Shadow of great britain

The Germans have poor imagination and can only use systems to bind their thoughts, and Hegel is a typical representative of this kind of systematic thinking.

——Friedrich Nietzsche, "Twilight of the Idols"

In the huge auditorium, the solid air lasted for more than ten seconds.

Before everyone realized that something seemed amiss, Professor Herbart was the first to break the strange silence.

"Sir, are you not feeling well? I see why there is sweat all over your forehead?"

Arthur pretended to be relaxed and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the sweat on his forehead: "Nothing, I was just wondering what kind of problem would trouble Gauss. Maybe this is a world problem?"

"That's not clear." Herbart seemed to have suddenly thought of something, and said rather awkwardly: "Gauss is usually not willing to discuss issues of natural philosophy with me."

When Arthur heard that Herbart had the ability to make Gauss unwilling to pay attention to him, he immediately pursued him and asked humbly: "Why? Is Gauss a very arrogant person?"

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant."

Herbart explained: "I think it may be because I praised Hegel's philosophy in front of him before. After that, Gauss no longer discussed natural philosophy in front of me. He praised Hegel's philosophy. There are some prejudices, and they are very deep.”

The professor on the side couldn't help but guess when he heard this topic.

"I think this is probably due to the problem of calculating the orbit of Ceres, right? Thirty years have passed since then, and Gauss still hasn't forgotten it?"

Arthur heard this and asked curiously: "I know that Mr. Gauss determined the orbit of Ceres through mathematical calculations, but what does this have to do with Hegel?"

Hearing Arthur's question, even though Professor Herbart liked Hegel's philosophy, he still couldn't help but complain.

"It's all thanks to Hegel's big mouth. At that time, astronomers all over Europe were debating whether Ceres was a planet or a comet. And mathematicians picked up their pens one after another, trying to pass three days of astronomy. The orbit of Ceres was calculated from the observational data.

While the whole of Europe was debating endlessly, Hegel boldly asserted that as long as people pay a little attention to philosophy, they will find that according to his theory of dialectical logic, there will only be seven stars in the sky, no more and no less. planet. Therefore, Ceres must be a comet and not a planet.

But not long after Hegel said this, Gauss calculated the orbit of Ceres through mathematical calculations and determined that it was a planet. Astronomers also observed Ceres on December 31 of that year based on the time and area calculated by Gauss, and proved that Gauss's calculation results were completely correct. "

Having said this, Herbart couldn't help but hold his forehead and said: "Because of this incident, Gauss has always been very prejudiced against people like Hegel. And in a series of speeches by Hegel later, Gauss's prejudice was still It is constantly deepening. For example, Hegel denied the Kant-Laplace Nebula hypothesis, openly proposed the theory of 'philosophical chemistry', opposed the use-it-or-lose-it theory of the Lamarck school, and so on.

Of course, what annoyed Gauss the most was Hegel's rants about Newton's gravity system and his insistence that the earth's geological state was constant. These two fields are the areas in which Gauss spent a lot of energy on research. He euphemistically expressed to me more than once that "Hegel is just a clown." He also advised me to read less of Hegel's works to avoid He was taken to the ditch. "

When other professors heard what Professor Herbart said, they also agreed.

"Gauss has said similar things to me before."

"When I was chatting with him a while ago, Gauss also said to me worriedly: I see the same thing in contemporary philosophers Schelling, Hegel, Ness von Essenbeck and their followers. , that is, such a group of people are incompetent in natural philosophy and mathematics. Don’t the definitions they set make your hair stand on end?”

Some people criticize Hegel, while others naturally support Hegel.

Some professors couldn't sit still when they heard their colleagues criticizing Hegel's theory. They stood up and looked at the back row.

"Although I respect Gauss very much, I don't think what he said is entirely right. In recent years, the development of natural philosophy has gradually moved away from the traditional model of connecting literary and historical research, and has turned to a different path to form its own school. This This incomplete development is absolutely harmful to the study of natural philosophy.”

"You are right. The vision and knowledge of many natural philosophers today are too narrow. This is in sharp contrast to the great natural philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries."

These words immediately ignited the anger of the professors of natural philosophy. They stood up and pointed at the professors of philosophy, law and literature in the front row and cursed.

"In my opinion, it's not that natural philosophy has become narrow, but that most philosophers have gone crazy!"

"I haven't heard of any philosopher in the 17th or 18th century who didn't understand mathematics. However, guys like Hegel can now be called masters of philosophy. This is enough to show the regression of German philosophy in the 19th century!"

"Hegel's remarks prove more and more how right we are to eliminate all philosophical influences in our research on natural philosophy! Hegel alone proved that philosophy is not only useless, but also a harmful dream!"

"The difference between philosophy and natural philosophy can be seen from the Ceres incident. Hegel only needed to bring out his bullshit logic and dialectics to prove that it was a comet. Gauss's proof required several days and nights, dozens of pages of calculation paper, and careful verification before he could announce that Ceres could be observed on the night of December 31 of that year."

Originally, it was a discussion about Gauss and Hegel, but in an instant it rose to a debate about which is better, natural philosophy or philosophy.

However, from these simple sentences, we can indeed see the general dissatisfaction of natural philosophy researchers with philosophy researchers.

From a social perspective, the status of philosophers has always been nobler than that of natural philosophers.

And from the perspective of treatment, the salary of natural philosophers is indeed lower than that of philosophers.

That's not all. Germany still has philosophers like Hegel who like to criticize natural philosophy.

If Arthur were in the position of those natural philosophy researchers, he would have flipped the table long ago.

Moreover, even emotionally, Arthur is more inclined to stand on the side of natural philosophy, after all, Hegel is really annoying.

Because this guy has too many outrageous remarks, such as:

Water is not composed of oxygen and hydrogen. It is true that electric sparks can make these two become water. But this does not mean that water is composed of these two.

Sunlight is indeed hot, but this heat does not belong to the sunlight itself, but the light becomes hot when it hits the earth. Because when climbing a mountain, the higher you go, the colder it is.

If Hegel was an ancient Greek philosopher living before Christ, Arthur would be willing to rank him as important as Aristotle and Socrates.

But he lived in the 19th century, so Arthur can only identify him as a Prussian know-it-all.

This famous Prussian know-it-all obviously knows nothing about natural philosophy, but he tried to make all academic fields obey his Hegel system, and was rightly despised by all natural philosophy fields.

When he was at the Royal Society, Arthur often heard scientists joking about Hegel: Either you can agree with Hegel's philosophical system. Or you can be a researcher of natural philosophy. However, you can't have both.

From a certain perspective, this is what Hegel deserves.

After all, there are many philosophers in the world, but he is the only one that scientists hate so much.

Arthur saw the professors arguing so much that they were red in the face, and hurriedly stopped them, saying: "Gentlemen, I think the debate about Hegel should not rise to the level of philosophy. For example, if I mention Mr. Kant, there should be no disrespect among the gentlemen present, right?"

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, an old professor with gray hair stood up and expressed his position: "Of course, Mr. Kant is highly respected in any university in Germany. Moreover, I think that continuing to argue on these trivial issues is really not conducive to the progress of philosophy and natural philosophy."

The old professor seemed to have considerable prestige in the school. As soon as he spoke, the auditorium returned to silence.

The two middle-aged gentlemen sitting not far from him also stood up to express their support for the old professor and the new dean, and they also made a humorous joke.

"We also think that this kind of argument is meaningless. After all, everyone is here for a teaching meeting today. If you want to duel, you might as well go find that kid Bismarck, or fight with Dean Hastings. But I advise you that you are no longer young, and it is difficult to win with young people, so just use your mouth."

Arthur saw that someone in the crowd supported him, and asked: "I have not been in school for a long time, and many people do not know me yet. Can I take this opportunity to ask the names of several gentlemen?"

The old professor smiled and said: "Friedrich Stromayer, professor of chemistry. Mr. Faraday and his mentor Sir Humphry Davy are old acquaintances. Before you arrived in Göttingen, Mr. Faraday introduced you to me in a letter. It's nice to meet you, Professor Hastings."

The two middle-aged gentlemen next to him also spoke up.

"We are brothers and librarians in the school. Jacob Grimm, nice to meet you."

"William Grimm salutes you, Mr. Proctor."

Arthur was stunned when he heard these three names, but then he reacted immediately.

He took off his hat and saluted Strohmayer: "Mr. Faraday asked me to say hello to you."

Then Arthur turned his eyes to the Grimm brothers and asked softly: "Grimm's Fairy Tales?"

The Grimm brothers looked at each other and laughed: "I didn't expect you to have read Grimm's Fairy Tales, but think about it, you should still be a child when we published that fairy tale collection."

Hearing the Grimm brothers personally admit their identities, Arthur couldn't help but have the idea of ​​dragging Andersen to Göttingen for further studies.

If he works harder, with Arthur's current connections, maybe from now on, the publication of "The Englishman" can cover all the books a person will read from birth to death.

When I was a child, I read "Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales" and "Grimm's Fairy Tales".

In adolescence, I read Elder and a series of masterpieces based on Elder, such as "Robinson Crusoe", "St. George's Flag Still Flying", and "The Monkey Story".

When they grow up, they can read fashionable novels written by Dumas, Dickens and others.

When they reach college, there are various academic monographs waiting for them.

This business is really promising!

When Arthur thought of this, he even forgot about meeting Gauss, and his face was full of smiles.

His good mood also made him quickly remember the speech he had prepared long ago.

He knew that from professors to students at the University of Göttingen, they actually supported liberal reforms in their hearts, but because of the constraints of their teaching positions, the professors did not dare to say many things openly.

The task assigned to him by His Majesty the King and the Government of the Kingdom of Hanover was also very simple. Sir Arthur Hastings was the Kingdom's constitutional reform consultant.

The new constitution of the Kingdom is a liberal constitution close to the British system, but freedom is freedom, but it cannot be too free.

Otherwise, the King would not have appointed Sir Arthur Hastings, the executioner in the mouth of London citizens, from Scotland Yard to serve as a police reform consultant.

Arthur cleared his throat and said with a smile: "Although the debate about philosophy and natural philosophy is not a pleasant topic. But in general, I support both the views of philosophers and natural philosophers on the reform of school affairs."

Arthur's speech immediately made the professors frown. They all thought that the new dean was playing the role of peacemaker.

But the next second, Arthur's words changed their views.

"In general, in terms of education, I am a supporter of Wilhelm von Humboldt. Perhaps many people present know that I graduated from the University of London, which was established not long ago, but our educational philosophy is different from that of two traditional church universities in England.

In terms of enrollment, the University of London does not look at religious beliefs, bloodline, class, nationality or race. As long as you are interested in studying at the University of London, we will accept you. In this regard, we refer to the reform measures taken by Humboldt when he was the director of the Cultural and Educational Department of the Prussian Ministry of the Interior.

At that time, Humboldt strongly opposed hierarchical schools and advocated the abolition of all knight academies and warrior academies that only children of nobles could enter. He hoped that everyone could receive education and everyone could receive the same general education.

Based on this idea, he tried to establish a unified school system from primary education to secondary education to university education. However, during the reform process, Humboldt also realized that vocational education had huge room for development in society. Therefore, Humboldt finally established a system with vocational education and general education as the main body. Education system.

You are all Germans, so you should know it better than me. Since 1797, Prussia has stipulated universal compulsory education. Among them, primary schools in cities are more formal, with a four-year school system and teachers who have received formal education. Rural primary schools generally only have grades 1-2.

Among them, the expenses of primary education are borne by all residents of cities or towns. Secondary education is divided into vocational high schools and advanced liberal arts high schools. The former is a five-year vocational school that children enter after completing four years of primary school. There is no Greek teaching in the curriculum, but the training of mathematics, natural sciences and other foreign languages ​​is strengthened.

The latter is a nine-year school that children enter after completing primary school, and they can go directly to university after graduation. This kind of school has received great attention from Humboldt. He asked to abolish the old, lifeless teaching methods that focus on imitation and rote memorization, promote students' independent research spirit, and stimulate students' interest in learning..."

Arthur paused when he said this, and he found that the professors in the audience seemed to look at him differently.

From the initial doubts, to the sudden surprise, to the gradual acceptance, and listening to his speech carefully.

It can be seen that putting in the effort to research can indeed win the respect of professionals.

Arthur continued: "Although in the short term, this education system in Prussia has not yet achieved enough eye-catching results. Thirty years have passed, but Prussia cannot be compared with Britain and France in terms of industry and economy.

But we must also note that if we compare vertically, we can find that compared with thirty years ago, most of the officials and politicians in Prussia have received a higher level of education, and their scholars have made even more astonishing progress in the academic field. This also shows from the side that Humboldt's education reform is correct.

Humboldt's education reform at the university level mainly focused on "academic freedom" and "combining education with research". Compared with secondary education, which trains professional workers and junior clerks, the goal of university training is not to create A screw in the big machine of society. It is not to train people who are committed to a certain profession, but to train a real "person".

In this regard, the University of Göttingen has always done a good job, and it was the benchmark of German universities in Humboldt's eyes at that time. In the more than a week since I came to Germany, I have fully witnessed the diversity of Göttingen students. Among them are the Austrian Prime Minister who proposed to strengthen control over universities at the Confederation Congress, the younger students who opposed the decision of the seniors in the beer hall, and the centrist representatives who are indifferent to all this and only like to walk their dogs..."

When the professors heard this, they couldn't help laughing: "We do pay attention to cultivating students to become complete people, but what kind of people they will become is not something we can control. "

Arthur also smiled and nodded: "It is absolutely necessary to maintain species diversity on campus, because this shows that the ecological environment of the University of Göttingen is very good."

Jacob Green quipped: "How about compared to the University of London?"

Arthur pondered for a moment, and replied thoughtfully: "Although I don't want to say this about my alma mater, the ecological environment of the University of London may be a little too good, so much so that bananas are growing on the ground."

William Green asked with a smile: "So, do you plan to make us the same as the University of London?"

"That's not true. I don't want Göttingen to become a place full of monkeys."

Arthur joked: "But, I think: the truth will definitely be discovered, and the task of teaching is to equip students with the ability to discover the truth and encourage them to complete this mission. Therefore, to a certain extent, as an educator Or, we just need to point out the direction for them and should not impose too many restrictions on students. What I want to emphasize today is Humboldt's statement on 'academic freedom'.

‘Academic freedom’ includes: university autonomy, teaching freedom and learning freedom. University autonomy means that the state should let the leaders of the universities manage it. It cannot act like a master and interfere in the university just because it provides money and material supplies. This will go against the law of the university's own development.

Teaching freedom means that university leaders should let professors teach and research, allowing scholars to work freely in universities without being affected by any political or religious affiliations or bound by syllabus. Administrative regulations should not appear in the hands of university teachers. Teaching.

Freedom of learning means that professors should let students freely choose the content and methods they want to learn in school. For the knowledge taught by professors, they should not be studying, but training. They are no longer children, but mature and independent people, free in mind and body. "

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, there was a burst of cheers from the professors.

They had indeed imagined that the new superintendent would be an enlightened person, but Arthur's degree of enlightenment was still far beyond their best expectations.

When Professor Herbart heard this, his face turned pale with shock. He quickly stood up to stop him and said, "But isn't what you are doing contrary to the amendment to the Carlsbad Resolution? This is what they are opposed to."

Arthur just smiled and shook his head when he heard this: "Professor, do you remember what the amendment said?"

Professor Herbart answered sternly: "The duties and obligations of the special representative of the state are to supervise university students and professors, remove teachers with inappropriate radical ideas from their posts, strictly supervise university student associations, and ban all suspicious university club activities."

"That's right."

Arthur said: "Based on my close supervision for a week, I think all professors at the University of Göttingen are fulfilling their duties and do not have any inappropriate radical ideas. Moreover, the students' activities and demands are also within reasonable limits. , Therefore, I, Arthur Hastings, the National Special Representative and University Provost of the University of Göttingen, announce that from now on, I will restart the activities of the Student Union of the University of Göttingen and convene the student cadres of the University Student Union before next weekend. election campaign.”