The dissertation aims to study and disclose the meaning of liberal education corresponding to the contemporary conditions of living. Traditionally, liberal education has been taken to be the education for so-called 'liberal' men who were free from all...
The dissertation aims to study and disclose the meaning of liberal education corresponding to the contemporary conditions of living. Traditionally, liberal education has been taken to be the education for so-called 'liberal' men who were free from all kinds of vocational activities or labors and who had plenty of free time or leisure. Today, most of people have their own jobs; so they are not free in the Greek standpoint. Thus liberal education needs to be examined and redefined in order to offer an effective and efficient liberal education conformed with the original spirit of Greek education to the contemporary people. The method which the dissertation utilizes is to reexamine the traditionally matter-of-course distinction between liberal and vocational education and to integrate them into a new concept of liberal education.
The dissertation proposes a new key term of 'vocation as living'. The concept of vocation as living starts from the fact that all human beings have a special kind of vocation or calling, which can or can not be identified with his daily job for a living. Everyone has his own vocation which he devotes earnestly to and realizes himself by carrying out. In this sense, vocation as living represents not only a meaningful form of human living, but also the practical foundation to realize the human liberty. Therefore liberal education, which is based upon the concept of vocation as living, make students find out and establish their own vocation as living which they really want to do; it let them be able to experience their vocational self-realization.
In conclusion, the new concept of liberal education which the dissertation puts forward can be epitomized in two points, compared to the old traditional concept.
1. The liberty the new education embodies is not equal to that of the traditional education. The liberty of the new education put emphasis upon both physical aspect and mental and spiritual aspect, while liberty of the traditional educations stress only mental, and spiritual dimension.
2. The authentic content of education which the new concept of liberal education implies is the meaning of living which is intimately involved with and is derived from life itself, while the content of the old concept gives the primacy to academic disciplines.