There exists a general confusion on what the university is and what it is for. Universities are i... more There exists a general confusion on what the university is and what it is for. Universities are in crisis, and as never before, they must justify their usefulness for society. It is claimed that in order to answer that crisis, universities should become business-like entities governed and managed in terms of demand/supply and efficiency. We claim—and exemplify that claim with the case of Philippine universities—that no university in a classical sense can be turned into a business without destroying it for the two domains have different founding principles, values, norms, and actions. We argue that the classical university is an important specie in the cultural environment and it is worthwhile to defend its existence, even if other knowledge-producing and education-providing institutions are developed and provide intellectual and human resources for the market.
traces the history of Catholic philosophical thinking and shows the mutual influence between phil... more traces the history of Catholic philosophical thinking and shows the mutual influence between philosophy and the university. In the same work, Macintyre also highlights the single question which he says should be preeminent in the mind of Catholic thinkers today: the question of what it means to be a human being. Reflection on this matter acquires urgency in the face of dramatic political, cultural and economic changes taking place worldwide. The university, herself an agent of change, is not immune to these transformations. That it must evolve as it adapts to them is an imperative which the university cannot afford to ignore but as argued by this paper, such adaptation must begin from a sincere critique and re-affirmation of the university’s identity as cultivator of humanity. This paper maintains that Catholic universities like UST cannot turn their back on their humanistic commitments. The humanities, of which philosophy is a primary discipline, is what defines the identity of a u...
There exists a general confusion on what the university is and what it is for. Universities are i... more There exists a general confusion on what the university is and what it is for. Universities are in crisis, and as never before, they must justify their usefulness for society. It is claimed that in order to answer that crisis, universities should become business-like entities governed and managed in terms of demand/supply and efficiency. We claim—and exemplify that claim with the case of Philippine universities—that no university in a classical sense can be turned into a business without destroying it for the two domains have different founding principles, values, norms, and actions. We argue that the classical university is an important specie in the cultural environment and it is worthwhile to defend its existence, even if other knowledge-producing and education-providing institutions are developed and provide intellectual and human resources for the market.
traces the history of Catholic philosophical thinking and shows the mutual influence between phil... more traces the history of Catholic philosophical thinking and shows the mutual influence between philosophy and the university. In the same work, Macintyre also highlights the single question which he says should be preeminent in the mind of Catholic thinkers today: the question of what it means to be a human being. Reflection on this matter acquires urgency in the face of dramatic political, cultural and economic changes taking place worldwide. The university, herself an agent of change, is not immune to these transformations. That it must evolve as it adapts to them is an imperative which the university cannot afford to ignore but as argued by this paper, such adaptation must begin from a sincere critique and re-affirmation of the university’s identity as cultivator of humanity. This paper maintains that Catholic universities like UST cannot turn their back on their humanistic commitments. The humanities, of which philosophy is a primary discipline, is what defines the identity of a u...
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