享乐、幸福与代议制:詹姆斯·密尔大众教育思想及意义探究

Hedonism, Happiness and Representative:The Research of James Mill's Mass Educational Thought and its Significance

詹姆斯·密尔是19世纪上半叶英国大众教育的重要代表人物。他在联想主义和享乐主义的基础上建立教育理论。他认为教育的最终目的是实现最大多数人的最大幸福。尽管人性自利,个人幸福和他人幸福常处于冲突的状态,但密尔相信教育可以使利他主义成为可能,因为教育可以培养人良好的品质和感情。由于教育受到社会的深刻影响,要实现教育的最终目的必须进行政治改革,密尔提出建立代议制政府。代议制政府的前提是大众要接受教育,以保障个人幸福。在布鲁厄姆等功效主义者的推动下,密尔的大众教育哲学成为国家发展大众教育的指导思想,枢密院教育委员的成立是密尔哲学胜利的标志。自此,政府对教育的影响逐渐增强,英国开始逐步建立现代国民教育体系。

James Mill was an important figure in British mass education in the first half of the 19th century.His theory of education was built on the basis of associationism and hedonism.He believed that the ultimate aim of education was to achieve the greatest happiness of the greatest number.Based on the nature of human--self-interest,the happiness of individual and the happiness of others are often in conflict,but Mill believed that education could make altruism possible because it could cultivate good qualities and feelings in people.Since education is profoundly influenced by society,political reform is necessary to achieve the ultimate aim of education,and Mill proposed the establishment of a representative government.The premise of representative government is that the masses should be educated in order to guarantee personal happiness.With the impetus of the Utilitarianism such as Brougham,Mill's philosophy of mass education became the guiding philosophy for the development of mass education in the country,and the establishment of the Committee of the Privy Council on Education was a sign of the triumph of Mill's philosophy.Since then,the government's influence on education gradually increased,and Britain began to gradually establish a modern national education system.