Unique but inclusive individuality: A dialogue with John Dewey and Liang Shuming toward educational reform in China

This dissertation is written in the context of the radically changing Chinese society, in which the individual easily gets separated from the meaning of life and follows the dualistic social conventions for success. This problem is consistent with the situation of the present educational practice in schools. Education does not respond students' disconnection from the radically changing society and thus cannot provide a meaningful resource for cultivating individuals' self-identity. Thus, this dissertation suggests a philosophy of education which highlights the cultivation of students' unique but inclusive individuality so that the individual learns how to nurture one's own mind in this radically changing context rather than getting lost and feeling empty. This conception of individuality is inspired by the American pragmatist John Dewey and the Chinese Confucian scholar Liang Shuming, a contemporary of Dewey.;Though living in different cultural traditions, both of them suggest that we need to cultivate one's individuality if we are constructing a democratic and free society. Dewey's work criticizes the trend of extreme individualism in the context of American's rapid industrialization. Liang's work has a different focus because he meets the dilemma of China's modernization in which a rupture between the Confucian tradition and the westernization is very serious. Liang's concern is still alive in contemporary times because we do not have the strong tradition of individualism; however, we also need to deal with the trend of extreme individualism stimulated by the rapid marketization in the recent three decades. On one hand, we need to learn how to find lively connection with the tradition, thus gaining a resource to cultivate a modern culture; on the other hand, we need to deal with the tension of individualism and communal living. I suggest that these two issues are keys for developing a new conception of individuality in contemporary China. Both Dewey and Liang provide insightful thoughts on the issues.;I use a methodology of comparative philosophy of education to discuss my proposal on individuality in education. I am not trying to write Dewey and Liang's thought in a "right" way; neither am I trying to compare Dewey and Liang's thought for judgment. It is more about dialogue and communication, to learn from different but related thoughts for solving the problem in the present, in Dewey's terms. I am using a pragmatic approach to launch a philosophical discussion. Because my concern is shared by Dewey and Liang in their respective projects, this dialogue can be meaningful for my question.;After discussing Dewey's and Liang's thoughts, I propose a new idea of education: to cultivate a unique but inclusive individuality by going through inner struggles and gaining self-enlightenment. This experience of inner struggle is the ground in which to cultivate a true self and the basis for discovering an original and creative mind because the individual needs to face her need from her unique life experience and connect with the changing present. The moment that the individual goes through inner struggle is also the moment that the individual gains a sense of wholeness and thus includes the experiences of others into the self through which she expands the boundary of selfhood and self-transformation happens: the individual transforms the limits of the existent self and opens to new possibilities. It is the meaning of learning which the current Chinese education reform does not emphasize.;Finally, the dissertation proposes story-telling as a teaching approach to create new space for students and teachers in school. Story-telling is a method that the individual can interpret life experience in multiple ways to explore different alternatives and possibilities she may have and to find the consistent meaning to connect the past to the present. It is also a method of self-expression when the individual goes through inner struggle and finds connection with the world outside. It is an effort that the individual sees the consistency in life, or finds tradition meaningful in her present experience. In this effort, the individual is developing a mind of her own. Narrative is thus a method worth trying in the current educational practice to formulate a new philosophy of education which emphasizes the development of unique and inclusive individuality as one goal of education.