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Idea of a university. Principles of a university. Different perceptions about the purpose(s) of universities. The aim of a university and its role in fostering openness and commitment to truth. The curriculum in a university and its role in fostering intellectual culture.
University Etymology
The etymology of the word university is from the Latin, universus, meaning whole and entire. Other equivalents are from Anglo-French universite and universitas meaning a corporation or society. Indeed, it is a community of scholars and masters. Other words which were used as synonyms for university include: the Academy or Studium.
bearing a resemblance to the modern university also existed in Persia and the Islamic world prior to Al-Azhar University, most notably the Academy of Gundishapur. In these universities, the professor was a scholar, not a researcher. Medieval universities considered themselves to be the protector of human knowledge, but they did not feel the urge to make it grow. This was a logical consequence of the static world view of the middle ages. Instead of searching for new knowledge, there was an unlimited respect for classical knowledge. Knowledge was something considered to be complete and static, at least, static in time. In space, knowledge was quite mobile. The Wanderstudent, the young scholar who moved from one university to another, was a fairly common phenomenon. The ideal was complete knowledge of the septem artes liberales, the seven liberal arts (Grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy) which, taken together, were the whole of human knowledge. We would call them sciences or, in some cases, pseudo-sciences. Later in the 15th and 16th century with the Cartesian split (Rene Descartes- cogito ergo sumI think therefore I am), knowledge and indeed truth came to be conceived as a product of the self. That is truth was not considered objectively but subjectively. In the 19th Century, through individuals like Fichte and Humboldt and Mill, they suggested that the object of universities is not to make skilful lawyers, physicians or engineers, but capable and cultivated human beings. In 1809, von Humboldt established the Berlin University, where he attempted to materialize his ideas. In his opinion, a university should approach knowledge scientifically. It should produce knowledge, not reproduce it. Von Humboldt attempted to do away with a whole series of basic components of traditional university education. For instance, he stressed the individual freedom of those who came to university to better themselves (academic freedom). Obviously, this idea was nurtured by the intellectual climate of the Enlightenment. Universities for almost 1,000 years provided a basic curriculum in liberal arts, consisting of two courses: The preparatory trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric) and the advanced quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy)(Borusso, 2007). The concept of university has undergone a metamorphosis . Universities have become the heart of research, knowledge generation, community service and channels to solve many societal problems. After the critical stages of renaissance - enlightenment-industrial revolutionworld wars, a new epoch of universities emerged. Universities are now engaged in humanities, sciences and technical subjects. Knowledge has been the commodity of the individual; the university and society (refer to the topic Philosophy, openness to reality). Indeed, without knowledge, resources are left fallow. All world economies depend on knowledge.
Principles of universities
Some principles of universities include:
- Universality
This means that universities should enable one to have a grasp of truth in wholeness, and that is why the earlier universities stressed on the seven liberal arts. It should enable the human intellect to know and appreciate truth in its totality , hence the need for Philosophy and for that matter, Metaphysics. The individual sciences, the separate sciences, are parts of a whole.
- Academic freedom
This means that students and teachers should be free to engage in inquiry. They should not be controlled by any political body. Academic freedom is for the sake of discovering the truth. This means that it should not be biased, neither should it destroy the nature of human-kind but perfect it.
- Autonomy
This means that the academy in itself should be free from external influence which can jeopardize its search and defense of the truth.
education: elementary, secondary and university education. His idea is that the university should provide the same foundation. The commonest worker and the finest graduate must be given the same mental training, and for that matter, complete training of the human personality. In his own words, a university teacher is therefore no longer a teacher (like in primary and secondary levels), and the student no longer someone engaged in the learning process, but a person who undertakes his own research, while the professor directs his research and supports him in it. With regard to universities, Humboldt even goes so far as to explicitly dispute that it is within their remit and their ability to train students for a particular career, because if a university were to do this, it would no longer be a university, or universitas litterarum, but merely a school.
Aim(s) of a university and its role in fostering openness and commitment to truth.
Universities have always played a major role in the economic and cultural development of countries. However, their role and expected contribution has changed substantially over the years. Whereas, since 1945, universities in Europe were expected to contribute to basic research, which could be freely used by society, in recent decades they are expected to contribute more substantially and directly to the competitiveness of firms and societies (Van der Steen & Enders, 2008). The modern university has been given the following roles: i) To create/generate knowledge: This is the world of academic research. The student should be able to think critically, to generate new knowledge and be able to impel humanity to progress. Generation of knowledge presumes that a scholar is able to grasp reality, be able to discover its principles and use these principles for the service of humanity. Knowledge dissemination or transfer: As the name suggests, this is provision of generated knowledge through various media, for instance, books, information technology, lecturers, group-work etc. The world of knowledge dissemination is not only meant in the narrow sense of the word, which is dissemination through regular classes, but also the whole complex of attitude formation, value transfer, skills training etc. A university should never transmit information only but knowledge. Service to society: A university exists in an open environment; it interacts with the immediate and remote community. It has its scholars and lecturers from different backgrounds and its outputs affect the society. It should solve and be involved in societal problems: to train people in personal freedom and personal responsibility.
ii)
iii)
Conclusion
"If the Academy holds by these propositions, not all the force of Caesar can break down its walls; but if the Academy is bent upon sneering at everything in heaven and earth, or upon reforming itself after the model of the market place, not all the eloquence of the prophets can save it."(Time, 1955)
References
Borusso, S. (2007). History of Philosophy. Nairobi: Paulines Publications. Newman, J. (1907). The idea of a University. London: Longmans, Green and Co. Time. (1955). What is academic freedom? Time. Van der Steen, M., & Enders, J. (2008). Universities in Evolutionary Systems of Innovation. Creativity and innovation management, 17(4), 281-292.