make a mockery of Rousseau’s claim to be (...) “taking men as they are and laws they can be,” as well as his claim that the combination of “ freedom and equality” is “the greatest good” in the civil state. Following and extending Rousseau’s own method of teaching by examples, however, this essay argues that Benjamin Franklin’s influence over the American republic—especially through his posthumous Autobiography—offers a prosaic example of the apparently fantastical phenomenon sketched by Rousseau. In fact, I argue that Franklin’s case corresponds more fully to Rousseau’s description than do any of Rousseau’s own examples (such as Moses, Lycurgus, and Numa) and that Franklin showed in practice what Rousseau suggested in theory: that a lawgiver can succeed without relying on coercion and without undercutting the equality that underlies a just society. Franklin’s denaturing influence, I suggest, has been crucial for the durability of republicanism in the United States, given the country’s size and diversity. (shrink)

While we consider directive teaching to be detrimental to the Community of Inquiry, we nonetheless find ourselves in qualified agreement with Hand as he challenges certain norms of practice that support the common presumption in favour of nondirective teaching in the moral CoI. We agree with Hand that it is possible for teachers to impart their own moral beliefs without indoctrinating students, yet we argue that the risk of indoctrination remains present in the many realistic scenarios in which teachers misjudge (...) controversial standards as uncontroversial or in which teachers’ arguments bypass students’ reason. We agree with Hand that substantively closed questions can generate satisfying inquiries, with the caveat that in the absence of open inquiry there is a chronic risk of eroding the ethos of trust in a CoI. Similarly, we find qualified agreement with Hand regarding teachers’ philosophical self-effacement. We accept that teachers may judiciously suspend neutrality in order to ensure that sound arguments and objections are aired and understood, yet we caution teachers against endorsing any particular justification or rebuttal. We further raise three distinct concerns about Hand’s theory. Firstly, we argue that Hand’s theory is insensitive to the varieties of moral controversy that emerge within the CoI. We maintain that a nondirective approach is required for a proper exploration of controversy over conflicting justifications for shared moral standards grounded in diverse normative ethical theories, where the conative power of particular justifications may differ among individuals; controversy over the meaning, scope and significance of moral concepts; and controversy over the application of moral standards and concepts to actual cases. Secondly, we argue that in light of teachers’ susceptibility to motivated reasoning and myside bias, Hand’s theory places undue demands on teachers to exercise objective judgement. Where teachers unwittingly transmit biases to students, we are not assured that Hand’s proposal can safeguard against indoctrination. Thirdly, we do not share Hand’s conception of moral inquiry as concerned exclusively with argument over the content and justification of moral standards. The narrowness of this conception, together with available evidence that moral argument alone has little effect on moral behaviour, leads us to question Hand’s claim that a fundamental reason for engaging students in moral inquiry is to reinforce their moral formation. We suggest that the scope of the moral CoI should not be limited to argument over the content and justification of moral standards, but should also include the cultivation of virtues and dispositions that prepare students for complex moral decision-making, as well as the investigation of Aristotelian questions concerning what is worthwhile in human life. Given our broader conception of the CoI as both moral and ethical, and our emphasis on students having both the freedom and the responsibility to judge reasonableness for themselves, we conclude that nondirective teaching remains a beneficial regulatory principle for CoI practice. (shrink)

It is argued that university education has a moral and social function in society. Its purpose is to provide a liberal education , the development of new knowledge and the provision of trustworthy, disinterested research. To serve society in this way safeguards are necessary: a separation from the state, giving institutional autonomy and academic freedom in teaching and research. With the rise of extreme free market capitalism and the "knowledge society", these safeguards are being eroded: national governments, partly through (...) the ramifications of the Bologna convergence... process, are in the process of moulding universities to the needs of the market, and now see the accommodation of students to the workplace as the principal, or indeed only, objective for a university education. Example of the consequences of these changes are discussed, including the corruption of research integrity and erosion of individual liberties. (shrink)

This response to Cristina Beltrán’s essay “Going Public” endorses Beltrán’s effort to sustain a concept of politics as free action by unique agents against the grain of a technicized, marketized world. Beltrán illuminates the “festive anger” of undocumented workers coming out of the shadows of invisibility to assert their humanity in the demonstrations of 2006. Yet, building on aspects of Hannah Arendt , Beltrán mistakenly sunders public actions from the organizing work which led up to them. Her argument about labor (...) is confounded by theory and practice of civic agency in broad-based organizations and elsewhere, which teaches the power, freedom, and civic authority to be gained from affirming that people co-create the common world, the commonwealth, through their work, even if not under conditions of their choosing. (shrink)

★ 추천사 이 글묵(책)은 ‘말뜸’이다. 말을 하되 온몸으로 하는 말, 다시 말해 문제의 제기요, 해결이다. 이 글묵은 ‘길내(과학)’의 샘이다. 원효와 마르크스, 두 사상가를 마주 앉히되 둘이 걸치고 있는 모든 것, 사상과 이론뿐이랴, 권위와 명예, 품새까지 홀랑 벗겨 신자유주의의 폭학과 만행에 정면으로 부대끼게 했다. 이 글묵은 ‘한내’다. 일꾼들의 몸에서 배어 나오는 땀 한 방울, 피 한 방울, 눈물 한 방울이 모여서 큰 흘떼(강)를 일구는, 이 우주를 이르는. —백기완 (통일문제연구소 소장) 필자는 사회적 문제의식이 충만한 인문학자이자 우리 사회의 진보를 위해 싸워온 실천적 지식인이다. (...) 그는 원효와 마르크스의 대화에 기반을 두고 대중의 눈부처-주체로의 등장과, 탐욕과 착취의 자본주의를 끝장내고 새로운 코뮌적 공동체로의 이행을 모색한다. 진보의 문제를 근원적으로 성찰해보길 바라는 모든 분께 일독을 권한다. —김세균 (정의당 공동대표, 서울대 명예교수) 정의와 평화를 향한 이도흠 교수의 신념과 열정은 금생만의 것이 아닌 듯하다. 국문학자이며 불교학자이기도 한 저자는 해박한 인문학적 지식을 바탕으로 줄기차게 이론과 실천의 종합을 꾀하며 ‘거리의 인문학자’ ‘행동하는 지식인’으로 자리매김한 지 이미 오래다. 인간이 한낱 자본의 노예로 전락하고 환경재앙과 경제공황의 유령이 출몰하는 이 위기의 시대에 저자는 이제 ‘원효와 마르크스의 대화’를 통해 한 줄기 푸른 희망의 바람을 풀어놓는다. —박경준 (동국대 불교학과 교수, 전 불교학연구회 회장) 이 책은 무엇보다도 이 시대가 당면한 절실한 주제를 매우 성실하고 포괄적으로, 그리고 깊이 있게 논의하고 있다. 학문이 현실 문제를 도외시하고 다만 순수한 이론적 탐색에 머물러 있을 것이란 편견을 송두리째 깨는 이론적 작업이 이 책임은 두말할 필요가 없다. 그는 글을 위한 글을 쓰지 않는다. 현장으로 달려가 아파하고 공감하고, 함께하면서 이를 성찰하고 이론적 작업을 거쳐 글을 쓴다. 그의 글에는 부족함이 있을지언정 거짓이나 꾸밈은 없다. 그래서 그의 글은 믿을 수 있다. 나는 남김없이, 또 주저 없이 이 책을 권한다. 이제는 한계에 이른 이 시대를 넘어설 새로운 사유의 계기를 볼 수 있기를 바란다. —신승환 (가톨릭대 철학과 교수, 전 한국하이데거학회 회장) ★ 책 소개 자본주의에 물든 ‘지금, 여기’에 대한 원효와 마르크스의 시대진단, 새로운 대안의 패러다임 ‘거리의 인문학자’ ‘행동하는 지식인’으로 불리며 노동자의 편에 서서 그들을 대변하며 싸워온 한양대 국문학과 이도흠 교수. 그동안 4대강사업 반대운동, 희망버스와 쌍용자동차 해고노동자 복직운동, 세월호 참사 등 한국 교수 가운데 집회와 투쟁 현장에 가장 많이 참여하며 한국 사회 변혁에 앞장서온 이도흠 교수가 오랜 세월간의 고민과 현장에서의 투쟁을 아로새긴 신간 『원효와 마르크스의 대화』(자음과모음, 뉴아카이브 총서)를 내놓았다. 이 책은 자본주의에 물든 ‘지금, 여기’에 대한 통렬한 시대진단이자 인간다운 삶, 진정한 공동체적 사회를 모색하는 한 사람의 도저한 사유와 글쓰기, 치열한 투쟁의 흔적이다. 책의 부제인 ‘인류의 위기에 대한’에서 알 수 있듯 저자는 우리 사회에 일어나는 모든 문제의 원인이 자본주의에 있고, 이 자본주의의 병폐로부터 벗어나는 것이 중요하다고 이야기한다. 그리고 서양과 동양 이론에서 일어난 각각의 문제를 서로의 장점으로 아우르고 적용하며 실천하는 것에서 인간다운 삶의 구현이 가능하며, 이에 대한 방편으로 원효와 마르크스라는 두 사상가를 과감히 마주 앉히고 대화를 시도한다. 일견 이질적으로 보이는 이 두 사상가의 대화를 저자가 시도한 까닭은, 마르크시즘을 비롯한 서양 이론이 지닌 실체론과 이분법, 동일성의 문제를 불교의 연기론과 퍼지(fuzzy)식 논리, 차이의 사유를 통해 새로운 그릇에 담을 수 있기 때문이고, 관념론에 치우쳐 과학성과 합리성을 결여한 불교의 문제를 과학적이고 합리적인 분석과 방법론을 지향하는 마르크스와 서양 이론을 통해 유심론과 유물론을 아우를 수 있기 때문이다. 원효와 마르크스의 대화를 통해 결국 저자는 ‘서로가 깊은 연관을 맺고서 찰나의 순간에도 서로 조건이 되고 영향을 미치고 의지하며 서로를 만들어주는 상호생성자(inter-becoming)’로서의 삶, ‘타인을 생성시키고 타자의 아픔에 공감하며 자기 안의 인간다운 본성을 형성하는 눈부처-주체’로서의 삶을 살기를 제안하고, 이를 위해서는 반드시 자본주의의 해체가 이루어져야 하며, 이 자본주의의 해체는 원효와 마르크스의 대화를 통해 가능하다고 믿고 그 믿음을 실제로 이루어가려는 노력에 있음을 이야기한다. 『원효와 마르크스의 대화』는 인류에게 닥친 전 지구적 위기를 더는 부정하거나 망각할 경우 희망은 결코 오지 않을 것이라는 문제의식 아래 인류 및 한국 사회의 핵심 위기에 관한 10개의 주제를 ‘전 지구 차원의 환경 위기’ ‘타자에 대한 배제와 폭력과 학살’ ‘인간성의 상실과 외의 심화’ ‘제국의 수탈 및 신자유주의 세계화의 모순’ ‘과학기술의 도구화와 상품화’ ‘근대성의 위기’ ‘분단모순의 심화와 동아시아의 전쟁 위기’ ‘욕망의 과잉’ ‘정보화사회의 모순’ ‘가상성과 재현의 위기’로 규정한다. 그리고 이에 대해 원효의 화쟁 사상과 마르크스를 중심으로 하되, 서양의 여러 사상과 이론을 망라 ‧ 진단 ‧ 분석한 다음 화쟁 사상을 바탕으로 새로운 패러다임을 제시하고 개인의 깨달음과 사회변혁을 변증법적인 동시에 대대적(對待的)으로 종합해 대안을 모색하는 구성을 취하고 있다. 이 책을 통해 독자들은 다시금 우리 사회가 나아가야 할 길이 어디에 있는지, 진보란 무엇인지 성찰할 수 있을 것이고, 아직 끝나지 않은 자본주의에 대한 논쟁을 해결하고 우리 공동의 행복으로 나아가는 삶의 길에 대해 다시금 생각해볼 수 있을 것이다. “모든 문제의 근본 원인은 자본주의 체제에 있다 자본주의의 해체 없이 인간다운 삶과 공동체는 불가능하다” 1장 「전 지구 차원의 환경 위기: 사회생태론 대(對) 불일불이(不一不二)의 연기론」에서는 38퍼센트의 생물이 멸종 위기에 있는 환경위기의 실상을 제시하고 이에 대한 대안인 서양의 생태론과 마르크스의 자연관을 비판적으로 검토한다. 인간과 자연을 둘로 나누고 전자에 우월권을 주는 서양의 폭력적 이분법의 패러다임에서는 홍수를 막기 위해 인간이 자연의 도전에 맞서서 댐을 쌓는 방식의 대안을 제시하며, 이는 물이 흐르면서 스스로 정화하는 것을 막아 오염시킨다. 반면에 불일불이의 패러다임에서는 댐을 헐어버리고 강의 유역을 넓혀 실개천을 조성하고 숲을 만든다. 씨와 열매 각각은 공(空)하지만 씨가 자신을 죽여 열매를 맺고 열매가 자신을 썩혀 씨를 생성하듯, 실제로 함양의 태수였던 최치원이 위천의 홍수를 막기 위해 조성한 함양의 숲, 상림(上林)은 물이 나무의 양분이 되고 나무가 물을 품어주는 방식으로 천여 년 동안 홍수를 막으면서도 물이 맑게 흐르게 했다. 이처럼 불일불이의 패러다임에 따라 모든 생명이 공존하는 화쟁의 생태론을 펼치면서 마르크스를 생태론적으로 재해석하며 인간의 자연화와 자연의 인간화를 종합한 구체적 대안들을 제시한다. 2장 「타자에 대한 배제와 폭력, 학살: 폭력론 · 평화론 대(對) 변동어이(辨同於異)의 눈부처-차이론」에서는 요한 갈퉁의 평화론과 마르크스의 폭력이론을 비판적으로 해석하면서 인간의 폭력과 집단학살의 원인이 한나 아렌트가 주장한 ‘순전한 생각 없음’이나 스탠리 밀그램이 지적한 ‘상황과 권위에 대한 복종’만이 아니라 타자를 배제해 동일성을 강화하려는 데서 비롯함을 밝힌다. 나아가 원효의 변동어이론을 현대적으로 해석, 찰나의 순간에도 나의 호흡으로 대기가 변하고 그 대기가 동시에 나와 타인의 몸으로 들어가서 몸을 변화시키듯, 인간 존재가 서로 영향을 미치고 조건이 되고 인과관계를 맺으면서 서로를 생성하는 상호생성자(inter-becoming)로서 눈부처-주체임을 제시하며 동일성으로 회귀하지 않는 눈부처-차이를 통한 공존의 철학, 타인의 고통에 대한 공감을 바탕으로 한 연대, 구조적 폭력의 제거를 통한 적극적 평화 등의 대안을 펼친다. 3장 「인간성의 상실과 소외의 심화: 소외론 대(對) 진속불이(眞俗不二)의 눈부처-주체론」에서는 마르크스와 프랑크푸르트학파 이론을 바탕으로 자본주의 체제에서 물화와 소외의 원인과 양상을 분석하고 이의 대안이었던 마르크스의 노동이론, 혁명론과 68혁명의 사례를 비판적으로 검토한다. 진화생물학과 인류학, 인지과학을 종합해 인간이 이기와 이타, 선과 악이 공존하고, 자신이 욕망하는 것을 타인에게서 빼앗아 소유하려는 동시에 거울신경체계(mirror neuron system)를 통해 타자의 아픔에 공감하는 모순적 존재임을 밝히고, 진속불이론을 재해석, 타자의 아픔에 공감하고 그를 자유롭게 하는 순간에 진정으로 자유를 완성하는 개인들의 연합에 의한 코뮌을 대안으로 제시한다. 4장 「제국의 수탈 및 신자유주의 세계화의 모순: 세계혁명론 대(對) 화쟁의 사회경제학과 눈부처-공동체론」에서는 1퍼센트가 전체 부의 20퍼센트를 독점하면서 불평등을 심화하고 민주주의마저 해체하는 신자유주의의 모순을 분석하고, 마르크스는 물론 피케티와 스티글리츠 등의 대안들을 비판적으로 검토한다. 거대 이윤의 원천은 시장이 아니라 시장의 작동을 억제하는 독점이기에 공정한 시장이나 윤리적 자본주의란 불가능한 유토피아다. M(자본)-C(상품 생산)-M'(잉여가치 착취를 통해 축적된 자본)에서 M-C축에서는 희망버스와 같은 노동거부로, C-M'축에서는 욕망의 자발적 절제에 의한 소비의 최소화로 자본주의를 해체하는 실천이 필요하지만 여러 요인으로 쉽지 않다. 불교의 노동관과 호혜적 교환에 바탕을 둔 화쟁의 사회경제학을 정립하고, 정과 한의 신명을 바탕으로 한 한국의 두레 공동체를 계승하고 마르크스의 ‘자유로운 개인들의 연합’과 다산 정약용의 여전제를 종합, 타자와 연대하면서 세계의 부조리와 불의에 저항하는 눈부처주체들이 공동생산하고 정의롭게 분배하면서 개인의 이기심도 충족하는 눈부처공동체를 지역 곳곳에 세우고 나아가 세계공화국을 건설한다. 5장 「과학기술의 도구화와 상품화: 과학기술주의 비판 대(對) 일심(一心)의 체용(體用)론」에서는 미신과 주술로부터 인간을 해방시켰던 과학이 현대사회와 자본주의 체제에서 도구화하고 상품화하는 것을 비판함과 아울러 이의 대안이었던 신과학의 사이비성과 신비주의에 대해서도 비판한다. 양자물리학과 진화생물학, 인류학을 바탕으로 우주의 창조와 생명의 진화, 인류의 형성에 신이 관여한 흔적이 없으며 만들어진 허구임을 밝히면서도 존재하지 않지만 어디에나 계신 신의 의미를 따져보고, 과학과 정신을 종합한다. 원전마피아 등 과학이 자본에 종속되는 것을 해체하고 과학의 윤리성과 객관성을 담보하는 방안을 모색하고, 진리가 작용과 운동을 통해 드러나면서 현상을 구성하는 동시에 감추고, 현상이 다시 진리를 품는 작용과 현상과 진리 사이의 관계망을 밝히면서 석굴암처럼 자연의 원리에 따라 엔트로피가 제로에 가까운 새로운 과학의 가능성을 탐색한다. 6장 「근대성의 위기: 포스트모더니즘 비판 대(對) 인언견언(因言遣言)론」에서는 토대와 상부구조의 틀에서 중세성과 근대성, 탈근대성의 개념을 총체적으로 규정하고, 환경위기, 소외의 심화, 이성중심주의 등 근대성의 모순을 비판하면서 데리다 등 포스트모더니즘 사상과 이론의 오류와 한계에 대해서도 신랄하게 비판한다. 소쉬르, 퍼스 등의 기호학과 불교의 언어관을 비교하면서 언어의 공성(空性)에 대해 따져본 다음 마르크스와 원효를 종합해 ‘지금 여기에서’ 진리를 확정하고 이를 향해 실천하는 길, 텍스트와 기표에 맥락과 역사를 부여하고, 이성중심주의를 비판하면서도 소통적인 합리성을 추구하고, 주체의 동일성의 폭력을 넘어서서 세계의 부조리를 인식하고 이를 극복하기 위해 실천하면서도 타자와 상생하는 길을 모색한다. 예술적 차원에서는 현실을 거울처럼 반영하는 반영상과 프리즘처럼 굴절하는 굴절상의 화쟁을 추구한다. 7장 「분단모순의 심화와 동아시아의 전쟁 위기: 변증법적 통일론 대(對) 동아시아 화쟁체제론」에서는 먼저 통일의 장애와 극복책에 대해 따져본다. 남북 대결과 핵위기는 6자회담에서 핵과 평화협정을 맞바꾸어 한반도 평화 체제를 세우는 것으로, 점증하는 민족주의 및 타자에 대한 배제와 폭력 문제는 각국이 동일성에서 화쟁의 공존공영으로 패러다임을 전환하고 이를 제도화하는 것으로, 권력의 비대칭과 미국의 개입 문제는 구조적 폭력을 해소하는 적극적 평화 체제를 수립하는 것으로, 신자유주의 모순의 심화는 동아시아 시민과 서발턴(하위주체)의 연대를 바탕으로 화쟁의 동아시아 평화공동체를 건설하는 것으로 극복한다. 남북한의 통일은 자주, 평화, 정의와 복지, 인권과 생명 중시, 민주주의의 대원칙 아래 7단계의 통일방안을 실천한다. 곧, ① 남북의 통일을 위한 최소 합의를 하고, ② 평화협정을 체결하며, ③ 남한과 북한 사이의 다양한 교류와 협력을 활성화하며, ④ 남북한의 시민을 대표로 하는 ‘화쟁코리아위원회(가칭)’를 구성하고, 북에 자본주의 마을과 정당, 남에 공산주의 마을과 정당을 세워 서로 대대적으로 회통하는 화쟁 코리아를 건설하며, ⑤ 남북의 국가연합을 하고, ⑥ 낮은 단계의 연방제로 전환하고, ⑦ 완전한 통일국가를 이룩한다. 8장 「욕망의 과잉: 욕망이론 대(對) 화쟁의 마음론」에서는 프로이트와 라캉을 바탕으로 인간과 본능, 욕망, 욕동의 관계를 살피고, 마르크스와 들뢰즈를 중심으로 자본주의 체제에서 욕망의 흐름과 탐욕이 증대된 원인과 양상을 살핀다. 정신과 육체, 유심론과 유물론, 더 나아가 불교의 유식학과 마르크시즘, 정신분석학, 인지과학, 진화생물학을 한데 종합하여, 우주기원종자와 생명기원종자, 인류기원종자 등 여러 종자들과 기억인자들이 알라야식에서 마나스식, 전육식을 오고 가며 뇌의 신경세포와 시냅스를 통하여 발현하며 마음을 작동하는 원리를 밝힌다. 성선설과 성악설은 윤리적 당위일 뿐이고 인류학과 생물학을 종합하여 과학적으로 따져보면, 인간은 자신의 유전자를 확대하려는 본능을 지향하는 ‘생존기계(survival machine)’이자 사회를 형성하여 타자와 협력하면서 공존을 모색하는 유전적 키메라(genetic chimera)다. 선과 악이 공존하는 인간에게 선의 종자만 발아하여 선의 꽃밭을 만들고 악의 종자는 발아하지 않게 하는 방법은 8가지-① 노동과 생산의 분배를 정의롭고 공평하게 관장하는 체제 ② 타자에 대한 공감, ③ 의미의 창조, ④ 사회 시스템과 제도, 문화 ⑤ 문화, 타자의 시선 및 행위, ⑥ 수행, ⑦ 공감협력 교육을 비롯한 집단학습, ⑧ 법과 규약-이다. 9장 「정보화사회의 모순: 디지털정치경제학 대(對) 순이불순(順而不順)의 공유경제론」에서는 정보화사회에 대해 정치, 경제, 사회문화영역으로 나누어 정보의 공유와 집단지성을 통한 민주화와 세계화 등 밝은 면과 정보격차, 혼란, 제국주의화, 전체주의화 등 어두운 면을 냉정하게 통찰한다. 마르크스를 바탕으로 정보재의 가치 문제를 분석하고 디지털 지대는 등가교환이지만, 포털의 경우 페이스북이나 트위터처럼 네티즌의 쏠림에 의하여 독점적 성격을 갖기에 부등가교환으로 전환하며, 초기에는 기술혁신에 의하여 초과이윤이 발생한 것이기에 평등교환이지만, 점차 이 부분은 희미해지고 네티즌의 접속에 의해 초과이윤이 발생하기에 불평등교환으로 전환함을 밝힌다. 아울러, 제러미 리프킨의 한계비용제로와 공유 경제의 가능성과 한계를 비판적으로 검토한 후 따르기도 하고 따르지 않기도 하는 순이불순의 원리와 집단지성을 바탕으로 자본주의를 해체하고, 잉여가치의 착취와 노동의 소외가 없는 화쟁의 공유경제를 달성할 수 있는 길을 모색한다. 10장 「가상성과 재현의 위기: 재현의 위기론 대(對) 화엄의 현실론」에서는 복사본이 원본을 대체하고 소설과 영화가 현실을 재현하는 것이 아니라 그 반대로 대중이 영화나 광고를 흉내내어 현실을 구성하고 가상성과 현실이 공존하고 이미지와 기표가 의미를 대체하는 디지털 사회의 재현의 위기론(the crisis of representation)의 타당성과 한계에 대하여 사회문화, 기호학, 철학, 예술의 영역으로 나누어 분석한다. 이에 대하여 마르크스의 입장에서 기호와 텍스트에 물질성과 맥락을 부여하고 권력의 해석지배에 저항하는 길을 제시한다. 더 나아가 화엄사상을 매개로 현실과 환상, 역사와 현실, 영화와 현실 사이의 화쟁을 이루는 다양한 방안을 강구하는 한편, 가상과 현실이 공존하는 매트릭스적 실존 속에서 상상계, 상징계, 현실, 이데올로기 및 각종 환상 사이의 관계를 분석하면서 거짓과 허상을 밝혀내고 주체적인 현실을 구성할 수 있는 길을 모색한다. 저자 이도흠은 이렇게 총 10장에 걸쳐서 마르크스와 원효를 중심으로 서양의 사상과 이론을 불교와 결합해 인류사회의 위기를 분석하고 「맺음말」에서 대안의 길을 종합한다. 이 작업을 통해 저자가 내린 결론은 크게 세 가지다. 모든 문제의 근본 원인은 자본주의 체제에 있고 자본주의의 해체 없이 인간다운 삶과 공동체는 불가능하다. 자본주의는 앞으로 50년 안에 이윤율의 저하, 재생에너지, 집단 지성과 공유경제, 지역 공동체와 협동조합 등 새로운 흐름과 대중의 운동에 의해 붕괴되고 새로운 세계가 들어설 것이다. 이는 억압에서 벗어나려는 소극적 자유(from freedom), 거듭남과 깨달음, 진정한 자기실현을 이루는 적극적 자유(to freedom), 타자와 연대하여 그를 행복하게 하는 적극적 자유(for freedom)를 종합한 눈부처주체에 의한 화쟁의 세계 체제다. ★ 이 책의 특징과 장점 1. 새로운 패러다임과 구체적인 대안 제시 원효의 화쟁 사상을 바탕으로 서양의 포스트모던 철학을 넘어서서 새로운 패러다임을 제시하면서도 마르크스와 서양의 이론을 적용, 구체적인 대안을 제시한다. 2. 이질적인 마르크스와 불교의 종합 마르크스와 원효의 원전을 꼼꼼하게 해석해 인류와 한국 사회의 위기를 분석하고 종합한다. 저자는 개인의 변화와 세계의 변혁이 함께 이루어져야 한다고 보고, 초역사적이고 관념적인 불교에는 마르크스와 서양이론을 통해 과학적이고 합리적인 분석틀과 방법론, 역사성과 사회성을 결합한다. 그리고 마르크시즘에는 불교의 이분법과 실체론을 넘어선 중도와 연기의 패러다임을 입히고 일심을 지향하도록 한다. 3. 여러 학문의 융복합은 물론 최근의 세계 학계의 성과를 회통함 동양과 서양, 문학과 철학, 역사만이 아니라 진화생물학, 인류학, 인지과학, 양자물리학, 사회학 분야의 2014~2015년의 세계 학계의 최근의 성과를 수용해 하나로 회통하고 있다. 4. 구체적이고 실증적인 자료를 통한 분석 진보진영의 논의가 대개 당위적이고 선언적인데, 국내외 연구소, 국제기구의 보고서와 국내외 신문에 실린 최근의 구체적인 통계와 수치, 자료를 최대한 수집해 이를 바탕으로 실증적이고 객관적인 분석을 한 후에 진단하고 평가하면서 대안을 제시한다. 5. 난해한 사상을 쉽게 에세이 형식으로 기술하면서도 웅숭깊게 함 원효와 마르크스는 물론, 들뢰즈, 데리다, 라캉 등 난해한 사상과 이론을 장황하지 않은 범위에서 최대한 쉽게 풀어서 설명하며 자신의 생각을 담아 종합하고 있다. 6. 현장과 책상머리의 종합 인문학이 ‘지금, 여기에서’ 사회적 약자들의 고통을 공감하는 데서 출발해야 한다는 저자는 투쟁 현장과 책상을 오고 가며 직접 몸으로 겪은 현실과 이를 깊이 있게 분석하는 이론을 끊임없이 변증법적으로 종합했기에 현장성이 있으면서도 일반화하며 보편적 설득력을 담고 있다. (shrink)

This paper explores the conceptual history of academic freedom and its emergence as a substantive right that pertains to either the academic or the university. It is suggested that historical reconceptualisations necessitated by contingent circumstance may have led to academic freedom being seen as a form of protection for those working within universities whose national legislation recognises the right to teach and research without external interference, rather than as a responsibility to the wider society or to peers (...) in other parts of the world, who do not enjoy the privilege of that right. I explore the value of academic freedom as both right and responsibility, particularly taking into consideration the ethical implications for both at the international level in higher education. (shrink)

In its ideal conception, the post-apartheid education landscape is regarded as a site of transformation that promotes democratic ideals such as citizenship, freedom, and critical thought. The role of the educator is pivotal in realising this transformation in the learners she teaches, but this realisation extends beyond merely teaching the curriculum to the educator herself, as the site where these democratic ideals are embodied and enacted. The teacher is thus centrally placed as a moral agent whose behaviour, in the (...) classroom space particularly, should, ideally, represent and communicate the values we aspire to cultivate in post-apartheid South African society generally. Thus, this notion of what teaching encompasses fits broadly into the conception of a “practice” in the sense developed by Alasdair MacIntyre, in that it is a transformative activity the enactment of which not only benefits the practitioner, but also extends to and benefits the broader community as well. Furthermore, practices are grounded in features of social or moral life we hold to be significant and, importantly, it is only through their active cultivation that they can be made tangible and further developed. MacIntyre’s theory of virtue is based on a three-fold interrelationship between practices, how they meaningfully narrate and shape an individual life, and how, in turn, this builds and sustains our moral and social traditions. Using these ideas to analyse post-apartheid South Africa, and the structural transformation paradox it is in, reveals the difficult and complex nature of a society that is in this transitional space. The claim is that attentiveness to practices in the educational space, and to the way they shape and inform moral and social traditions, is necessary to more fully understand and guide this societal transformation. (shrink)

What place does freedom have in Confucianism? We find a wide spectrum of views on the matter: some deny that Confucians value or even conceive of freedom, while others celebrate uniquely exalted forms of Confucian freedom. This paper examines the range of proposals, finding consensus among these diverse views in that all identify distinctive Confucian emphases on (i) subjective affirmation of the good and (ii) the cultivation of desires and intentions to align with that good. The variation (...) among views of Confucian freedom does not result from disparate interpretations of Confucian teachings. Rather, their divergence lies in affirming or denying that these core aspects of Confucian thought should be seen as ‘freedom.’ This reveals an undiscussed, fundamental question regarding Confucian freedom: Can and should we see the traditional Confucian moral ideal—that is, Confucian goodness and sagely virtue—as versions of freedom? What do we gain by doing so? (shrink)

The work "Taboos on the teaching vocation" was read by the German social philosopher and representative of critical theory Theodor Adorno as a report on May 21, 1965 at the Berlin Institute for Educational Research. In this report, Adorno considered the socio-psychological and socio-cultural reasons that in the context of Western European culture have historically led to the social emergence of many psychological taboos on the pedagogical work of the school teacher. The philosopher theoretically deduced the dialectical connection between human (...) hostility and disgust for the work of the teacher from the cultural tradition of German society, which historically developed as late bourgeois. A characteristic feature of the attitude of the overly materialistic socio-cultural system was aversion to the work of the teacher as a "hungry job", that is, to a poorly paid profession. Another factor of public disgust for the work of teachers, the philosopher called the socio-cultural tradition of society, which as a closed society willingly practiced physical violence as a means of social coercion. According to this tradition, through the use of violence, the teacher must subordinate students to his authority, subordinate to social and school ideology. The historical result of such dialectics was the socio-cultural distortion of the image of the teacher, the castration of his image in social psychology, his self-alienation from the professional vocation and the ideological elimination of the power of his spirit. As an ideological alternative, Adorno suggested that society, if it consciously seeks democratic change, first of all take into account such young teachers who demonstrate the impulse of their individual spirit in the performance of their profession. According to the philosopher, only the spiritual freedom of such a young educator, a man who is capable of self-understanding, conscious of himself and his vocation, who reflects and is socially active, can democratize schools, devalue society and destroy dehumanized social traditions. First of all – in order to overcome the barbaric tradition of violence. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:This review essay has been inspired by Francesco Fiorentino's 2006 study Libertà e contingenza nel pensiero tardomedievale, which provides a detailed analysis and an edition of the 38th distinction of Francis of Meyronnes' 'Conflatus' . As with some of his earlier articles and book-length studies on Gregory of Rimini and other early fourteenth-century figures, Fiorentino grapples in this book with some central theological issues in the decades after Scotus's (...) teachings in Paris, namely the relation between God as omniscient and omnipotent creator and his contingent creation, and the reconciliation between God's foreknowledge and human freedom.There is a general understanding among specialists of late medieval Franciscan thought that the teachings of Scotus at Oxford and Paris had formed a watershed in dealing with these issues, and that most Franciscan theologians after Scotus took his teachings as a major point of departure. Yet the latest research indicates that this did not mean a slavish adherence to the Doctor Subtilis. The detailed studies and editions that are currently appearing show that we are confronted by significant independent masters, able to follow the depths of Scotus's arguments but willing to develop their own stance within the debates of their time.Francis of Meyronnes is without doubt one of the more important Franciscan theologians in this very period. As his name already indicates, he was born in Meyronnes , in a family that maintained close contacts with the Anjou dynasty . Francis joined the Franciscan Order at Digne , and received an education in logic and philosophy before he was allowed to pursue a lectorate course at the Paris studium generale , where he became acquainted with the theology of Scotus.After his studies to become a lector, he taught between 1307 and 1320 as a lecturer's assistant and as a philosophy and theology lector in consecutive assignments in the schools of the custody and in provincial studia in the French and Italian provinces of the Order. He also fulfilled in this period a stint as Custos of the Sisteron custody. Based on his teaching performance, which would have included philosophical teachings as well as a series of lectures on the Sentences of Lombard pro exercitio in the provincial school network, he was allowed to return to Paris to read the Sentences pro gradu between 1320-1322. Immediately following these Sentences lectures, Francis completed the obligatory post-sentential exercises through participation in a number of disputed and quodlibetal questions , in order to become eligible for the magisterium with the licentia ubique docendi. During this period between his Sentences lectures pro gradu and his promotion, he worked towards an edited version of his Sentences commentary and published some of his works on Augustine's De Trinitate, as well as several other texts related to his teaching and disputation activities.Francis was able to build on his family connections with the house of Anjou. This showed for example in his contacts with Elzéar of Sabran, preceptor of King Robert of Naples . Either through Francis's contacts with Elzéar or directly, King Robert obtained a sufficiently high opinion of Francis to sponsor his promotion to the magisterium theologiae. At the King's instigation, Pope John XXII wrote a papal letter to the chancellor of the University of Paris on 24 May 1323, asking him to bestow on Francis "the license to teach everywhere" . Thus, Francis became a magister bullatus. Yet it is a bit unfair to suggest, to quote Francesco Fiorentino, that he received the doctorate "secondo l'uso dell'epoca, senza alcun concorso competitivo." The procedure of.. (shrink)

This paper links the beginnings of anarchism to the works of some ancient Greek Cynic philosophers. Its reflections are also visible in the Chinese Daoist civilizational paradigm, so comparatively relevant ideas developed by the Greek Cynics are analysed in relation to the Chinese Daoists ideas. Basing on the surviving works by the representatives of the above-mentioned schools or only fragments of these works, the author of the paper draws attention to the aspects of social behaviour and social activities of the (...) thinkers of the civilizational paradigms in question. These aspects are discussed in the light of the idea of anarchism, which helps to reveal distinctive contents of values. These contents are fundamentally different from the models of anarchism of the New Ages that are oriented towards the transformation of social structure or its individual systems. The radical idea of social revolution was not important to the Greek Cynics and the Chinese Daoists, although, in the course of time, there have been attempts to link these ideas with revolutionary attitudes. However, due to the ideological divide and the divide in values, the author of the paper sees no basis for a more detailed comparative analysis of the ideas of anarchism of the New Ages and ancient anarchism. (shrink)

This article hopes to accomplish two goals: first, it proposes a more effective framework for philosophers who engage in philosophical interpretations and constructions of Chan Buddhist texts, like the Linji Lu, to deal with challenges from historians when the integrity of those Chan texts as well as their authorship is called into question, so that a more robust intellectual space for the philosophical discourse on Chan classics can be carved out from the dominant historicist discourse. Accordingly, I argue that philosophical (...) and historical approaches to Chan classics have divergent scholarly objectives and follow different disciplinary norms. To clarify such divergence, I propose a hermeneutical model to distinguish two sets of scholarly objects operative in history and philosophy respectively, namely original versus inherited text, historical versus textual author, and authorial versus textual intent. These scholarly objects are related, at times even overlapped but often irreducibly distinct, with the former in the pairs belonging to historians and the latter to philosophers. Second, the article puts forward an alternative interpretation of Linji’s signature teaching of sudden enlightenment by connecting Linji’s demand for immediacy in his training of disciples with the nurturing of a particular set of character traits conducive to Chan enlightenment. It argues that only those practitioners with a strong character can weather the grueling demand of the arduous spiritual journey prescribed in Chan teachings. Therefore, I describe Linji’s teaching as advocating that “character is the Way,” wherein the Way refers to the Chan path of enlightenment. (shrink)

The leitmotif of Freedom in Response, as the title suggests, is a reasoned exposition of the nature of freedom, as it is presented in the Bible and developed by such later theologians as Martin Luther. Oswald Bayer considers Luther's teachings on pastoral care, marriage, and the three estates, bringing in Kant and Hegel as conversation partners, together with Kant's friend and critic, the innovative theologian and philosopher Johann Georg Hamann. Oswald Bayer is a major contemporary Lutheran theologian, but (...) so far little of his work has been translated from German into English. This selection of essays indicates the depth and range of his thought on issues relating to theological ethics. (shrink)

This chapter contains sections titled: Cheerful Resignation Self‐Sufficiency Murphy was an Optimist: Negative Visualization Agency and Control Fate, Freedom, and Sailing.

What was the original Christianity and what changes came in the process of its evolution in the following centuries? The philosophical and exegetical analysis of the gospels and apostolic epistles, the book of the Acts of the Apostles, to a certain extent, allows us to answer this question. In this case, we are talking about the reflection of the teachings of the founder of this course in Judaism in comparison with the subsequent stages of the evolution of Christianity.

In this popular text, Joel Spring provocatively analyzes the ideas of traditional and non-traditional philosophers, from Plato to Paulo Freire, regarding the contribution of education to the creation of a democratic society. Each section focuses on an important theme: “Autocratic and Democratic Forms of Education;” “Dissenting Traditions in Education;” “The Politics of Culture;” “The Politics of Gender;” and “Education and Human Rights.” This edition features a special emphasis on human rights education. Spring advocates a legally binding right to an education (...) that includes an education in human rights. His argument is that until schools are required to fulfill a duty to protect human rights and teach others to protect human rights, government-operated schools will remain authoritarian rather than democratic institutions. Wheels in the Head: Educational Philosophies of Authority, Freedom, and Culture From Socrates to Human Rights, Second Edition , a critically original work, is widely used as a text for courses across the fields of philosophical, social, political, and historical foundations of education, and critical issues in education. Reflecting its global relevance, a Chinese translation was published by the University of Peking Press in 2005. (shrink)

The Quietist affair at the end of the seventeenth century has much to teach us about theories of the will in the period. Although Bossuet and Fénelon are the names most famously associated with the debate over the Quietist conception of pure love, Malebranche and his erstwhile disciple Lamy were the ones who debated the deep philosophical issues involved. This paper sets the historical context of the debate, discusses the positions as well as the arguments for and against them, (...) and opens up investigation of important material that is all but ignored in the English literature and only incompletely addressed in the French. (shrink)

Ethics in science is integrated into an interdisciplinary science course called “Science, Technology and Society” (STS). This paper focuses on the section of the course called “Societal Impact on Science and Technology”, which includes the topics Misconduct in Science, Scientific Freedom and Responsibility, and the Use of Human Subjects in Research. Students in the course become aware not only of the science itself, but also of the process of science, some aspects of the history of science, the social responsibilities (...) of scientists, and the ethical issues in science. Teaching techniques include the instructor sharing experiences as a scientist with the students, sharing books and resources with students, utilizing current sources of information like the weekly “Science Times”, inviting guest speakers, and utilizing portfolios to assess student learning. (shrink)

The practice of freedom that is finite, realistically libertarian, and relational is vital for the wholesome development of human beings. In promoting this idea, Michael Miller challenges traditional Christian teachings that have hindered the pursuit of freedom by human beings on the basis of their humanity per se. It also provides theological, ethical, and ecclesiological insights to inspire ventures in freedom and guidance to those who are on the path of freedom.