Dear Terry and Ken
I wondered if there is something worth looking at in F A Hayek here, in his notion of the gentleman scholar, or man of indepednent means, with ownership of property and hence indepedence, and not under coercive duress: here there is room for originality and ideas that dare to contradict paymasters, and convention. It's also interesting from a design point of view because like Simon, Hayek likes to point out how interesting and beneficial social structures (like the free market economy) arise not by planned design, but rather by a kind of accident, and it is hindsight that allows us to perceive its unintended benefits as new goals in a next design iteration. So the question is how to design society so that indepedent and original ideas can emerge? The tenure system is meant to produce this somewhat, although better than tenure is some kind of financial independence, which perhaps the free market can afford - you are not held duress to one paymaster, but through the free market, you have so many unknown paymasters, and if you do not need to please anyone in particular, and so your thinking is not constrained. So how do we design a society that can emerge new ideas, and new original research without fear? David HArvey recently suggested ways of designing a society that can contest capitalism, which is the dominant and harmful (to many) convention: but he prescribes the removal of teh institution of private property. So there's a contradiction, Hayek might say.
Will come back to this again, in a hurry -
Jude
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Dear Terry,
If you’d like to take up the topic of universities as a locus of research in October, I’ll be happy to consider it. I’m also happy to reflect on the differences between university research and industry research, and the advantages and benefits of each system – as well as their limits.
In October, I will request greater care in your management of what seem to be quotes. You have been placing your own reading of my thoughts in quote marks as though you are quoting my words. This is inappropriate.
In your latest note, you suggested that I describe universities as [ ‘better’ ] at research – the quotation marks and the word better are yours, not mine. You also write about an assumption that [ ‘universities are obviously best at research’ ]. Again, the words are yours, not mine. I did not write this, and these words should not be placed in quotation marks in a way that suggests that I did.
In my view, at least, Emmanuel Kant (1992 [1798]) still has a great deal to say about the very issues that concern you. John Newman (1996 [1852]) and Clark Kerr (2001 [1963]) still have a great deal to say about what universities ought to be and do, and writers like David Damrosch (1995) have examined how universities sometimes fail to be and do what they might. The university is a human institution that does not always achieve its goals. This does not render the goals inappropriate.
While waiting for the October conversation, anyone who wishes to read my view on universities and the role of design education within the university (Friedman 2003) will find a free digital reprint here:
http://www.academia.edu/311100/Design_Curriculum_Challenges_for_Todays_University
Are there problems with universities today? Absolutely. In my view, though, understanding those problems and doing something about them requires a broad enough view and a deep enough understanding to analyze the problems while seeking a way forward.
National Institute of Education (Singapore) http://www.nie.edu.sg
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