Learning for its own sake
You may have heard of this - what the heck does it even mean?
For most students, I’d advise you to be very careful about talking with professional academics regarding what university should be for. It’s a little like bringing up politics or religion. The topic is liable to cause more problems than it’s worth. But if you should get into the discussion, be aware that “the academy” (meaning all professional academics) generally proceeds from the assumption that they have the right to define what university is and should be. You don’t have to accept that assumption. I don’t. I believe that everyone who participates in university (faculty, students, staff, and yes even government) all have input regarding the nature and purpose of post-secondary education. Faculty have a critical perspective on the topic. But not so critical that it absolves them from holding their ideas out for examination.
Question your motives in seeking out post-secondary education. I’m convinced this is the key to any successful university experience. But don’t let anyone tell you your motives are wrong either, and certainly don’t let them tell you that from a perspective that claims you should be learning “for its own sake.” That’s only a rhetorical device to hide the competing view. Anyone who is going to make you defend your motives should be called to defend theirs in return. Professors included.
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Questions are welcome at jeff.rybak@utoronto.ca. Even the ones I don’t post will still receive answers, and where I do use them here I’ll remove identifying information.
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Stanley Fish does a pretty good job of unpacking what is meant by learning for its own sake. Scholars pursue truth and advance knowledge, and help to educate students by imparting that knowledge, and the scholarly skills required to pursue it. This is obviously less true for fields whose principle purpose is job training. Though many professional fields, such as law, could be justified outside their practical function.
http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2008/09/04/education-is-useless/
Michael Oakeshott, best known for his theories of learning in politics, also provides a good exegesis of what is typically meant by learning for its own sake within the university.
http://www.amazon.ca/VOICE-LIBERAL-LEARNING-MICHAEL-OAKESHOTT/dp/0865973237/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250699382&sr=1-3
I should note that neither of these authors spends too much time romanticizing education for its own sake. They are interested in the character of academic learning, and what it is actually capable of accomplishing.