“Do not go gentle into that good night”
– Dylan Thomas
The following translated paragraph is drawn from “The Necessary Place of the Humanities in Modern Culture – An Introduction to the Current Debate” by Jörg-Dieter Gauger and Günther Rüther. It is followed by brief comments and the original German text.
Cultural Education and Higher Learning
Wonder and curiosity are the origin of higher learning. These qualities belong to our basic nature. Wonder brings questions, and curiosity drives this further; one answered question brings forth another, or older questions are given fresh answers. Many questions remain, even as their attempted answers increase. The goal is knowledge, whose final point is truth; and with the growth of knowledge there are ethical goals – the telos of the “good life” – as well as pragmatic goals, positive and negative. Therefore knowledge is not ethically neutral: reflection about its consequences is required: so the distinction introduced by Jürgen Mittelstraß between “instructional” knowledge, and a [living, ethical] “orientation” type, forms a central element of reflection about higher learning; with Martin Heidegger having said (in support) that the intellectual effort of higher learning is not to be limited to or satisfied with analysis, explanation, and calculation. Knowledge also requires transmission, as given to future generations as part of their cultural education. Thus higher learning as both instructional and as involving (ethical) orientation knowledge forms a basic, original unity. [Emphasis added]
(Translation note: Bildung is often rendered as education. This choice is basically sound, yet the German term is far richer in implications for humanistic learning. The concept of Bildung has its own tradition. Wissenschaft is often translated as science, although it is a more comprehensive term for any systematic, advanced study. The term choices found above are therefore more suggestive than complete.)
Comments:
The paragraph above from “The Necessary Place of the Humanities in Modern Culture…” has the central idea, given in bold type, of “knowledge is not ethically neutral: reflection about its consequences is required”. Thus education, for example, reduced to forms of technical instruction strongly implies the loss of the next dimension: reflection on its ethical aspects: for the ongoing intellectual development of the individual requires special concern for the impact of their thought and actions on fellow citizens. The loss of this philosophical dimension reflects then a very limited educational approach; and suggests in part why a nation flooded with experienced technicians – and often “managed” by them – appears tilted toward callous self-interest.1 Serious ethical concern in education is not simply a side effect of an elective system. It is a necessary, integral aspect. This is not something one develops merely by living in a democracy. It is not merely given with the M.B.A.
“Knowledge is not ethically neutral”: although difficult, such an idea should be a kind of invitation — and not one for simply digesting facts, or for the ultra-fashionable “data analytics”. It is an invitation for the development of individuals, communities, where education encourages ongoing reflection on the problems of knowledge, of responsibility following its acquisition. Leading, in particular then, to a more fine-tuned ethical sense; to consider, in particular, how knowledge is often abused — especially in relation to less fortunate members of our country.
Edward Eggleston
1 Educated in an unbalanced system: a model excessively governed by business, science, and technology subjects.
On a more and less serious note, an anecdote concerning Liberace: asked about a very unfavorable review of his act, his response, as the story goes, was “I cried all the way to the bank”.
— Which captures well something of our present national mood.
„Die Geisteswissenschaften als selbstverständliches Element moderner Kultur — Zur Einführung in die aktuelle Debatte“ von Jörg-Dieter Gauger und Günther Rüther
Bildung und Wissenschaft
„Am Anfang der Wissenschaft stehen Staunen und Neugier1. Sie gehören zur anthropologischen Grundausstattung des Menschen. Staunen weckt Fragen, Neugier treibt sie weiter; eine zunächst gelöste Frage evoziert neue Fragen, oder alte Fragen werden neu beantwortet. Manche Fragen bleiben, auch wenn das Angebot an Antworten wächst. Das Ziel ist Wissen, letzter Zweck des Wissens ist Wahrheit; mit seiner Akkumulation verbinden sich ethische – das telos des „guten Lebens“2 – wie pragmatische Zwecke, negative wie positive. Daher ist Wissen nicht ethisch neutral: Es bedarf der Reflexion auf seine Folgen: Die von Jürgen Mittelstraß3 eingeführte Unterscheidung zwischen „Verfügungs-“ und „Orientierungswissen“ bildet daher ein zentrales Element des Nachdenkens über die Wissenschaft, von der Martin Heidegger einmal gesagt hat, dass sie selbst nicht denke, weil sie sich darauf beschränke, zu analysieren, zu erklären, zu berechnen. Wissen bedarf überdies der Weitergabe, der Vermittlung an zukünftige Generationen, also deren Bildung. Daher bilden Wissenschaft und Bildung eine originäre Einheit.“