Reflections on Liberal Education
Anthropology precedes Pedagogy, but as to whether this procession is dutifully attained, Philosophy must tell us, for it is in the interest of Philosophy to 'see' what cannot be 'seen' especially if the unseen entails processes. Fundamentals of of Philosophy of Education hold that Pedagogy is a function of the human species, therefore if it is NOT a predicate of humanness then it is a wasteful engagement. Teaching and learning therefore can only take place when the anthropological question "What is man?" is meaningfully answered. The anthropological quest is however ordered by the lens of metaphysics employed to investigate the quiddity of man. The lens can be static, in which man is perceived as a settled phenomenon, or, it ca be liberal in which man is conceived as an existentially unsettled entity. The great Philosophers: Socrates of Athens , Jesus of Nazareth, Paulo Freire of Recife and a dozen others have taught us that man thrives in freedom, because he is intrinsically free to manifest himself through thought. Therefore a pedagogy that does not inculcate free thinking is alien to man , and if it is alien to man, it is not a pedagogy. Rather it is a programming process.
Question: Are you a pedagogue or a programmer?
I prefer to claim that I am an educator in agreement with the following statement:
"The value of a college education is not the learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think." Albert Einstein (NYT May 19, 1921)