University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-1986 Strengthening confluent education through a philosophical analysis of the concept of dialogue : an examination of the writings of Martin Buber, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Karl Jaspers. Roberta B. Heston University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Heston, Roberta B., "Strengthening confluent education through a philosophical analysis of the concept of dialogue : an examination of the writings of Martin Buber, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Karl Jaspers." (1986). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 4093. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/4093 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. 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STRENGTHENING CONFLUENT EDUCATION THROUGH A PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF DIALOGUE: AN EXAMINATION OF THE WRITINGS OF MARTIN BUBER, HANS-GEORG GADAMER AND KARL JASPERS A Dissertation Presented By Roberta Belding Heston Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION February 1986 Education Roberta Belding Heston All Rights Reserved STRENGTHENING CONFLUENT EDUCATION THROUGH A PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF DIALOGUE- AN EXAMINATION OF THE WRITINGS OF MARTIN BUBER, HANS-GEORG GADAMER AND KARL JASPERS A Dissertation Presented By Roberta Belding Heston ii\ To Tom whose unfailing fortitude in dialogue made possible achievement of this goal and To my father who would have been so proud of its achievement iv Acknowledgement Appreciation is owed to far more people than can be mentioned here. However, special thanks are owed to my Committee. Dr. Leonard H. Ehrlich introduced me to the work of Karl Jaspers and inspired me to continue to study hermeneutics. After saying it could not be done, Dr. Jack L. Hruska helped me to do it; without his support, this dissertation could never have been completed. Dr. Jeffrey W. Eiseman stepped into the breach and agreed to chair the committee. He provided on-going thoughtful assistance and encouragement throughout the long process of preparing this dissertation. However, any and all shortcomings in the study are solely my responsibility. Thanks are due also to Dr. Janice Eldridge, who made it possible for me to carry a reduced teaching assignment in order to finish the dissertation, and to my colleagues at Springfield College, who increased their work in order to lighten mine. A special acknowledgement is owed to Tom 0 Connor and to my sons, Frank and Scott Heston. They withstood my absent-mindedness, limited time and attention, and general distractedness — and they did it with love. v ABSTRACT STRENGTHENING CONFLUENT EDUCATION THROUGH A PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF DIALOGUE: AN EXAMINATION OF THE WRITINGS OF MARTIN BUBER, HANS-GEORG GADAMER AND KARL JASPERS February, 1986 Roberta B. Heston, A.B., Smith College Ed.M., Smith College, Ed.D., University of Massachusetts Directed by: Professor Jeffrey W. Eiseman This dissertation is a study of the implications for education of the concept of dialogue as it is analyzed in the philosophical writings of Martin Buber, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Karl Jaspers. In Part I of the study, the philosophical writings on the concept of dialogue are analyzed to provide a set of guidelines for thinking about dialogue. The premise on which this work is based is that philosophical analysis of the concept of dialogue can enhance the effectiveness of confluent education, which attempts to integrate affect and cognition in the educative process. Part II of the dissertation attempts to demonstrate that an understanding of dialogue can provide both a general philosophical grounding for confluent education vi and specific implications pertaining to pedagogical obligations, teacher-student relationships, content selection, and teaching methodology. The premise on which this work is based is that education is most effective if it is ontologically rooted. From the philosophical perspective used in this study, human beings self-actualize through and in dialogical relation¬ ships. To be ontologically rooted, education must include dialogue as a central dynamic. Three pedagogical obligations that follow from this perspective are: first, education should heighten students" awareness of themselves as unique, emergent, self-actualizing persons; second, education should enhance students" understanding of the human tradition; third, education should enhance students" ability to participate in dialogical relation¬ ships . The teacher-student relationship described models a dialogical relationship in an education setting. Content selection is discussed from the perspective that content is a tool for self-actualization and, as such, should help the student understand the human tradition in a personally meaningful way. The possibility of implement¬ ing a variety of teaching methods from a dialogical orientation is discussed. A specifically dialectical- dialogical teaching approach predicated on Gadamer s philosophical hermeneutics is described. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgement v Chapter I. THE PROBLEM. 1 Introduction . 1 The Problem.12 Significance . 18 Approach to the Problem. 21 Plan of Procedure.33 Assumptions and Delimitations . 35 Endnotes. 40 II. GADAMERIAN HERMENEUTICS . 41 Overview of Hermeneutics . 41 Gadamer and Heideggerian Legacy . 52 The Analogy of Dialogue.69 The Analogy of Play.76 Recapitulation of Previous Sections ... 83 Interpretation as Linguistic, Dialectical, Speculative, and Universal.87 Linguistic. 87 Dialectical.92 Speculativity and Universality ... 97 Endnotes.103 III. DIALOGUE IN THE WORK OF BUBER, GADAMER AND JASPERS.108 Characteristics of the Dialogical "I-Thou" Relationship . 108 The Locus of Communication.122 Exclusivity. 130 Duration.-*-34 Content. 344 Faiths: Reason, Language, Deity .... 157 1 9 1 Summary. Guidelines for Thinking about Dialogue.198 2 n 2 Endnotes . 2D5 Introduction to Part II . viii Chapter IV. THE TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIP .... 210 Introduction . 210 Jaspers" Thought . 211 Buber's Thought . 221 Implications for Confluent Education. 235 Summary. 243 Endnotes. 246 V. CONTENT. 255 Introduction . 255 Gadamer's Thought . 256 Bi ldung. 256 Additional Implications . 266 Jaspers and Gadamer on Science and Philosophy.270 Buber's Thought . 279 Implications about Content in Relation to Confluent Education. 281 A Problem: Use of Research Data and Theories.284 Content from Traditional Disciplines. 288 Thinking Skills . 293 Summary. 299 Endnotes.201 VI. METHOD 307 Introduction . 307 Epistemology in Relation to Education . 309 The Learner . 318 Dialogical Self-Education with Others . 325 Implications of the Dyadic Nature of Dialogue . 329 A Dialogical Attitude toward Instruction . 337 Gadamer's Hermeneutics as a Dialogical Method . 343 357 Science Teaching . • . Education as Aesthetic Experience . • 362 Teachers and Students Learning 371 Together . ix Communications and Classroom Climate. 378 Summary. 387 Endnotes.389 VII. CONCLUSION.396 Implications . 397 A Final Thought . 415 Endnotes.417 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY . 419 x CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction There are demands from many quarters for a variety of education reforms that purportedly would enable our society to better address its problems. This linkage of educational reform with improving society is a pattern that persists, often amid scathing criticisms of whatever type of education prevails. Yet, what all visions, however diverse, have in common is the hope that educa¬ tional reform can serve as a corrective for social ills, produce more able individuals and lead to a better society. The hope persists even in recognition that schools reflect as well as influence the society of which they are a part and that schools have dual and potentially conflicting mandates of socializing for cultural reproduc¬ tion and of enhancing the actualization of individual potential for cultural production. Generally, the conservative and socialization dimensions predominate, especially in elementary and secondary schools, and educational change tends overall to be incremental. This is probably just as well in view of the potential 1 2 destruction and trauma which can accompany radical change. while the cumulative effects of incremental change can also be stressful and perhaps even traumatic, its incremental nature may permit adjustments and corrections that render change more humanly manageable. Given the extent and rapidity of change in the twentieth century, however, educational change cannot proceed at a snail s pace" and cannot be limited to minor "tinkerings." Charles A. Tesconi, Jr. describes the plight of our society: [0]urs is a bewildered society . the first mass society wherein a variety of socially convulsing, indeed revolutionary, forces have converged simultaneously . The industrial revolution has changed the world of work and relationships among workers. The urban revolution has jammed us together, exposing our social sores and making them perennially visible; has challeng¬ ed parochial and tribal views and relationships; and has bestowed upon us an almost impossible confusion and variety. The scientific