Values of education and education of values: A philosophical investigation into values education

The thesis begins with a brief Introduction to the topic, with reference to the values of education as well as of philosophy of education. Part I examines the validity of two core educational values (viz., knowledge and morality) through discussions of the dominant educational positions held by the intellectualists, the cognitivists, and the connectivists. While each of them advocates different educational ideals, all regard the promotion of the learner's good life as the task of education. The problem, however, is that none of them seems to be able to accomplish a conclusive proposal, owing to their lack of investigation into two essential components of the good life, i.e., practical knowledge and the value of human life. The discussion inspires us to explore the educational relevance of axiology Part II begins with a rebuttal of the value subjectivism circumscribing the whole modern culture, drawing on its questionable assumptions on reality, objectivity and rationality. It then offers an alternative account of human valuing activity as a kind of human speech acts. It argues that: on the one hand, language conventions provide a formal condition for the acts of valuing (comprising two levels of mental activity: valuating and evaluating); on the other hand, human emotionality (implying reasonableness) is responsible for the substance of the values we adhere to. Further philosophical investigation is carried out into different expressions of human emotionality in order to give weight to the thesis that emotions are the discernment of values. Based on the above philosophical analysis, Part III puts forward a new conception of Value Education as consisting of (1) developing human sensitivity to and understanding of value qualities, (2) furthering this capacity into a judgmental ability which enables one to become a competent valuer, thereby empowering one to seek for one's good life. An outline of an education in human emotionality then follows, as it is believed that any attempt in Values Education must necessitate the broadening and deepening of our emotional horizons. The discussion closes with a Conclusion on the educational theses thus derived, and their implications on education as well as on human life in general are further elaborated.