Past, Present and Future of Universities

chapter 9 Past, Present and Future of Universities

In one section of Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit the common German word Bildung appears in a very specific interpretation.1 Hegel ascribes Bildung to a transitory period between a period termed by him ‘alienation’ and the period of Enlightenment. Hegel mentioned two kinds of Bildung, one theoretical and another pragmatic. The first refers to the establishment of civil norms of social behaviour, ethical concepts, of tastes, judgments and modes of communica- tion. The second refers to the establishment of codes of honour for practicing well one’s vocation. The good burgher has a vocation and different burghers opt for different vocations, but everyone should perform his own work honestly. From the end of the 18th century, European gymnasiums and universities were supposed to educate for the double task of Bildung. They became essential for the establishment of a dual (bourgeois and national) identity combined with good scientific training in the then developing, nation states. In the already modern countries established prior to nation states, such as the United States, there were no universities until the mid-19th century. In Europe, philosophy stepped into the shoes of theology. Hegel told his students in his last class on the history of philosophy that that the standpoint of the individual is seizing the substantial spirit. His closing words were ‘I wish you to live a good life’. To sum up: the task of the universities was, at least on the European continent, to form a new bourgeois elite while serving simul- taneously as the cultural elite; ranks were inherited at birth and replaced by social classes. Wealthy parents, even if uneducated, wanted their sons to be well educated. In the United States ‘eggheads’ did not enjoy the great prestige they had in Europe. Not all diplomas had the same worth, but political lead- ership required one, preferably from certain important faculties such as law. Class societies were slowly transformed into mass societies. The transformation started after the First World War and developed rapidly after the Second World War terminating in and after 1968. Forms of life of the burgher at that time were shaken and the so-called civilizing process ceased or rather reversed. It would be unheard of to close a university course with the words of Hegel. The task of universities in mass societies is no longer to prepare students for living a decent, good life.

1 Hegel, G.W.F. The Phenomenology of Spirit.

Due to the transformation of societies (at least on the European continent) the social mission of universities assumed a paradoxical form. Modern society in general differs from all pre-modern societies insofar as the place occupied in the social hierarchy at birth will no longer determine the function that the person will perform throughout of her life. Just the contrary is the case. The function a person performs will determine her place in the social hierarchy. Thus, modern society is a functional society. Class society, where Bildung played an eminent role, was transitory and mass society finally became entirely functional. The functional mass society could, however, not annul all the characteristics of pre-modern societies. To a degree, the accident of birth, even if does not determine, at least conditions the main functions men and women will perform later in life. Still, modernity, class society at first and then mass society, changed the logic of stratified societies by reversing the connection between birth and function. They inserted namely education between the time and place of birth and the establishment of one’s place in the social hierarchy by performing a function. Birth is no longer destiny. Now where, when and whether a child will gain a place in an institution of tertiary education and in which one, class will now matter as much as had previously the accident of birth. At first attending primary school also became obligatory for the lower classes, aiming at disci- plining the children of the poor and shaping them to become raw material in factories, whereas children of higher classes were still taught by private tutors. To discipline meant to punish, to beat the arrogant and disobedient child, not just the poor. One step higher up, the so-called ‘burgher’ schools were established for the lower middle class and for all girls, whereas gymnasium served the upper middle class and the upper-class boys. The dominant status of natural sciences was not immediately incorporated in the school system, but soon so-called ‘scientific’ classes appeared beside the so-called ‘humanistic’ ones. Without a high school certificate no one could enrol in a university. Modern educational institutions were always teaching the youth to be good at performing certain functions. Contrary to class societies, nowadays, in our mass societies, this has remained almost the sole task of educational institutions. The higher-level institutions, especially elite universities, teach performance to be better paid. One aspect of Bildung, mentioned by Hegel, the preparation of students for a better and more dignified life, became outdated, and rightly so. In mass societies ways of life diverged, and no educational institution could superimpose