Love in Education, a Philosophical Examination with Special Reference to the Phenomenology of Max Scheler
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LOVE IN EDUCATION, A PHILOSOPHICAL EXAMINATION WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF MAX SCHELER BY CHIEN-FU LIN Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of London Institute of Education 1997 Abstract My two main purposes in this thesis are to clarify the essential meanings of love and to understand how central it is in educational activities aimed at the cultivation of the person. This thesis consists of three main parts and has nine chapters. Attention in Part I is focused on the exposition of Plato's eros, Aristotle's philia, Christian agape, Confucian love, Hume's indirect passion of love, Butler's self-love and Kant's practical love. It is shown that the significance of love in human life includes the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, the unfolding of human nature, the establishment of friendship in human relationships, and openness to transcendental objects. In Part II, referring to the phenomenology of Max Scheler, it is pointed out that the person-as-lover is the one with his own unique ordo amoris, the order or ordering of love. Meanwhile, it is in the continuous movement of heart that the individual's ordo amoris determines whether he/she becomes a genuine lover in manifesting pre-reflective life as well as reflective life, forming second-order desires and volition as well as first-order desires, establishing subject-subject relations as well as subject-object relations with others, being an intentional self rather than an ecstatically immersed self, performing social acts as well as singularizing acts, possessing situation-intuiting capacity as well as means-end calculating capacity, all of which are highly relevant to the formation of the ethos in a given historical period. In Part III, the central position of love in education is indicated in terms of the investigation of love and autonomy, the education of the emotions, and the pedagogical relationship and pedagogical love. It is suggested that fundamentally educational activities should be based on pedagogical love; on this basis the pedagogical relationship can prevent authority in education from becoming the pure use of power and make possible the development of ordo amoris in pupils. Acknowledgments I would like to thank my parents and other members of my family, whose continuous support and concerns enable me to fully concentrate on my study during these years. Meanwhile I should like to thank Mr. Graham Haydon, whose energetic and patient supervision makes possible the completion of my thesis. In particular, his suggestions are conducive to the connection of my discussion to some contemporary debates. In England, I also appreciate John and Pat White's kindness and warmth in several conversations with them. Additionally, I do enjoy and cherish the friendship with you as my friends from different countries. I am grateful, as well, to my supervisor in Taiwan. Before I came here, Professor S. K. Yang initiated me into the philosophy of Max Scheler. Due to Professor Oscar Ouyang, more early, I recognized the importance and difficulty in doing philosophy of education. Apart from them, my thanks are given to Dr. P. C. Cheng, Professor K. H. Huang, and Professor Y. T. Lin for their encouragement. Again I never forget my friends and their help. Adi, Angel, Charles, Christian, Lee-kun, Linda, Michael, Mu-lung, Timothy, etc. Thank all of you. Last but not least, I would like to thank my examiners, Professor David Cooper and Dr. Paddy Walsh, for their precious recommendations. Also, my debt is to Taiwan Government and Institute of Education. CONTENTS PAGE Abstract Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Introduction 1 Part I:The Main Interpretations of Love in the History of Ideas 5 Chapter 1 Interpretations of love in ancient thought and the Christian and Confucian traditions 8 1-1. Plato's eros: the power continuously to ascend the scale of values 8 1-2. Aristotle's philia: the stable disposition to wish and do our friends good for their own sake 15 1-3. Christian agape: the love of God as the example of neighbour-love 22 1-4. Confucian love: the perfect or general virtue of mind and the giving of life 31 Chapter 2 Interpretations of love in modern western philosophy 42 2-1. Hume's love: the agreeable indirect passion directed to others 42 2-2. Butler's self-love: the pursuit of private happiness 53 PAGE 2-3. Kant's love: the practical love as the accompanying feeling of carrying out duties 57 Part II: Scheler's phenomenology of love 70 Chapter 3 What is loved: the object which possesses value 73 3-1. Love in Scheler's non-formal ethics of values 73 3-2. What is loved 78 3-3. The value of love 86 3-4. The cognition of values and love 93 Chapter 4 The way love is directed to its object 116 4-1. Love as the movement of heart 116 4-2. Love as an emotional act 121 4-3. Love as a spiritual feeling 127 Chapter 5 Who is the lover: the person 138 5-1. The meaning and nature of the person as the lover 139 5-2. The community of love as the collective lover 151 Chapter 6 The essential meaning of love 161 6-1. Sympathy 162 6-2. The essential meaning of love 169 6-3. The embodiment of love 178 6-4. The order of love 185 PAGE Part III: Love in Education 202 Chapter 7 Autonomy and love 205 7-1. Three conceptions of autonomy 205 7-2. The status of emotions in the activities of autonomous mind 212 7-3. Love and autonomy 223 7-4. Autonomy in education 233 Chapter 8 The reexamination of the education of the emotions 240 8-1. Mind 241 8-2. Reason 246 8-3. The nature of the emotions 254 8-4. The education of the emotions 264 Chapter 9 The pedagogical relationship and pedagogical love 278 9-1. The main features of the teacher-pupil relationship in school 280 9-2. Authority in education 285 9-3. The authority of the teacher 293 9-4. The pedagogical relationship and pedagogical love 300 Conclusion 311 Bibliography 316 List of Abbreviations Plato: SYMP Symposium Aristotle: NIC Nicomachean Ethics Confucius: ANA Analects Mencius: MEN Mencius Hume: THN A Treatise of Human Nature EHU Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals Butler: FIF Fifteen Sermons Kant: CPR Critical of Practical Reason TMM The Metaphysics of Morals GMM Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals TEA The End of All Things OB S Observationson The Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime Scheler: FORM Formalism in Ethics and Non-Formal Ethics of Values: A New Attempt toward the Foundation of an Ethical Personalism. REST Ressentiment EIM On the Eternal in Man SYM The Nature of Sympathy PSK Problem of a Sociology of Knowledge SPE Selected Philosophical Essays PER Philosophical Perspective PS V Person and Self-Value MPN Man's Place in Nature TMS The Meaning of Suffering LAK Love and Knowledge Introduction My fundamental belief in the necessity of this study is that education should take the educated as a whole, viz. the affective, cognitive and volitional aspects of human nature, into account. My lived experiences seem to suggest that, although the autonomous position of emotions and their origin and variation are vague and invisible, their existence and influences on both individuals and society are undeniable facts. If emotions have distinctive features, which can be either conducive or harmful to the cultivation of an ideal person, then the unfolding of human affective life should not become the victim of the one-sided development of other facets of human nature. Otherwise, apart from the education of the emotions, that of cognition, skills, etc., will deteriorate as the result of this ignorant neglect. What is not less important is that only the person who can know himself can educate himself and others appropriately and well. Namely, the understanding of human emotion is necessary for becoming a genuine teacher, as well as for the establishment of educational theories. Among emotions, the feeling of love seems to attract the attention of various thinkers everywhere and at all times. Etymologically, the term 'philosophy' consists of love (philia) and wisdom (sophia). Beneath the continuous wisdom-pursuing activities is the underpinning and motivating power of love, without which both philosophizing and the establishment of philosophy seem to be not likely. Even in some of the religious practices and thinking, God is experienced or interpreted as love, the loss 1 of which might be understood as the basic reason for exclusiveness found in different religions or even within a religion. Then one puzzle arising in my mind is whether the sort of love apparent in philosophy, religion, etc., is the archetypal emotion in educational activities, if there is one. Is the teacher who undertakes his job with the same passion as the philosopher's pursuit of wisdom or as parents' sacrifice for their children the ideal teacher? Without further investigating the essential meaning of love and its proper manifestation in educational contexts, the above question is hard to answer clearly. As a corollary, understanding love in education becomes the main concern in my investigation. The special reference to Max Scheler's phenomenology of love is not accidental. In contrast to the external casual explanation of emotional phenomena, the phenomenological attitude suggested by him, by means of the noetic-noematic relationship of emotional intentionality, allows the human subjective meaning to be involved in emotional experiences and, on the other hand, human emotional experiences to reveal their essential features rather than being confined into a presupposed inflexible framework.