Modern Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Modern Education - Essay Example Such reservations against the concept of personal autonomy is rooted in the thought that the idea of personal autonomy is laced by the threats of masculinist implications (Friedman, Autonomy, gender, politics, 2003), thus making them feel uncomfortable with such a notion. Over the years and especially in the past decade, those who felt such apprehensions had to face the overwhelming circumstances that place a needed sense of value to the concept of personal autonomy in terms of its critical and constructive aspects (Benson, 2005). With this, feminists have come to adhere to the concept of personal autonomy although particular aspects of the idea have to be qualified to suit the â€Å"tastes† of different groups. While the acceptance of the notion of personal autonomy may remain debatable for certain groups, there is no doubt that the feminist movement, together with much of the members of modern civilization, considers education as among the greatest endowment for women in soc iety that provides them with a sense of equality with men. Along these lines, this paper will provide a discussion based on personal autonomy being a goal of education. Specifically, this discussion will be centered on a feminist view, emphasizing education in terms of a liberalist context. First, the concept of personal autonomy will be discussed, briefly outlining its history and highlighting the views of different theorists and, in particular, of contemporary liberals on the concept. The paper shall then proceed to discussing the concept of autonomy rooted on feminist views. Finally, the paper shall highlight how personal autonomy may be advanced by education, using a feminist context. 2.0 The Concept of Personal Autonomy â€Å"A person is autonomous to the degree, and it is very much a matter of degree, that what he thinks and does, at least in important areas of his life, are determined by himself.† Dearden, Autonomy and education, 1975, p. 343. The concept of personal a utonomy traces its roots to the ancient Greek philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Both men proposed that the rational part of the soul is its most important part and the ideal for humanity is associated with self-sufficiency and being non-dependent on other people (Backus, 2003). Kant later developed the idea of moral autonomy as having authority over one’s actions and soon thereafter, the idea of autonomy in learning has become a part of a wide range of educational philosophies and has been identified recently in educational policy to be crucial to the development of learning (Honderich, 2005). Autonomy simply resided on morals in its early years, but then views about this began to change in the 21st century. For Dworkin ( 1988 ), the concept of autonomy includes one’s overall point of view towards how one lives one’s life. He points out that each individual, whether the most learned or the most carefree, conforms to his or her own personal view of what makes li fe valuable (Dworkin, 1988). Thus, Dworkin is actually saying that each person reveals how he or she conceives goodness or the good life through his or her behavior. For Raz (1988), the concept of personal autonomy is much more specific as he emphasizes that the individual is responsible for whatever happens to his or her life. As such, an individual with personal autonomy is identified not only by his actual choices in life but by the presence of choices themselves (Raz, 1988). Therefore, an individual can really just be