The Conservative Spirit Of The Western Universities To Study

This thesis firstly defines the conservatism in the Western universities, which suggests that the Western universities hold the tension between the universities and the society, value the tradition and stress the cultural character of gradual transformation. On this basis, the thesis expounds the various manifestations of the conservatism of the Western universities.The conservatism of the Western universities originates from the creation and development of higher-learning. Moreover, the Christianity background of Western universities and the tradition of rule by law in the West respectively strengthen and guarantee the formation of the conservatism in the Western universities. It defends the essence of the Western universities and plays a positive role in the development of Western universities. But if the conservatism goes to its extreme, it will probably hinder the development of a university. Therefore, it is necessary for a university to keep a suitable degree of conservatism. Therefore, the consciousness and self-discipline of a university are also required.As an inevitable outcome of the internal development of a university, the conservatism of the Western universities offers many lessons and significances to the development of a university in China. To sum up, they are as follows: to value the tradition and transform gradually; to keep the tension and control indirectly; to hasten the construction of rule by law.