INTRODUCTION
Industrialization makes great demands upon educational systems. In all industrial states need for tertiary and further education is increasing.1 The investment of time and financial resources is growing proportionately. At the same time the intellectual situation of the modern world is governed by a dialectic which stamps public consciousness and effects, above all, higher education.2 Students come to college or university in search of oriention because they do not yet, or no longer, understand the world.3 Certainly, they want to be introduced to professional knowledge, but at the same time they need enlightenment and look for help in their personal life.
They are confused by the wealth of information with which they are confronted, puzzled by the many choices they must make in the learning process, and shocked at discovering that modern higher education does not offer a sound value system and reliable guidance with regard to moral behavior. Pluralistic society provides individuals with so many "valuable" things that it is hard to make a good choice. This is all the more difficult when it comes to questions of what one ought to do in a given situation.
Our present pluralistic situation is caused by the constantly growing differentiation and complexity of modern social life. In primitive cultures the situation of the young is quite different. There one grows into an existing (value) system which is in no way questioned by members of the respective community. The existing order provides for survival, but also demands complete acceptance and identification. This order binds into a single, homogenous life reality the normal processes of nature, actions needed for survival, forms of social and sexual companionship, religious convictions and religious practices.4 One permeates and postulates the other. One does not ask what is caused by what. Explanations and interpretations are provided through stories and myths; scientifically rational explanations are alien.
Hence, any new development in any one of these areas threatens the homogeneity of the culture. The unity of life experience is lost once major economic changes occur, or religious beliefs are questioned, or when the educational system creates new modes of thinking and new needs.
At that point a process is initiated whose results are simultaneously both welcomed and deplored. Heretofore unquestioned principles of order are dissolved. Overnight new possibilities become important and valuable which till then no one had dreamed. Different potentialities, ways of life, world views, and value systems appear and stand--seemingly equally legitimate--side by side. The question, of course, is what to opt for in this entirely new situation; and how to arrive at and convey convictions without suppressing those of other people. In other words, the questions of values and norms must be posed anew.
Present Moral Education in Taiwan: a Student Perspective
The process of modernization in Taiwan has opened the door to practically all the changes discussed above and has seemingly hastened the dissolution of the homogeneous reality of life experienced in former generations. Looking at the educational system we discover a growing disorientation and discontent with regard to values and norms for the young. As background for this paper some groups of undergraduate and graduate university students were asked to discuss the educational system in Taiwan and to express their opinion regarding the moral quality of education. The following three pages briefly summarize these discussions. It should be kept in mind that these are experiences and impressions of groups of students, rather than statements based on closely controlled research.
- The students experience a wide gap between the traditional moral order taught and advocated in the educational system and the real situation with which they are confronted in and outside the schools. They are critical of traditional aspects of morality which tend to favor the successful and sidetrack the weaker, the loser.
- The strong trend toward higher education and the many entrance examinations threaten genuine educational goals and harm sound moral growth of the students. For many students, teachers, schools and parents the main educational goal is to pass examinations. The pressure on students and teachers is enormous. Students are either not in position or no longer interested in studying matters which could help them gain a balanced education.
- Many students at the university level are at a loss. While in secondary schools they had goals to work for, namely, passing the various entrance examinations, which left hardly any time for other meaningful activities or for recreation. At the university level this pressure is off: students have a lot of time at their disposal and for the first time in their lives many are free to determine their own life-style. But they discover that they do not know what to do with their free time and with themselves. They had never been asked to make their own study plans and approach their studies in an independent way. They feel that, at least in many instances, teaching is not geared toward their level of education and their needs.
- In matters of social life in general, and in matters of moral behavior in particular, they find hardly any guidelines or norms to abide by, for in previous school and family education such topics were taboo. Many students are greatly disturbed by the fact that they have no one to turn to in their time of need and distress. It is difficult for them to discuss matters of a more private and intimate concern with their peers; they are annoyed by the impression that their teachers are either busy doing many other things or shy away from getting involved in students' problems. Thus many university students feel left alone; the institution that was to become a place of enlightenment and joy to the student has become a place of disillusion and a source of great trial.
- Moral education seems to be at a low in the present compulsory junior high school system. Courses in ethics are prescribed and taught, but hardly taken seriously by teachers and students. They are abstract in nature and not geared to the students' actual life situations. In many instances classes in ethics are used for teaching and drilling subjects that are part of the crucial examination system.
- The examination system plays a dominant role in the students' life. "Hopeful" students are subject to special pressure. They are often asked by their teachers, who have a stake in their students' passing the examinations, to attend extra-curricular learning activities in the evening. Little attention is given to weaker students who suffer neglect if not contempt from their teachers; in certain cases they are even subject to ridicule and harassing by their more successful student peers. To whom can these "black sheep" turn in their educational plight? Since the family's educational objectives normally conform to the school's objectives, the failing student will find little understanding, consolation and help at home. It is easy to imagine that the step from a person's intellectual and educational boredom or failure to his feeling of disillusion and hopelessness is very close. The bearing of this situation on the person's moral life need not be emphasized here.
- The students' evaluation of teachers and professors gives ample food for reflection. Generally speaking, they are not very favorably impressed by the average teacher and/or professor. They feel that many are not well qualified for their teaching job. Students maintain that a teacher or professor should be more interested in the educational aspects of his or her work than in the professional aspects of his or her career.
- Criticism is leveled against the fact that many full time teachers look for side jobs which tend to develop into time and energy consuming occupations. There are even teachers who do a lot of private tutoring and at least morally force their students to attend these courses. What vexes students more than anything else is when they observe teachers or professors shy away from speaking the truth or make statements in the classroom or in their writings that do not express their true convictions. Students feel dismayed at discovering dishonesty in their teachers. The situation becomes all the more aggravated if a teacher or professor uses double standards to advance his professional career or to make economic gains.
- When asked what they considered the most damaging influence on moral education, students pointed to profit-making which seems to permeate the entire educational system. Parents expect their children to graduate from the best universities so that they can easily find jobs in the most respected and most lucrative professions. Teachers are constantly under pressure to conform to the system, to give up on genuine educational goals, or to use their teaching jobs for profit-making. The ever-growing "educational-industry" has become big business and is producing ever greater amounts of educational material, often with little regard for the students' needs or the products' suitability in the educational process. Understandably, many of these phenomena do not find the approval of students who expect enlightenment and moral guidance through their teachers.
The above students' evaluation of the present educational system is based largely on their personal experience, impressions and reflections. But it can be expected that more thorough-going studies would point in similar directions. Important issues have been raised which should not be overlooked in any serious study dealing with the moral aspects of our present educational system.
The first paragraph of this paper referred to the dialectic of modern educational systems: adult students search for enlightenment, orientation and even prescriptions, but teachers are not in the position to provide simple answers to complex problems. In our pluralistic society the teacher must try to convey to the students the complexity of the points of view and help them to arrive at a responsible decision. Consequently, the teacher must constantly assess the intellectual situation of his time and be ready to take up the moral questions that arise from these deliberations. With this understanding of the concept "dialectic" in mind, we will raise and discuss some issues of higher moral education in Taiwan.
The Concepts: Norm, Value, and Meaning
Before entering upon our investigation it will be helpful to discuss the terms "value" and "norm" which we consider crucial for moral education.5 The two concepts are closely related one to the other, yet must be distinguished. Norms are given or established for the attainment and realization of values; they are concrete and relate to practical behavior; they are comprehensible and can be imposed. Values cannot be imposed, for they are grounded in insight and cannot easily be presented in an exact and unmistakable manner. Values are always "subjective," whereas norms are more "objective." The moment a person no longer has the related insight, the value ceases to be such for this particular person, and becomes merely an imposed norm.
The concept of value is closely related to that of meaning. Insight into values leads to the discovery of a value system and thence to the understanding that values are not man-made but pre-given--persons are dependent upon them. Insight into a value system helps a person arrive at meaningful human behavior and an appropriate life-style. A person who knows what his life is about experiences meaning and is able to make important decisions, whereas lack of an order of values leads to a state of affairs in which everything is arbitrary, exchangeable and indifferent. Without values life is no longer worth living: absurdity is all that remains.
THE DIALECTIC OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
In a recent report called "Integrity in the College Curriculum" the Association of American Colleges has alleged that "Colleges and Universities" have allowed their curricula to slip into a state of `disarray' and `incoherence,' placing in question the quality of what U.S. college students learn. The fear is expressed that "In the end, the quality of American life is at stake, the wisdom and humanity of our leaders, our ability as citizens to make informed choices, and the dedication with which we inhibit humane and democratic values as we go about our daily lives."6
Traditional Education in China
It would be easy to find similar critical reports or warnings in other industrialized nations.7 Before we ask how the present educational system in Taiwan relates to moral values, a short summary review of traditional education in China will be made in order to provide a guide to present problems and help in the search for answers to these problems.
Traditional education in China sought to instill social harmony by giving each individual moral training so that they might behave correctly in their manifold relations.8 Education took place in one's family or kinship group. The process of socialization of the young was in certain cases carried on by schools or a private teacher. The teacher enjoyed high respect and was the key figure in the educational process. The teacher-pupil or master-disciple relationship played a dominant role in a student's life and was woven into the general social and political structure of society. The teacher represented authority and was the main source of knowledge. At times he was the object of a disciple's entire personal commitment and became something like the final moderator of his disciple's personality and philosophy of life. Hardly any tension was experienced between truth and teacher.9
The purpose of higher education was the preparation of individuals for entrance into Government and Civil Service. A very strict and efficient examination system selected those most learned in right conduct and best suited to govern. Classical learning became the yardstick of a student's achievement and the criterion of his worth. The classical textual guides for proper behavior and administration were linked to religion, both in terms of their origins and in their function of preserving the State's relationship to Heaven through the Son of Heaven, i.e., the Emperor.
In traditional China we observe therefore a threefold unity of: (a) higher education, (b) ethical grounding in the classics, and (c) government. "The Chinese believed that there was no separation between education and administration (Cheng-chiao ho-i).10 Education was largely the cultivation of scholar-officials. "Education was considered a part of the technique of government and thus bureaucrats were the final source of authority over educational ideas and programs."11 Education as a means to acquire objective, scientific knowledge was little emphasized in the official system.
Since for the average Chinese citizen the passing of the Civil Service Examinations provided the only road to social advancement, many students attended schools to study for examinations. Educational programs throughout the country were designed to prepare students for these examinations, and passing the examinations became for many the ultimate end of education.12
Post-war Educational Progress in Taiwan
Does the present educational system provide the ordinary student with as clearly defined a system of eduational, social, and moral values as did the traditional system? Even the greatest optimist would hesitate to answer affirmatively.
In our time the traditional Chinese higher educational system, which benefited mainly a very small elite, has been made open for all.
Postwar educational progress in Taiwan may be measured by comparing the number of schools and the number of students enrolled at all levels of education. For example, the number of institutions of higher learning increased from seven in 1950-51 (one university, three colleges, and three junior colleges) with a total of 6,665 students to 104 in 1981-82 (sixteen universities, 11 colleges and 77 junior colleges) with a total enrollment of 358,437 an increase of 5,277.9% in student enrollment. Similar expansion is to be found in the enrollment of schools and students at the secondary level. In 1951-52 there were 128 secondary schools (junior and senior) having a total of 79,948 students. In 1981-82 there were 838 secondary schools (junior and senior) with 1,253,333 students, an increase of 1,467.7% in student enrollment. At the elementary level, there were 1,231 schools enrolling 906,950 students in 1950-51, by 1981-82 there were 2,444 schools with 2,213,179 students, an increase of 144.0%.13
These statistics show that relatively the highest increase in student population during the last three decades was recorded in higher education: 5,277.9%. Education for all produces a lower quality of education. Furthermore, the explosion of knowledge has resulted in everyone being educated in just one or a few subjects, but only half-educated in nearly all other fields.
As long as the population was divided into the few who were well educated and the broad masses of the uneducated nobody became aware of the danger education may represent to human beings. Today we have a multiplicity of possible knowledge ranging from politics to medicine, from art to technology; but we are more disturbed and distressed by this knowledge than we have been helped by it.14
In former times the educational system corresponded to the employment system. Today educational know-how and training is given to many people who cannot find professional fulfillment corresponding to their qualifications; thus we talk about over-qualification or underemployment. These and many other problems come to the fore when the question of higher education in Taiwan is discussed. All these problems must be seen in relation to social and moral values.
Post-war Educational Progress and Moral Education
Postwar "educational progress" in Taiwan, as demonstrated by the above statistics, has done away almost completely with some of the most fundamental moral and social concepts of the traditional educational system. The important teacher-student relationship is rapidly disappearing. In the age of mass education, large classes and knowledge-oriented learning (objective learning approaches) the teacher is no longer a moral authority but an expert in his field, his role being reduced to that of an organizer or a guide to knowledge. In addition, individual teachers are only part of a larger system. They may teach a class of students only once a week which makes it difficult for them to get to know the students. Students often attend classes of various teachers with different backgrounds, different approaches to teaching and research, different ideologies or value systems. They are left largely to themselves to work out their own value system and answers to the many pressing questions of life and the future. Many teachers, who at heart are concerned about their students, become disillusioned with the situation, do their "teaching job," and then go about their own business.
The legacy of the traditional examination system is still with us. The Joint Colleges Entrance Examinations has assumed enormous proportions and exercises an incomparably strong influence on the entire educational system in Taiwan.15 Education on the secondary level is conceived--at least to a large extent--as a preparation for university entrance examinations. Close scrutiny of the actual examinations reveals that not only basic educational values but social and moral values, which were of the utmost importance in traditional education, are neglected or simply non-existent. Since under social pressure teachers teach basically only things that are necessary to pass the examinations, little emphasis is placed upon these values. It is no wonder that so many university students who have gone through such a souless system feel disoriented, if not disillusioned, and find it difficult to appreciate educational values and to identify with ethical norms.
We referred above to the unity in traditional China of higher education, ethical grounding in the classics, and government. This unity no longer exists in modern higher education, as witnessed by the multitude of different college departments and university research institutes. In many instances their educational concepts and objectives are far from life: in the College of Liberal Arts traditional approaches to teaching and learning largely are adhered to, the subjects taught mainly are part of a given canon of traditional requirements; problems of our present age do not figure greatly in the classrooms; the past is hardly investigated in the light of the experiences and problems of our present age; students have to live in two worlds.
In the natural sciences and such fields as engineering, business, trade and law the most modern knowledge is communicated. Courses not strictly pertaining to the student's major field of study are often considered an intrusion and an annoyance by many teachers and students. Traditional educational and moral values fall by the wayside. There is little interest in the ethical aspects of science and business; no such specialized courses have been developed and teachers are not prepared to address the issues. Courses in the history and philosophy of the sciences and many other fields are scarce or even non-existent. As a result students are not given a more comprehensive understanding of modern science and how it relates to intellectual, social and moral issues. The authorities concerned seem to be aware of these problems and have taken remedial measures.16
Many of the issues raised here are not limited to the educational system in Taiwan. In our attempt to find ways and means out of the present dilemma not only should we search for possible answers in the traditional educational system, but also pay close attention to the efforts made in other countries to solve these or related problems. In this connection the findings, warnings, and suggestions of the Association of American Colleges might fit our purpose. Some of its findings suggest that educators in the United States and Taiwan are confronted with similar issues in higher education.
Evidence of decline and devaluation in college curriculums is everywhere . . . while many colleges require students to take a `General education program for broad knowledge and thinking skill,' . . . these programs are often little more than `distribution requirements, for example, two courses each in the humanities, social sciences and sciences,' that reflect political divisions in the faculty.
Similarly, in most colleges the `major' or `concentration' program was described as `little more than a gathering of courses taken in one department.' Today's majors, it said, are not so much `experiences in depth' as they are `bureaucratic conveniences. . . .' `Today's student populations are less well prepared, more vocationally oriented and apparently more materialistic than their immediate predecessors', the study declared. `A survival ethic encourages a hunkering down, a diminished vision,' in colleges. Another factor, it continued, is the academic `value system' that `puts little emphasis on good teaching, counseling of students, and working with secondary schools.' Most young faculty members entered the classroom having had no formal instruction in how to teach, and they soon learned that `research, not teaching, pays off.'17
The above statements come very close to an apt description of educational problems in Taiwan. A study in depth of these problems would probably unearth hosts of educational and moral problems suggesting that the students' criticism of the present educational system which was summarized in the first part of this paper is valid and appropriate.
Important Aspects of Higher Moral Education in Our Time
To solve basic educational and moral problems it will not suffice to introduce some formal changes in the curriculum. Suggestions by the report of the Association of American Colleges seem to spell this out.
The document, prepared by a panel of 18 educators, called on colleges and universities to change doctoral courses to offer training in teaching as well as in academic content. It also described a nine-point `minimum required curriculum' that it said would prepare both liberal arts and professional students to `live responsibly and joyfully, fulfilling their promise as individual humans and their obligations as democratic citizens.' The nine `experiences' that the report said `should inform all study' were literarcy, which comprises writing, reading, speaking, and listening; understanding numerical data; historical consciousness; values; art; international and multicultural experiences; study in depth of a discipline or groups of disciplines; and inquiry, including abstract logical thinking and critical analysis.18
If our students are to learn to "live responsibly and joyfully, fulfilling their promise as individual humans and their obligations as democratic citizens" they must be helped to understand the world in which we are living. They must learn that a man can become a mature human being only in community, i.e., in joint responsibility; they must be made to appreciate ethical values such as self-respect, selflessness, friendship, love, honesty, faith in other people, hope and patience, sacrifice for others or for a common good, search for the truth, the dignity of man, the value of life, freedom and responsibility on all levels, openness vis-a-vis transcendent values, etc. These values are the most difficult to acquire, yet they will be decisive for prudent and mature judgement and decision-making in the future years of the students and are needed for the establishment of a truly progressive and humane society. However, those values cannot be taught through programmed instruction--they cannot be instilled via "objective" teaching and learning approaches--they can be learned only from, and taught by, human beings. Education in general, and moral education in particular, is essentially an affair between man and man, be this in the family, in schools, or any other institution in society. Great educators have known and stressed this fact throughout the history of mankind. It is here that the great Chinese sages should be called upon to play a decisive role in solving modern problems.
The Role of Professors and Educators
What all this amounts to is the call for a thorough re-evaluation of the role of the teacher and professor. We may set up programs for students which include the "minimum required curriculum." But, who is to teach the respective courses and how should they be taught effectively? Who is to teach students of the natural sciences courses which lead to genuine appreciation of art and values, and which instill historical consciousness? The average teacher or professor may consider himself an expert in his own field, but would not venture to step beyond the borders of his discipline.
There is a great need for interdisciplinary research, cooperation and teaching on our campuses. This type of work could be carried out by groups or committees of teachers and professors from various academic fields. They might discuss a problem or an issue from the points of view of their various disciplines (valuable information on the problem of abortion--to mention but one area--could be provided by biologists, sociologists, philosophers, theologians, historians, etc.). They could invite groups of students to talk over the most pressing problems. In the long run teaching materials might be provided which could familiarize the individual teacher with important pieces of information and help him or her to conduct his course effectively.19 In this connection books and articles could be translated and published which discuss educational, social and moral values for our time and offer answers to difficult problems.20
Today as in the days of Confucius and Socrates the teacher may be said to play the dominant role in the educational system. However, in our modern age authority as it was known and exercised in the past is to a large extent being replaced by so called "democratic" processes. That is why authority in order to exert influence will need to depend increasingly upon intellectual, spiritual and moral superiority. In other words, the powers of reasoning and persuasion on the part of the teacher, and motivation and trust on the part of the student will have to play an increasingly important role in future education.21
Students can easily be motivated when their desire for acting and demonstrating, their hunger for success and achievement, are met by understanding teachers. The latter will not be afraid to reason with their students, listen to their suggestions, discuss study plans and teaching methods with them, undertake new teaching and learning experiments, and outline short and long range study goals for them. The latter is of the utmost importance for freshmen at the college level. They must be made to understand their study goals, what kind of intellectua122 and social virtues are expected of them and the moral choices with which they will be confronted. Since according to our experience the freshmen year is decisive for a student's academic formation, the heads of the respective departments and the very best professors should be available to these students from the first days to teach and guide them. In fact, the very first weeks of the students' college life often decides the success or failure of college students.
In our ever more complex society problem solving becomes one of the primary goals of college and university education. Students should be introduced to or be made aware of all kinds of problems surrounding them. They should be made to see how now and even more in the future they can contribute to problem solving. Students who are deeply impressed or even shocked by problems, malfunctions, injustices, and evils in society, who begin to realize that tomorrow they will be a full and responsible member of this troubled society, may very well sense that they are given a great chance in their college years to prepare carefully and thoughtfully for their future career and life. Abstract teaching on the part of the teacher and too little contact with the realities of today's life on the part of the student are, at least to a large extent, to be blamed for so many students' lack of interest in their own country and their ardent desire to go abroad--which unfortunatly for quite a few becomes an intellectual and moral disaster.
It is part of the teacher's job to implant and foster social virtues in the students. Classical Chinese education with its emphasis on jen (humanity) may still be able to fire the imagination of both teacher and students. Confucius's love of music and his interest in the social, educational and ethical aspects of poetry and music could also be of significance for our time.23 New ways of cooperaton among students also should be explored. Experiments have shown that advanced students are able and willing to help freshmen or less advanced students in many ways.24 Group work under the guidance of the classroom teacher or some competent student has proved advantageous for fostering community spirit in the classroom25 or the larger student body.26 Students are given chances to discuss matters together, to plan together, and to cooperate in certain tasks or projects. They experience things together and get to know one another better. Bonds of friendship develop that in many cases will last beyond collge or university years. Experience has shown that in many instances students turn to their former student friends when meeting problems and hardships in their careers or in private life.
The teacher's or professor's personality is of paramount importance for effective social and moral education. He must attempt to create a pedagogic atmosphere which O.F. Bollnow describes as determined by trust, security, gratitude, obedience, love, patience, hope, cheerfulness, humor and kindliness.27 The stress on self-education is made by Harry Hauke in unmistakable terms:
All education necessarily involves the self-education of the teacher, who must subject himself to the trouble of it if he is not just practising a trade on . . . the pupil. The process, direction and result of such a coming-to-grips with oneself (in a way that alters one's psychic structure) and with one's experiences in . . . intercourse with one's fellowmen depend to a considerable extent, however, on the intention with which a person goes about his task. They will therefore take place differently, depending on whether the teacher approaches the young person entrusted to him for education with mistrustful scepticism or trustful patience. 28
The list of virtues and skills the teacher is expected to possess could be prolonged. But all that has been stated "depend(s) particularly on whether and how the teacher has come to terms with his previous life--or whether he perpetrates his unresolved conflicts in his class."29
From what has been said we can understand the great and, in many instances, appalling burden of the teacher and educator. Confronted with failures and noticing only little appreciation on the part of society it becomes only too understandable that many teachers become prematurely weary and embittered and then only carry on the practice of their profession as a matter of routine. With Otto F. Bollnow we ask this question: whence does the teacher obtain the strength to summon up new faith in his students in spite of disappointments?
He can succeed in doing that of his own accord on the strength of pure determination. That is only possible if the educator, for his part, is sustained by another, deeper faith, the faith that in spite of all setbacks and failures his activity has a significance. And that, in turn, is only possible if in performing his work he is convinced of an ultimate purposefulness of the world, if in the final analysis he feels himself to be sustained by a divine order. . . . It is from that alone that he can derive the strength to carry on with his work and without it all his endeavours would be in vain and clutching at the wind.30
THE DIALECTIC OF RELIGION
The Modern World, Metaphysical Questions, and Moral Behavior
In the previous section we arrived at the understanding that teachers need "divine guidance" in order to carry out their many duties as responsible educators. We will turn now to the students and suggest that they, too, have to be sustained by a divine order if they are to master their lives in this modern world, and especially if they are to fulfill their moral duties as responsible citizens. Harry Hauke refers to this point in the section "Interpretation of the Concept of Trust" in the following way:
We have already pointed out that trust does not relate to one's fellow-citizen only but extends far beyond interhuman relations. Thus we speak in general of a trust in being and in life or a trust in God and what we mean by that is a direct turning of the human being to a transcendental power that not only supports and preserves him but also gives him the certainty of standing under a benevolent protection in the midst and uncertainty of this world.31
College amd university students are citizens of the modern world. Confronted with today's world-wide problems they share modern anxieties and pose anew, in a rather radical way, such age-old questions as: what is the meaning of all this; what is life all about? They are no longer content with prefabricated answers. As citizens of our turbulent age they have tasted and are being fed with all manner of food, that is, by a great variety of rational and irrational philosophies and by different "humanisms," but their appetite for spiritual and moral values remaining unsatisfied. The discussions with students, referred to at the beginning of this paper, attest to this fact. Students are searching for ways and means that will enhance their human and personal dignity and provide meaning for the totality of their existence in a technological, overwhelmingly inhuman world. Karl Japers noted:
The question is: How will the content of our cultural heritage be preserved under the conditions of the Age of Technology and the reorganization of the whole human community? How shall we preserve the infinite value of the individual, the dignity and rights of man, the freedom of the spirit, the metaphysical experiences of the millenia? The specific question of the future, however, which conditions and includes everything, is how and what man will believe. Man cannot live without faith. For even nihilism, as the opposite pole of faith, exists only in relation to a possible, but denied, faith.32
In his shocking book The End of the Modern World Romano Guardini goes beyond Jaspers' cultural analysis and evaluation.33 He feels that, in the aftermath of the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the great scientific revolutions, modern Western man transferred the old sense of the Infinite from God to nature. Nature became an infinite womb from whence were born human personality and human culture. The three together--nature, personality and culture--constituted the whole of being. Mankind had become autonomous with a sense of entering an infinite domain whose conquest was its very destiny. However, Guardini maintains that at the turn of the twentieth century, especially at the end of the Second World War, the modern optimism was shattered.
Until a short time ago, the three elements discussed in the preceding section of our study as intrinsic to modern life were considered an inviolable heritage. The intellectual consciousness of modern Europe as commonly delineated and accepted even in our day proclaimed those three ideals: a nature subsisting in itself; an autonomous personality of the human subject; a culture self-created out of norms intrinsic to its own essence. The European mind believed further that the constant creation and perfection of this `culture' constituted the final goal of history. This was all a mistake. Of the many signs appearing today all point to the fact that these cherished ideals are fading from history.34
Guardini speaks of the former vision of modern man being supplanted by a new vision and person. This new person is Mass Man, who is in danger of losing his personality. If the new man is to live a human life in a de-humanized and de-humanizing society new moral virtues and a re-assessment of metaphysical questions are called for. The superficiality of modern culture will be of little help in the future.35 Peter Wust is hoping for a "resurrection of metaphysics."36 Questions raised by thinkers like Jaspers, Guardini and Wust ought to play an increasing role in spiritual and higher moral education. If the discussion of moral issues does not go beyond a mere rational and/or functional level, i.e., if our students are not asked to delve into the very center of their existence, higher moral education becomes a farce and we face a bleak future.
Confucianism and Metaphysical Questions
If metaphysical considerations and the question of moral virtues are to play such an important role in future higher education, we cannot escape raising the question how far these issues are part of the Chinese heritage. Much has been written on these topics. In the following deliberations we will follow mainly the thought of Julia Ching.37
In her paper "The Problem of God in Confucianism", she begins with a statement which is basic to any discussion of metaphysics in Chinese tradition.
The dominant tradition in Confucianism resembles the Jewish tradition and the Christian Gospels in refraining from proving God's existence, while acknowledging it explicitly. But whereas God is the chief actor in the Christian Bible, and occupies the central place in Christian theology, he appears only in occasional references in the Confucian classics and their commentaries.38
Despite many unresolved questions, the general consensus of scholarship attests to the ancient belief in a personal God. With particular reference to the Books of Odes and of Documents Ching discusses terms that imply the notion of a creator God, the source and principle of all things, the giver of life and the protector of the human race.39 God is also recognized as the Lord of human history, the source of all power and authority. Worldly rulership is derived from a special mandate of Heaven.40
The term T'ien-ming is found in the Odes, the Documents, the Spring-Autumn Classics and other texts, notably the Analects. It refers to the Will or Decree of Heaven and has often the particular meaning of "Mandate of Heaven"--the divine origin of rulership. It can also refer to destiny or fate. T'ien-ming was interpretated by Confucius as the Will of God.
Where Confucius is concerned, the term connotes apparently the meaning of "God's Will", the Will of a personal God. Confucius speaks of it with reverence. Unless one knows this Will (ming), he says, one cannot be a gentleman, that is, a person of high moral character (20:3) And yet, he also says of himself that he did not know `The Will of Heaven' (T'ien-ming) until the age of fifty (2:4).41
The book of Mencius signals a clear change in the meaning of the term of Heaven, which is now present within one's heart so that one who knows his/her own heart and nature knows Heaven. Heaven is immanent, and no longer necessarily a personal deity. This mystical dimension of Confucianism is also attested to by the Doctrine of the Mean, where "Way of Heaven" (T'ien-tao) becomes prominent.
This way is eternal and unceasing, transcending time, space, substance, and motion. It is characterized by the universal harmony found in nature as well as in man. It is a fuller expression of the `Unity of Heaven and Man': an integration of the cosmic-moral and human levels of thinking (ch.22).42
The strong emphasis on humanism in the Analects and the Book of Mencius leads to the "silence of God," the growing "secularising" tendencies in early Confucianism which culminate in the negation of God within the Confucian tradition itself. Hsün-tzu demythologizes the notion of Heaven as a personal deity in control of the cosmic and human universe. The negation of God brings with it the negation of spiritual beings, including personal spiritual immortality.43
This depersonalization of Heaven, as we may call it, in the third century B.C., is perhaps the result of rational, naturalistic, as well as metaphysical criticism of t'ien as a living person by naturalistic thinkers associated with taoism. T'ien is subsumed under the Way (tao), the spontaneous and yet necessary activity of a comprehensive reality with its regularity. Thus, t'ien gradually loses its personalistic traits.44
Thus we have both the affirmation of the existence of God and its negation in early Confucianism. During the Han dynasty eclecticism prevailed, especially with the absorption of ideas from the Yin-Yang school. "Han Confucianism focuses upon a mystic correspondence theory of Heaven, Earth, and Man--of the natural cosmic order and the moral and social order."45
The rise of neo-Confucianism and its concerns was stimulated mostly by Buddhist religious philosophy. Neo-Confucianists borrowed from Buddhist technology and Buddhist metaphysical ideas in their fight against a Buddhist inclination toward cosmic pessimism and negation of man's social responsibility. But religious Taoism also was blended into neo-Confucianist philosophy that found its most fitting expression in the term Absolute. This term comprises the source of all being and goodness, holds the universe together, explains its inner and ultimate meaning; to it, somehow, all things return. "The neo-Confucian philolophers have given many names to this Absolute. They have referred to it as the Great Ultimate (T'ai-chi). They have also referred to it as Jen (Humanity, Benevolence, or Love), the ethical virtue they transformed into a cosmic life force."46
In discussing the philosophy of such neo-Confucianists as Chou Tun-yi, Chu Hsi, Lu Chin-yuän, Wang Yang-ming, Hsiung Shih-li and others, Ching compares their ideas with those of Nicolas of Cusa, Meister Eckhart, Pascal, Teilhard de Chardin, A.N. Whitehead and others. Such an approach shows the breadth and depth of neo-Confucian thinking (cosmological, mystical, transcendent and immanent, absolute and relative, being and becoming) and brings it into modern times. The question is raised with regard to the most outstanding neo-Confucianist, Chu Hsi, whether he rejected or lost sight of the notion of a personal God. In analyzing respective statements made by Chu Hsi with regard to the terms "Heaven" and "Lord-on-high" as found in the classics, Ching concludes:
As far as Chu Hsi is concerned, the two words `Heaven' and `Lord-on-High' both refer to some `Ruler on high'--God. But Chu has endeavoured to remove the anthropomorphic overtones of these words, while affirming the presence of some divine power ruling over the world. He has also identified this Ruler's action with that of Principle, that which, in his own words, both flows from and is one with T'ai-chi, the Ultimate source and principle of things. And so, the belief in a supreme deity has subsisted although Chu prefers to emphasize the deity as metaphysical Absolute more then as personal Absolute.47
Summing up the discussion on religion in Confucianism it may be stated that we see a gradual transition from the earlier, theistic belief to the later, philosophical interpretation of the Absolute. But the later evolution in philosophical understanding did not preclude the survival of an earlier belief in a personal God. This is shown by the long history of the Confucian cult of Heaven and by the survival of the popular belief in a Heavenly Ruler, sometimes called T'ien-lao-yeh (Heavenly Master). This fact may be one of the reasons why the Chinese communists have critized Confucianism in general and its religious dimensions in particular.
Is a study of the problem of God in Confucianism relevant to our contemporary understanding of God?
Surprisingly perhaps, one can find much relevance, not only in the discovery of the God of the Classics--a personal God--but also in the neo-Confucian focus upon a God of process and becoming, a God of mind and objectivity, as offered by the later philosophical tradition. Even where the problem of God is concerned, the Confucian tradition has always kept a predilection for starting its reflections with man, with his understanding of the universe and of himself, in each of which he discovers something greater, that which explains the oneness between self and the universe. Now this path--the path of man leading to the knowledge of God--is also that of contemporary philosophy and theology.48
Metaphysical Questions, the Meaning of Life, and Moral
Higher Education in Taiwan
Confronted with the many unsettling phenomena of rapidly increasing industrialization and modernization, rationalistic-technological thinking, a life-style little concerned about the individual's personal and spiritual needs, and a shocking breakdown of the traditional social and moral order, serious higher education can no longer evade raising man's most elementary questions concerning the problems of existence in a frightening world and the meaning of life. As long as persons are left entirely to themselves, not at all assured of themselves and their place in the world, they will find it difficult to make responsible moral decisions, and it will be even more difficult to carry them out. A famous Austrian professor of psychiatry and logotherapy, Victor E. Frankl, claims that most psychological and especially psycho-somatic sicknesses are caused by our reductionist approaches to the problems of life which exclude the search for meaning. The latter must become an essential part of professional life and particularly of higher education if we are to create a "healthy" climate for a genuinely humane future.49
Our discussion of the problem of God in Confucianism has revealed great riches of thought and experience which may help students find their place in today's world, and fulfill their responsibilities before society, mankind, their own conscience, and finally before the Absolute or God. In this connection it should be especially rewarding to search for a deeper understanding of the term Jen as this was developed by Neo-Confucianists.
Originally, Jen designated the virtue of kindness on the part of superiors for inferiors. The word took on the meaning of a universal virtue with Confucius and his followers; it has been variously rendered as Humanity, Benevolence and Love. With the Neo-Confucianists the term Jen occupies a central position, representing the integration of the various ethical, metaphysical and cosmological levels of reality.
Jen refers to the bond of altruistic love between men. Jen also refers to the bond between man and the universe. And Jen refers, besides, to the life of the universe itself, even to the totality of reality which makes the universe what it is. Jen is Principle (Li) and Great Ultimate (T'ai-chi). Jen is also Mind and True Self. And Jen remains always the virtue which defines the essence of true man. Jen began, as mentioned earlier, as a virtue of horizontal relationships. It gained in breadth and in depth, acquiring a dimension of verticality and serving as a raison d'être for the oneness of Heaven and Man.50
Resources of East and West for Moral Higher Education
As East and West continue to meet an various levels of culture they should put special emphasis on spiritual and moral issues. These are the elements, in the final analysis, which bring about the much heralded universal culture. In this context it is of the utmost importance that Confucian and Christian philosophical and religious values be investigated on a level of reflection and experience where they challenge and support each other at the same time. The richness of the terms Absolute and Jen, referred to above, could very well challenge Christian thinking and belief to strive for a much closer union of man (and mankind) with God--for which the gospels and the sacraments indeed call. Christian mystics have shown how deeply the oneness of God and Man can be experienced.51 The future points to a life where this union may be experienced as the ultimate, if not only true, shelter of the individual in a threatening world.
This free union of the human person with the Absolute through unconditional freedom will enable the faithful to stand firm--God-centered--even though placeless and unprotected. It will enable man to enter into an immediate relationship with God which will cut through all force and danger. It will permit him to remain a vital person within the mounting loneliness of the future, a loneliness experienced in the very midst of the masses and all their organizations.52
The Christian belief in a personal God could very well challenge Neo-Confucian thinking by suggesting that the identification of the Absolute and related terms with the personal deity (Heaven) of the Classics would bring the God of the philosophers closer to the common people or rather to the "masses" of the future. The Confucian cult of Heaven, which was the prerogative of the Emperor alone (as representative of the populace), no longer exists. Why should not the mass of the populace and each individual be encouraged to turn directly to the personal Lord-on-High, the source and principle of all things, the Lord of Nature and History? Could not the East and West meet in their common origin and goal, the Lord of all mankind and all the universe?
As was mentioned before, we are living in a highly pluralistic society. If in the future people will have to rely increasingly upon personal choices and individual moral decisions, they will need more than the answers offered by philosophical and theological systems constructed in the past. They may begin to search for answers that only the living personal God can provide. They may well engage in radical questioning which could reveal that only in God do all things find fulfillment, and that God in turn cannot be controlled by anyone, either with rational or irrational means. In radical openness to the mystery of existence in a world that is not of their own making, persons might be given the grace to hear within their innermost being the voice of their maker and master: the One who speaks about the uniqueness and greatness of their existence: the One who reveals the very meaning of their life: the One who promises to be with them in their loneliness, failures, sufferings, and despair; and the One who invites them to an intimate union. Christian belief speaks even about God who revealed Himself in a special way in Jesus Christ and who is always ready to enter into personal dialogue with mankind.
This has obvious application to moral higher education. Teachers who are conscious of God's presence within themselves and their students, or at least believe in the uniqueness and greatness of each individual human being, will treat their students with respect and honesty, will consider their teaching a most challenging task and will find fulfillment therein. Students who believe in God's love will find courage in trying circumstances, grow in self-respect and self-confidence, come to terms with difficult moral decisions, and discover the joy that comes from sacrifice and selfless service for others.
One could add how deep religious awareness would affect the entire educational atmosphere.53 It could be held that these are religious questions which belong to a person's private sphere and should not be part of the educational system. But we are confronted with a visible and rather general breakdown in moral education and I would suggest that at least to a large extent this is due to the exclusion of genuine religious issues from modern education. Furthermore, it could be claimed rightly that our present higher educational system is permeated by pseudo-religious beliefs--the omnipotence of science, technology, business, positivistic philosophies, and materialistic ideologies--which are little concerned about spiritual and moral values. Has any authority or ideology the right to deprive students of genuine opportunities to grow and to be enriched through meaningful confrontation with mankind's most elementary questions and challenging issues?
THE DIALECTIC OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Science and technology top the list of the fields considered of utmost importance for modernization and national reconstruction in the Republic of China. There is certainly a great need for capable scientists and experts in the various fields of technology. The nation has to make special efforts in this direction in order to survive in our highly competitive world. Thus, we do not question the Government's drive for excellence in matters of science and technology.
But here we are dealing with the question of moral values. This means looking at the same fields from a different perspective which shows the utmost importance of the moral perspective being part of higher education. Our first step will be to view some achievements of science and technology from a dialectical point of view:
- The human body is unburdened through technology which enables it to move about effortlessly with the aid of cars and airplanes. There is danger that new illnesses will be generated by the absence of physical effort, and that persons will become alienated from nature.
- Television is an enrichment of our sources of information, but can easily lead to the degeneration of our capacity for moral discernment. Man is in danger of becoming a "slave" of technology: television can have an emancipatory effect, but it can also reduce the powers of observation and decision.
- Computers and robots may be of tremendous service, but they can also alienate people from nature and society and force upon them a dreadful life.54
- Modern educational hardware has been created in support of teaching and learning approaches, but in many cases it has turned against genuine teaching and learning.
- Studies in the fields of medicine and biology have done much to improve medical services, but they can so fascinate doctors and staff that patients come to feel lost in monstrous modern hospitals.55
- Atomic energy studies and the atom bomb are the ultimate extremes of the dialectic of science and technology. The same science and technology that helps us overcome the lack of energy threatens us with an end to the world.
- Natural science claims to study and explain nature, but has alienated people from nature through its abstract, functional, "objective" approaches to research; indeed, its prolific technological "outgrowth" threatens to destroy nature.
Thus, we discover that human beings are on the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, there is the scientific-technological world they have created, which they constantly seek to enlarge and perfect by means of their curiosity, ability and discoveries. On the other hand, there is the realization of the hazards of life, controlled only with difficulty by ethics and morals. In this situation mankind no longer knows if it is entitled to make an all-out effort in such fields as, e.g., nuclear energy, computers and the manipulation of genes.56
Need for Clarification of Basic Issues in Science and Technology
The urge to discover, create and invent things is part of human nature itself. Whether technology is made to serve the improvement of life, or to imperil or even destroy it, depends entirely on man who creates technology and makes use of it. For the adult learner it is of great importance to have at least a general understanding of what science and technology are all about in order to avoid falling prey to the very dangerous belief in the omnipotence of modern science and technology. Since the latter, at least as far as their theoretical background are concerned, are imports from the West and alien to traditional Chinese thinking, special emphasis must be made to clarify the most important issues.
Efforts will have to be made to train students in independent work and scientific methodology. At the same time they must be introduced to philosophical, historical, and critical studies of the sciences and technology. Serious efforts ought to be made to have students understand the scientific enterprise from all possible viewpoints.57 Interdisciplinary studies and research must play an important role in this respect. Above all, students should be taught to see the limits imposed on the different disciplines by their own presuppositions. Richard Schlegel in his article "Is Science the Only Way to Truth?" refers to the following limits of science: its partial, fragmentary nature, the necessary limitation on its explanations, and its symbolic character. He illustrates these limits as follows:
If we wish to gain a scientific account of a human being we must obviously employ many different sciences. The anatomist, psychologist, biochemist, physician, physiologist, educator, and economist--each of these and others has something important and different to contribute. However, in religion and also to a degree in philosophy, the person functioning as a whole being is of interest. Questions of guidance in living and relations to other persons are paramount. Information and elucidation from any one special science do not answer these questions.58
The point made in the above statement is that science is not in a position to provide knowledge of the whole-person and situation that is important for moral decisions demanded in a free human life, nor is technology. Furthermore, whether a person finds meaning in life, gains self-respect, self-confidence and respect for others, is in love with others and his own work, looks with hope and confidence into the future, is at peace with his conscience and with God . . . all this does not depend so much on scientific knowledge or technological means but upon spiritual insights and experiences. The conclusions drawn from our discussion so far have far-reaching implications for moral higher education.
Science and technology serve many important purposes; they are indispensable in our modern life. But being blind as regards spiritual and moral values they cannot promise persons future happiness or solve their future problems. Nor should they be employed as weapons against religious beliefs or convictions, as often has been done in the past. Science and religion in the future should be acknowledged and accepted in their own rights, they should join hands in their endeavours to serve mankind to the best of their abilities.59 How this could be accomplished is shown in the experience and work of a great scientist of our age to whom we give the last word:
For too long a time, for half a century in fact, psychiatry tried to interpret the human mind as a mechanism, and consequently, the therapy of mental disease merely as a technique. I believe this dream has been dreamt out.
A human being is not one thing among others; things determine each other, but man is ultimately self-determining. In the concentration camps, for example, in this living laboratory and this testing ground, we watched and witnessed some of our comrades behave like swine while others behaved like saints. Man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on conditions.
Our generation is realistic, for we have come to know man as he really is. After all, man is that being who has invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz; however, he is also that being who has entered those gas chambers upright, with the Lord's Prayers or the Shema Ysrael on his lips.60
CONCLUSION
Industrialization and the process of modernization have within decades changed the face of this country. The many rapid changes in the socio-economic field have become a challenge to the traditional value system which has led to a rather widespread disorientation in matters of morals. A new value order is not yet in sight. This period of transition from a formerly well established order, which lasted unquestioned for hundreds of years, to a new order of which the contours are not yet clearly visible, affects all members of society in general and adult students in particular.
This paper attempts in a first step to show how the new objectives of education have influenced moral higher education. During the past decades we witnessed a change from education of the elite to education for all (mass eduation); from education for the former scholar-official to professional education; from education as part of the socialization process of the young to education as transmission of knowledge; from a teacher-oriented education to objective, functional approaches in education. All these phenomena have in common that they tend to neglect the moral aspects of education. In curriculum discussions, in the preparation of coursework, in decisions about teaching and learning approaches, and in the training of teachers, efforts must be made to humanize higher education, to offer students opportunities to familiarize themselves with moral issues and to help them arrive at responsible decisions.
Reflections on the complexity of present moral education show that the responsible teacher, who is deeply committed to his cause, is overburdened by the task. If one is not grounded in a spirituality which sees in education more than one job among many others, one soon will be disillusioned by the many daily misunderstandings, disappointments and failures.
Traditional education in China was rooted in a larger socio-religious framework. Unfortunately, neither the present educators nor our students can fall back on this convenient cushion since religious issues largely have been side-tracked in our modern educational system. A genuine understanding of religious questions and belief in transcendent values could be of great help to teachers and students alike in their search for meaning in life and in their many struggles to come to terms with important moral issues and to make related decisions.
Science and technology are sometimes called the "religion of our age." This expression is proof of the dialectic of science and technology. We moderns can no longer do without them, they are part of our lives. They are man-made to serve certain intellectual or practical purposes and are neutral as far as moral values are concerned. If they force moral decisions upon persons, their freedom and dignity are endangered. Higher moral education must prepare the individual and the group to understand the basic suppositions of science and technology and help them to integrate these in a meaningful hierarchical order of values.
Topics for Further Studies on Moral Issues in Higher Education
It was not possible to discuss the whole range of moral issues with which serious higher education in our age has to deal. A rather comprehensive study would have to take up a host of other problems which hardly have been touched upon thusfar. Some will be mentioned briefly.
We have repeatedly referred to values of a social, moral, or spiritual nature. More intensive occupation with these values would confront us with the "dialectic of the system of values." What was the traditional value system in China and what is left of this system? The question of values plays a decisive role for every form of instruction and education.
The search for values has broken out throughout the world. When traditional values have largely become incredible the young, in particular, clutch at almost any kind of offers of values. Adult education must show the way that the individual human being can make his value judgements and how he can respond to traditional values.61
The "dialectic of freedom" is shown by the fact that so many different movements, issues and political systems claim to stand for freedom.62 For the individual who cannot experience his freedom absolutely communal life becomes impossible. Yet greater freedom for the individual means also greater instability, greater self-responsibility, i.e., the worry of deciding how one lives and what one does. To discuss the dialectic of freedom and show how to live in freedom is a very urgent task of higher education.
Our modern age is confronted with the "dialectic of peace." Because of the atomic bomb international peace is an urgent concern, but peace is not only the prevention of destruction. It can mean also the perpetuation of intolerable social grievances. Peace as an element of life and peace as a form of domination are mutually exclusive. Hence, it is important in higher education to work for clarification of the concept of peace in all its ramifications: international, inter-social, interhuman, etc.
Much could be said about the "dialectic of affluence and need" and the "dialectic of social justice" in a country that is still very much in the process of industrialization and modernization. In this context also the "dialect of ecology" must be considered in view of the destruction of parts of the natural environment and the harm done to the quality of life. The moral implications of these phenomena must clearly be worked out. There are also the dialectics of emancipation, individualism, sexuality and related problems which play a very important role in the life of today's students.
Finally, the "dialectic of time" should not be overlooked. Modern technology is so fascinating to the contemporary person because it gets things done. Homo faber lays out his plans and the products are delivered in the time assigned. Thus President Kennedy could decide to have an American on the moon before 1970. However, things look different in education, certainly in moral education. What is needed more than anything else are the virtues of love, hope, faith--and patience. The Chinese tradition has expressed this fact in a most convincing way: to grow a tree you need ten years; to educate a person you need a hundred years.
Fu Jen Catholic University
Taipei, Taiwan, ROC
1. It is assumed here that the Republic of China will be a fully industrialized nation within the next decade.
2. The terms `adult' and `higher' education here refer mainly to college, university, and university extension education.
3. See Hellmut Becker, Education (a bi-annual collection of recent German contributions to the field of educational research), 30 (1984), 92-100.
4. For a thorough discussion of the issues at stake see Josef Janda, "Wertvermittlung als pädagogische Aufgabe," Theologisch-praktische Quartalschrift, 132 (1984), 171-182.
5. See Josef Janda's discussion of these and related terms in his "Wertvermittlung als pädagogische Aufgabe," p. 174f.
6. See "Curricula in Disarray," International Herald Tribune, Feb. 12, 1985, p. l.
7. Many critical voices in Germany deplore the destruction of moral and educational values at all school levels which was experienced during the last two decades. See e.g., Christa Meves, "Was hindert die Jugend der Bundesrepublik, zu Kulturträgern des christlichen-abendländischen Geistes zu werden?" in Wohin gehen wir? Orientierungspunkte (Freiburg: Herder, 1984), pp. 64-76.
8. See my paper "Social Harmony in China: Past and Present," pp. 10, 14-18. The paper was presented at the 1984 Workshop of the Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia, held at Fu Jen University, Taipei.
9. For more detailed information on this topic see Lee Thomas Hong-Chi, Education in Northern Sung China (New Haven: Yale University unpubl. Ph.D. dissertation, 1974).
10. Ibid., p. 254.
11. Ibid., p. 255.
12. Ibid., p. 257.
13. See Republic of China. A Reference Book (Taipei: United Pacific International Inc., 1983), p. 220f.
14. Hellmut Becker, "Persistent Contradictions," p. 96.
15. I have repeatedly dealt with this topic in my "Die Katholische Universität in China (Taiwan)," Neue Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft (NZM), 36 (1980), 114-135 and 219-234.
16. According to the University Curriculum initiated in 1983 science students have to take special courses in the field of liberal arts and students of liberal arts have to be introduced to the field of science.
17. See "Curricula in `Disaray' . . .", p. 3.
18. Ibid., p. l.
19. Interdisciplinary research done during the last decades could be of great help in providing important information. See e.g., the monumental Encyclopedia of Bioethics, Warren T. Reich (New York: The Free Press, 1978), 4 vols. The article on abortion (vol. I, 1-32) deals with medical aspects, Jewish, Roman Catholic and Protestant perspectives, the contemporary debate in philosophical and religious ethics, and legal aspects.
20. Since the impact of modernization with its many demoralizing experiences has been felt in the West for quite some time, many voices heard there discuss critically and constructively the related intellectual, educational, social and moral issues. A great variety of excellent books are available offering valuable and immediately helpful opinions on questions such as the meaning of life, science and the quality of life, sex and love, health of body and soul, spiritual values in a technological age, education for life in modern (post-industrial) society, etc. I would cite two famous German authors: Christa Meves (philosopher and psychologist with a practice in youth-psychotherapy) and Joachim Illies (biologist, theologian, professor of zoology and researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Schlitz/Hessen), who have done intensive joint research in interdisciplinary studies and produced an enormous wealth of meaningful information. They have published more than fifty books thusfar whose editions have reached several millions, e.g.: Mut zun Erzienen; Antrieo, Charakter, Erzienung; bedrohte Jugend, gefährdete Zukunft; Freiheit will gelernt sein; Manipulierte Masslosigkeit; Mit der Agression leben; Macht Gleicheit glücklich?; Wunschtraum und Wirklichkeit; Unterwegs; Ermutigung zun Leben; Seelische Gesundheit und biblisches Heil; Für eine menschenwürdige Zukunft. Die gemeinsame Verantwortung von Biologie und Theologie; Die Sache mit dem Apfel. Eine moderne Wissenschaft vom Sündenfall; Biologie und Menschenbild; Zu wahr, um schön zu sein; Federlese an der Wissenschaft; Der Menson zwischen Furent und Hoffnung. Wissenschaft als Heilserwartung; Lieben, was ist das? Ein Grenzgespräch zwischen Biologie und Psychologie; Ehealphabet; Kulturbiologie des Menschen, Der Mensch zwischen Gesetz und Freiheit.
21. Referring to the authority of the teacher or professor, Harry Hanke notes: "Its basis is then constituted by greater expertise, higher human quality and better founded arguments, to which the other person gladly submits because he has the insight to do so. He then voluntarily delegates his own rights to the bearer of authority because he puts complete trust in the latter's decisions. Thus authority is always `mandated authority' (Auftragsautorität) which precludes the teacher from assigning himself authority solely by virtue of his physical superiority or of the possibility of being able to employ the means of power. See his "The Padagogical Significance of Trust," in Education, 21 (1980), 73-89.
22. Franz Pöggeler discusses this problem in greater detail. See his "The Teacher's Ethos: A Reappraisal," Education, 30 (1984), 33-40. See especially his section "the ethos of science," pp. 38-40.
23. Kathleen Higgins has done some interesting studies along these lines. See her "Music in Confucian and Neo-Confucian Philosophy," International Philosophical Quaterly (IPQ), XX (1980), 433-451.
24. See e.g., my "Students Teach Students: A Follow-up," English Teaching Forum, XIV (1976), 42-43.
25. See the section "Group Dynamics of/in the School Class," in Klaus Bartels' "The Personal Dimension in Teaching: The Neglect and Critical Discovery of this Dimension in Modern Theories of Teaching," Education, 21 (1980), 35-59.
26. Related experiments and teaching approaches have been described in my "Group Work in Foreign Language Learning: A Report," English Teaching Forum, XI (1973), 12-15.
27. Die Pädagogische Atmosphäre (Heidelberg: Verlag Quelle und Meyer, 1964). See also his illuminating article "On the Virtues of the Educator," Education (1979), 69-79.
28. "The Pedagogical Significance of Trust," p. 87.
29. See Kurt Singer, "The Importance of the Teacher's Personality," Education, 18 (1978), p. 95.
30. Otto F. Bollnow, "On the Virtues of the Educator," p. 77.
31. "The Pedagogical Significance of Trust," p. 74.
32. The Origin and Goal of History, trans. Michael Bullock (Taipei: Rainbow-Bridge Book Co., 1971), p. 214f. This book has been translated into Chinese by the Trans!ation Center of Fu Jen University and published by United Linking Publ. Company, Taipei.
33. Trans. from the German by Joseph Theman and Herbert Burke (New York: Sheed and Ward, Inc., 1956). This book has also been translated into Chinese and published by United Linking Publ. Company, Taipei.
34. Ibid., p. 68f.
35. Ibid., pp. 76ff.
36. See his Die Auferstehung der Metaphysik (Hamburg: Verlag von Felix Meiner, 1963). The first chapter of this book is entitled "Die erdrückende Autorität Kants (The Overwhelming/crushing Authority of Kant)." Wust speaks out against Kant's approach to metaphysics which has had a devastating influence on the intellectual world up to our time (p. 18ff). Strong criticism of Kant's transcendental method is voiced by August Brunner in his Kant und die Wirklichkeit des Geistigen (München: Johannes Berchmanns Verlag, 1978). Brunner tries to show how in the aftermath of Kant spiritual values were lost sight of. I have dealt with this topic in "The Impact of Rational Thinking on Modern Man," in Symposium of the International Congress of Philosophy (Taipei: Fu Jen University, 1981), pp. 337-376. See especially chapter II "Rational Knowledge vs. Comprehensive Knowledge or the Reality of the Spiritual," pp. 358-384.
37. See her "The Problem of God in Confucianism," IPQ, XVII (1977), 3-32; "Confucianism: A Critical Re-Assessment of the Heritage," IPQ, XV (1975), 3-33; "Confucius and His Modern Critics, 1916 to Present," Papers on Far Eastern History, 10 (1974), 136-139.
38. Julia Ching, p. 3. Since Confucianism and neo-Confucianism in particular have been the main sources of educational philosophy in traditional China and are still an essential part of the educational system in Taiwan today, we are concerned mainly with Confucian metaphysics in this study.
39. Ibid., p. 8.
40. Ibid., p. l0.
41. Ibid., p. 12.
42. Ibid., p. 12f.
43. Ibid., p. 14f.
44. See Chung-ying Cheng, "Religious Reality and Religious Understanding in Confucianism and neo-Confucianism," IPQ, XIII (1973), p. 40f. Thaddäus T.C. Hang discusses our topic by investigating the concept "Heavenly Mandate" and the changes in meaning it underwent in the course of Chinese history. See his "Vom himmlischen Mandat zum Fatum Aspekte der Chinesischen Religiösität," a paper read at the Wittgenstein Symposium in Kirchberg/Wechsel (Germany), August 1983. A Chinese version of this paper can be found in Cong-Meng Monthly, 45 (1983), 287-312.
45. Julia Ching "The Problem of God in Confucianism," p. 16.
46. Ibid., p. 17.
47. Ibid., p. 21f. In his paper "Chu Hsi's Religious Life," Chan Wing-tsit claims that Chu Hsi was an intensely religious person. Chan tries to show how Chu took prayer meetings seriously, and how he conducted himself privately in ancestor worship, in facing death, and in carrying out the mandate of Heaven. International Symposium on Chinese-Western Culture: Interchange in Commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of the Arrival of Matteo Ricci, S.J. in China. Taipei, Sept. 1983. Pp. 52-72.
48. "The Problem of God in Confucianism," p. 4.
49. See his chapter "Logotherapie und Religion" in Der Mensch auf Suche nach Sinn (Freiburg: Herderbücherei, 1973). Frankl's many books have been translated into more than 15 languages. Several million copies of the many editions of his books have been printed. It wouid be a worthwhile undertaking to have Frankl's most important works translated into Chinese.
50. "The Problem of God in Confucianism," p. 25f.
51. "In Christian mysticism, the end-purpose of life is not to know of, or about, God in rational terms, but to know Him directly and to feel His love intrinsically. The mystic's ultimate fulfillment and transcended state of being is his experiencing of pure consciousness in the una mystica with God," John T. Marcus, "East and West: Phenomenologies of the Self and the Existential Bases of Knowledge," IPQ, XI (1971), l0.
52. Romano Guardini, The End of the Modern World, p. 131f.
53. It would be interesting in this context to return to the critical remarks voiced by the two student groups and to the different points raised in the section on the educational system.
54. In a very well balanced article Isaac Asimov discusses the advantages and the dangers for a world that has to live with robots (25,000 already existing; 115,000 by 1990). He raises the following questions; "And yet there are dangers more dramatic than that of unemployment. Might not human beings be killed by robots? Might robots be designed and programmed to be warriors? Might the machines of destruction that now fight our battles be made the more horrible with the aid of computerization?" See his "Robots, Society and the Future," Dialogue, 67 (1985), 54-60.
55. I refer again to the Encyclopedia of Bioethics to remind the reader of the complexity of our problems.
56. For a detailed discussion of technology and education see Konrad Widmer, "Youth and Technology," Education, 25 (1982), 86-100.
57. I have discussed this topic on several occasions. See e.g., "The Impact of Rational Thinking on Modern Man," pp. 337-376, and "Science and Religion for Matteo Ricci: Science and Religion for Today" in International Symposium on Chinese-Western Cultural Interchange, pp. 703-727.
58. In Zygon, Journal of Religion and Science, 17 (1982), p. 351.
59. In his sections "Beyond scientific method" and "Religious truths for scientists," Richard Schlegel takes up this topic, ibid., pp. 355-359. Another excellent discussion of the topic in question is offered by Anton Grabner-Haider, "Die Chancen der Religion in einer wissenschaftlich orientierten Lebenswelt", in Theologisch-praktische Quartalschrift, 132 (1984), 383-391.
60. Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning (New York: Pocket Books, 1963), p. 212f.
61. See Hellmut Becker, "Persistent Contradictions on the Intellectual Situation of Adult Education," p. 94.
62. A. Th. Peperzak discusses freedom under two headings: I. Man as an Ego
(Man as "Economic" Being: Culture as "Economy"; Man as a Poetic Being: Culture
as Poetry) and II. Man as Fellow-Man (The Social order as an Extension of Self-Centeredness; Political Egoism; Social Economy; Aesthetic Egoism; Present-day
Society as Mixture of Politics, Economy, and Eroticism; Freedom, and Equality;
Anarchism; Man as Servant of his Fellow-Man; Organization of Freedom and Ethics;
Duties of Micro-Ethics with Respect to the Macro-Structural Reform). See his
"Freedom," in IPQ, XI (1971), 341-361.