The idea of the university and problems concerning education, indoctrination and the role of philosophy in the university

Abstract

Theoretical reflection about the university and education in general cannot be abstracted or isolated from the complex modern society in which it has to function. Therefore, philosophical reflection about the problems stated in the title of this article must keep in mind the structure of the university and education and must also give account of the perversion of education called “indoctrination”. This has to be done within the context of the interrelationships of these phenomena in society. In order to obtain a clear picture of these phenomena it is necessary to see them in context and to isolate them from the societal configuration of the complex society of the twentieth century. In this academic undertaking it might prove that either the one or the other aspect of the problem has at some stage been over-accentuated; but this is an academic risk one must be willing to run when trying to grasp the complexity of reality with its immense structural variety.