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Lakehead University Knowledge Commons,http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca Electronic Theses and Dissertations Retrospective theses 2001 Personalist pedagogy of John MacMurray Tittley, Serge G. http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/3998 Downloaded from Lakehead University, KnowledgeCommons INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm m aster. DM! films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. 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NOTE TO USERS Page(s) not included In the original manuscript and are unavailable from the author or university. The manuscript was microfilmed as received. 47 This reproduction is the best copy available. UMI' Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ReproducedReproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE PERSONALIST PEDAGOGY OF JOHN MACMURRAY Serge G. Tittley A thesis submitted in partial completion of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education FACULTY OF EDUCATION LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO January 2001 ^ 2001 Serge G. Tittley Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. National Library Bibliothèque nationale M of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, me Wellington Ottawa ON KtA0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada C anada Your lilo Votre réference Our {ife Notre référence The author has granted a non­ L’auteur a accordé une hcence non exclusive hcence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliotlièque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L’auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d’auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author’s ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. 0-612-60925-1 CanadS Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. All meaningful knowledge is for the sake of action, and all meaningful action for the sake of friendship. John Macmurray, The Self as Agent Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Introduction..................................................................... Chapter One..Wennington School: An Experiment in Personalist Education.............................................................................. 7 The Biography of a Teacher................................................................... 8 Wennington School.................................................................................11 A Headmaster’s Personalism................................................................. 12 Students and Teachers..............................................................................16 The Curriculum.........................................................................................19 Lessons from Wennington.................................................................... 22 The School and Quakerism.................................................................... 24 Chapter Two Personalism and the Postmodern Context................. 29 The Submergence and Resurfacing of Personalism.......................... 29 The Voice of Suspicion..................................................................30 Postmodernism in Education.........................................................34 Noddings and Macmurray: Mothering and the Ethics of Care...................................................................................... 36 The Place of Martin Buber............................................................. 39 The Need for the Spiritual.............................................................. 41 The Contribution of a Personalist Psychology.................................... 42 Furth's Seventeen Macmurrayan Theses......................................45 The Personalist Psychology of Paul Vitz......................................51 friendship Through Caring: Towards a Renewed Personalist Pedagogy.................................................................................53 Centers of Care..................................................................................54 Teaching as Covenanted Vocation.........................................................55 The Question of Disciplines.................................................................... 58 Conclusion.................................................................................................. 62 Appendix A: Historical Sketch of a Personal Universe.......................................64 Varieties of Personalism.............................................................................. 65 The Historical Triad......................................................................................69 The Biblical Covenant...................................................................................70 Athens and Rome...........................................................................................73 Macmurray and Rene Descartes..................................................................76 Macmurray and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.................................................... 80 The Response of Idealism............................................................................. 83 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Appendix B: Religion-as-Liberation, Society, and Community...........................86 Religion as a form of Liberation.....................................................................86 Society and Community...................................................................................93 References.......................................................................................................................98 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION This study attempts to determine what contribution British philosopher John Macmurray makes to contemporary issues in education. Specifically, it seeks to determine how the philosophy of personalism, a variant of which Macmurray developed over more than fifty years of professional practice, informs our attempts to create nurturing learning environments. Macmurray's work is rich in content and subtle in presentation. .Although he rarely wrote or spoke using only the technical language peculiar to philosophical discourse, his writings are textured and many-layered. They are accessible, but defy easy interpretation. Here is a presentation of his philosophical position in as clear and simple a manner as possible for a non­ specialist. It is also an essay in the application of this pedagogy to a real-life setting. The thesis also connects Macmurray's insights with those of contemporar}' philosopher of education Nel Noddings. The ethical system proposed for schooling by Noddings is not theistic. as is the model proposed by Macmurray, but in its clear emphasis on personal relations as essential to moral sense-making, it meshes and complements Macmurray's perspective. As a respected contemporary voice. Nel Noddings brings an awareness and engagement with present-day issues that did not need addressing when Macmurray was formulating his personalist stance. The thesis is structured as follows: Chapter One, Wennington School: An Experiment in Personalist Education provides a thumbnail sketch of Macmurray's personalism, and how these ideas were adopted by British schoolmaster Kenneth Barnes.

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