“自由教育”涵义的演变

The Concept Evolution of Liberal Education

自由教育是一种古老的教育思想，但直到今天它仍然在教育领域发挥着影响力。在自由教育思想从古至今的发展中，它的涵义经历了一系列的变化。古希腊的自由教育思想重视理智、德性和审美修养，鄙视知识的实用价值；中世纪，古希腊人创造的自由学科被用作神学的基础；赫胥黎认为，自然科学应成为自由教育的重要内容；在20世纪，人们致力于使自由教育与自由民主制度相适应。

Liberal education is not a new idea， but it still has great impact to our education. In the ancient Greek， liberal education stressed reason， moral character and aesthetic culture， but had low opinion to the practical value of knowledge；In the middle age， liberal education was used for the basis of the theology education. Huxley thought that the natural science should become a part of liberal education. In the 20th century， liberal education was used for the building of democracy.