The Classical German Idea of the University, or on the Nationalization of the Modern Institution (CPP RPS 1/2006)
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2006
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Center for Public Policy Research Papers Series
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Abstract
The aim of the paper is to provide a philosophical and historical background to
current discussions about the changing relationships between the university and
the state (and the university and society) through revisiting the classical
“Humboldtian” model of the university. This historical detour is intended to show
the cultural rootedness of the modern “idea of the university”, and its close links
to the idea of the modern national state. The background is provided by the
discussion of such German philosophers and scholars as Wilhelm von Humboldt,
Johann Gottlieb Fichte, Friedrich Schleiermacher, Friedrich W.J. Schelling (the
founding fathers of the University of Berlin) in the 19th century, as well as the
controversy between Karl Jaspers and Jürgen Habermas in the 20th century. The
paper consists of the following sections: the university and society: basic
questions; the modern university, the nation-state, and “retrospective
constructions; the three main principles of the Humboldtian university; the
nationalization of European universities: serving the nation; the national aspect of
the German Bildung; the pursuit of truth vs. public responsibilities of the modern
university; the (foundational) idea of the university vs. its embodiments (the
exposition of the Jaspers/Habermas controversy); the university and the state: a
modern pact; the renewal of the university vs. the regeneration of the nation;
knowledge for its own sake and Wilhelm von Humboldt; Humboldt‟s university
vs. the “Humboldtian” university; the University of Berlin: new weapons to
continue the struggle lost in the battleground; Humboldt and the role of Bildung;
the rebirth of the German nation through education (Johann Gottlieb Fichte)?;
giving birth to a new world and the Heideggerian overtones; the state, the
university, and academic freedom (Friedrich Schleiermacher); philosophy and
education (Friedrich W.J. Schelling); and conclusions.
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CPP RPS Vol. 1 (2006), Poznan, 2006, pp. 1-62.