Book Report

This book is written by John Henry Newman , a great person who advocate the liberal education.It embodies the spirit and final goals of the education and is a necessary guide to the ideas of university management.

To begin with , he state the meaning of university from the origin of the word.The university is where we learn the universal knowledge. The professors in college should teach students the truth equally and completely instead of narrow specialized knowledge.

In the Chapter 2 to 4 , Newman give an account of the location of Theology in Knowledge.The Theology didn’t belong to the formal knowledge , but it act as either a limit or an accelerator to the knowledge.The university is independent to from church ; however , if it gets away from the assistance of the church , it cannot complete its goals.

In the Chapter 5 , he analyses the purpose of knowledge deeply.He emphasizes that the university should be established for the liberal education,which means the motion of mind , sense and reflect , with the aim of mental training and character accomplishment. When the knowledge is more and more specialized , our horizons will be narrower and narrower.

In the Chapter 6 , we learn that excellent qualities dominate an essential part in the learning process. We are supposed to admit and receive every ideas , which can broaden our perspectives. We didn’t just receive knowledge , but compare the new with what we have grasped. Learning is a process of analyzing , classifying and coordinating. Once we get away from this process , our mind won’t experience the extending of intelligence , thus losing the integrating skills.

In the Chapter 7 , he talks about the drawbacks of learning only for learning. We cannot receive the contents of knowledge passively , but treat every part of it as an organic system to master and apply. What’s more , if we think of knowledge as a whole philosophy ideology , we will understand and evaluate ourselves better.

In the Chapter 8 , the obligation of religion and the connection between religion and knowledge is discussed. Gentleman is the result of civilization instead of religion. However , the church give an another birth to many people. Gentleman’s religion have the characteristics of freedom and generosity. The top priority of a gentleman is to have people feel at ease , and he cares about everyone around him.

In the Chapter 9 , Newman give an account of a church’s duty to the knowledge. A university is a place to cultivate people i the world to adapt to the world. The correct method to a church is to give permission to develop literature , which is the expression of ideology through language. A great writer’s achievement depends on its talents , for the most part of which is the ability to express. Under whatever circumstance , he have only one target , which is to express what he thought seriously and carefully.

In this day and age , the position of university have changed a lot. Under new situations and circumstances , we can still learn from Newman’s work.

2020-12-24

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