吳宓과 어빙 배비트의 신인문주의 교육사상 연구

Abstract

Introduced to China during the New Culture Movement, John Dewey’s theory of pragmatic education opposes doctrinaire education, respects distinct characteristics of educatees, and lauds the superiority of education based on empirical researches to mere impartation of knowledge. As this theory was in accordance with the aim of the New Culture Movement, to establish the principle of science and democracy, demolish conventional ethics, and liberate individuality, it rapidly proliferated throughout China. During the period when pragmatic education prevailed in the mainstream education world of China, Wu Mi served as the chief Academy of Chinese Studies and a professor of foreign literature at Tsinghua University, where he strived to train students to be proficient in both western and eastern studies, as well as to comprehend the essence of western philosophy and literature and create a new paradigm of Chinese literature. Wu Mi’s view of education was immensely influenced by Irving Babbit, a leading American scholar of Neo-humanism. Irving Babbit vehemently criticized Charles W. Eliot, who adopted pragmatic education methods to Harvard University and practiced course selections, and argued that unrestricted freedom would arouse depravity and disorder. He also asserted that the purpose of education is to cultivate the virtue of moderation through the principle of choice and moderation, not to propagate democracy.