Perils of the Life of the Mind: Lessons from the German University
The German university was the recognized world leader in higher education from the early 1800s through the mid-twentieth century, but it was morally impotent during Hitler s rise to power and the Holocaust that followed. This is troubling to many modern scholars, and especially to Christian scholars...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2003
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| In: |
Christian higher education
Year: 2003, Volume: 2, Issue: 2, Pages: 155-168 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The German university was the recognized world leader in higher education from the early 1800s through the mid-twentieth century, but it was morally impotent during Hitler s rise to power and the Holocaust that followed. This is troubling to many modern scholars, and especially to Christian scholars, because they are heirs of German university ideals and have been deeply influenced by its traditions and practices. This paper is an exploration of the philosophical and environmental factors that contributed to the university s loss of moral integrity. Ironically, academic freedom, the great hallmark of the university, became a distortion of the orthodox Christian view of freedom and contained the seeds of its own moral demise. The isolation of the university from everyday life and the egotism of its institutional leadership and faculty ensured its moral collapse. The fall of the German university from the pinnacle of higher education signaled the end of the modern period of total dependence on science and intellect. The story has implications for the world of higher education today because the United States assumed a leadership position after World War II and exported its own model of higher education around the world, incorporating many facets of the German university model in the process. |
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| ISSN: | 1539-4107 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian higher education
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/15363750302203 |