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Pragmatic and dialectic conceptions of methodology for inquiries into freedom and their implications for education

Author

Richard John Gallo, University of the Pacific

Date of Award

1964

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Department

Education

First Advisor

J. Marc Jantzen

First Committee Member

William N. Potter

Second Committee Member

Pedro Osuna

Third Committee Member

William Nietmann

Abstract

Many of the controversies going on in the world today are concerned with the problem of freedom. Issues involving freedom are important in the fields of theology, law, government, labor, philosophy, and education. For example, in assessing the ideological climate of the world, the standard of freedom is the measure used by many western political observers to demarcate the totalitarian from the free; the emergence of the nations is often defended in theory by appealing to the right of a people freely to determine themselves; the prevailing vitality of the Negro movement is America is a manifestation of a determination to obtain greater freedom and equlaity; the alliegance of many people to a world court is withheld because they fear that it would curtail their nation’s sovereignty and freedom.

In education, issues involving freedom are also central. Many educators and institutions of higher learning are concerned about the requirement of loyalty oaths from college students who obtain federal scholarship funds. It could be assumed that hardly any educator in America would deny that the development of freemen is an essential aim of education. Educators have shown an awareness of the pivotal position that freedom plays in America’s life.

While issues involving freedom are of crucial importance in the contemporary scene, disputants are not free from confusion and misunderstanding. Certainly, in a democracy, one would be justifiably troubled at attempts to impose conformity. But the very differences of opinion do call for attempts at understanding the issues, so that interested parties could be afforded evidence to make informed judgements of their own about the merits of conflicting claims to truth.

Pages

170

Recommended Citation

Gallo, Richard John. (1964). Pragmatic and dialectic conceptions of methodology for inquiries into freedom and their implications for education. University of the Pacific, Thesis. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/1567