Liberty and the Nature of Liberal Education

이 글에서는 자유교육이 자유의 이념을 온당하게 받아들이고, 인간을 자유롭게 한다는 본래의 목적에 충실하고자 했는가를 논의하였다. 자유교육의 성격을 제도와 전통에로의 입문이라고 보는 주지주의자들이 주장하는 자유교육론에는 자유 아닌 강제성이 전제되어 있음을 확인하였다. 자유교육론에서 왜 자유와 강제성이 어색하게 결합되는가를 살펴보기 위하여 Berlin이 구분한 두 가지 자유의 의미를 분석하고, 자유가 추상화될 때 야기되는 위험성을 검토하였다. 이와 관련하여 자유교육의 이상을 실현하기 위하여 주장되는 자유의 패러독스 문제, 추상적으로 설정된 상위자아의 실현을 위하여 부과되는 자유로움으로의 강제 문제 등을 논의하였다. 자유의 문제가 개인의 가치와 개인이 추구하는 욕망, 그리고 열린 사회의 오류가능성을 존중하는 것이라면, 추상적 관념론에 근거한 전체주의의 맥락에서 자유교육을 규정하지 말아야 하며, 또한 실재론적 관점에서 자유교육의 성격을 제도와 전통에로의 입문으로 보고 자유교육이 자유로움으로의 강제를 조장해서는 안 된다는 점을 논의하였다. The topic in this paper follows from the fact as to whether or not human beings set free themselves from any kind of obstacles through education and liberal education actually contributes to achievement for its own particular aim as freeing the mind to function, freeing reason from error and illusion and freeing their conduct from wrong. Above all, the relationship between liberal education and an initiation into the civilised culture and tradition defined as its own objectives supported by some modern intellectualist philosophers such as Peters and Hirst has been argued in the light of the conceptions of liberty. To dissolve the close connection of liberal education with being forced to be free, Berlins two concepts of liberty has been examined and MacCallums triadic relation also tackled in order to remove the dichotomised fallacy in his negative and positive concepts of liberty. Through these analyses, if liberal education is to be connected with Berlins positive concept of freedom, obviously do the serious problems such as the paradox of freedom and paternalistic intervention frequently found in the educational situations arise. As to autonomy, liberal education can also get into danger of idealist totalitarianism and thus a solution has been suggested that autonomy is to be understood as a kind of capacity to enable one to inform ones own desire-fulfilment. Under the idea of openness and the fallibility in a liberal society, the paper concludes, the nature of liberal education should be reinterpreted as an educational principle enabling particular individuals to freely choose and decide what they actually want under the individualistic view, but not as compulsion forced by authorities, legitimate or not, and obedience to the abstract Moral Law. It is simply because liberty cannot be compulsion or obedience