Walden University ScholarWorks Frank Dilley Award for Outstanding Doctoral Study University Awards 1995 Nietzschean pedagogy: A revaluation for contemporary education Arthur Gilmore Ogden Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dilley This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the University Awards at ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Frank Dilley Award for Outstanding Doctoral Study by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from themicrofilm master. UMI 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. 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Contact UMI directly to order. A Bell & Howell Information Com pany 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NIETZSCHEAN PEDAGOGY: A REVALUATION FOR CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION by Arthur G. Ogden M.A., University of Delaware, 1970 B.A., LaSalle University, 1968 Dr. Morton I. Teicher, Faculty Advisor Professor of Education Walden university Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy WALDEN UNIVERSITY August, 1995 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DMI Number: 9608110 Copyright 1996 by Ogden, Arthur Gilmore All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9608110 Copyright 1995, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT NIETZSCHEAN PEDAGOGY: A REVALUATION FOR CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION by Arthur G. Ogden M.A., University of Delaware, 1970 B.A., LaSalle University, 1968 Dr. Morton I. Teicher, Faculty Advisor Professor of Education Walden University Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy WALDEN UNIVERSITY August, 1995 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. NIETZSCHEAN PEDAGOGY: A REVALUATION FOR CONTEMPORARY EDUCATION Abstract This inquiry is intended to present a compilation of the work nineteenth century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche offered in the field of philosophy of education. It focuses on three elements which attempt to offer some solutions to the problems facing our contemporary educational institutions, particularly public schools: 1. the similarities between our contemporary educational climate and the educational climate in Nietzsche's Germany during the second half of the nineteenth century; 2. the viability of an education which stresses personal achievement through academic rigor (i.e., teaching ubermensch,the the over-man, or thehigher state of the human condition); and, 3. the necessity of establishing a philosophy of education which places the learner as the focus of the entire process in order to promote creativity and critical thinking. An application of the elements of Nietzschean pedagogy to contemporary education will produce a knowledge delivery system which answers the needs of the student first, the society second. The thrust of this dissertation is the justificationrevaluation of a of those mete-educational principles which have resulted in the mediocre conditions we find in our schools and institutions today. Nietzsche's concern with education during his time resulted in his model of education which placed the receiver of education, the student, at the focal point. This model is specifically not student-centered, but rather, is a blueprint for the development of theubermensch, or thehigher state of being of the student Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. within the human condition, who will effectrevaluation a of values. Nietzsche posited a philosophy of education designed to promote individual creativity and critical thinking based upon four elements: love between the pedagogist and the learner, promotion of competition in the Greek traditionagon, adherenceof to a doctrine ofamor fati, and education of the whole person. Essentially, this dissertation establishes the circumstances of our present- day educational institutions, makes a thorough examination of Nietzsche's concept of education, and then applies these concepts in presenting a framework for therevaluation of our educational system through a Nietzschean pedagogy in the form of sevenCorollaries for a Revaluation of Contemporary Education. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. For Rudy The most magnificent Soul I have ever known. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A venture of this nature is impossible to either undertake or to complete without the support and encouragement of countless sources, and, as ever, it is impossible to acknowledge appropriate gratitude to all of them. To those who are not mentioned here, I offer apologies; however, to those whose consistent encouragement was omnipresent I offer humble and heartfelt thanks. In all I have attempted here, I have been blessed by God—contrary to Nietzsche's sociological dismissal of Him—for He allowed me to live on October 22, 1993, and has guided my efforts ever since, so that my thanks and praise to Him will never end. His worker in the vineyards of the human condition, Father Bob Tabbert of St. Peter's Church of Naples, Florida, has been my priest, my spiritual mentor, and my friend, and whose special blessing took me far beyond that which I could have imagined. No father could venture into such an examination without the encouragement of his children; so to my children, Lt. Chris Ogden, USN, Dr. Jon Ogden, Ms. Jenni Murphy, and Mr. Josh Ogden, I extend a special thanks and hope that they realize that life continues to unfold with each new day, no matter how many or few there are. At the same time, I owe a sincere debt of thanks to President Terry McMahan and the Board of Trustees of International College of Naples, Florida, ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. for having the confidence in me to engage this venture and without whose solid support it would never have been possible. Additionally, International College's Information Resources Center Staff, most particularly Ms. Ruth Sawyer, have been pivotal with their assistance in guiding me to appropriate data bases and in securing materials and sources necessary for this research. I also want to thank the entire faculty of Walden University whose guidance has been more inspirational than they could have ever conceived. In particular I would be remiss not to dte Dr. Bob O'Reilly, Dr. Ed Mott, and Dr. Bud Loft for their work on my Knowledge Area Modules. Dr. Jim McGettigan, a fellow LaSalle University graduate, was most gracious in his advice. Dr. Dale Good, too, Academic Dean, has been of great assistance in organizing this effort, and whose patience with my incessant questions rates him with Job. My fellow student, Dr. Patrick Buick, has been my confidant, my comrade, and my fellow revolutionary in this struggle, and I shall forever be indebted to him for his great humor and his great friendship. Professor Richard Schacht, Chair of the Philosophy Department of the University of Illinois and Executive Director of the North American Nietzsche Society, has offered significant advice in selecting Nietzschean pedagogy over Nietzschean epistemology in approaching this dissertation. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the late Professor Walter Kaufmann of Princeton University whose lectures and correspondence inspired me to pursue Nietzsche over twenty-five years ago. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Dr. Frank Dilley and Dr. Luda Palmer of the Philosophy Department of the University of Delaware