Abstract (english) | The historical analysis of the content of philosophical and pedagogical literature within this dissertation examines and compares the educational context of ethical values in selected works of representatives of antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. In a broader sense, the dissertation uses historical discourse to analyze ethical values from the point of view of applying their elements and categories to contemporary pedagogical science. The research corpus includes an analysis of the content of ethical works of selected representatives chronologically analyzed through the successive timeline in the context of generic development of ethical values. The dissertation presents that throughout history ethical values are shaped, systematized and determined as desirable forms of educational activity that develop the moral consciousness of the individual. The subject of this scientific research is the phenomenon of values in the interdisciplinary context of their reflection, which then focuses on the analysis of the historical development of ethical values in selected sources of philosophical and pedagogical literature. Ethical values are analyzed from the position of a modern pedagogical science, starting from the assumption that ethical values are also educational values. In this sense, it is emphasized that every ethical value has its educational impact only if the act of its transmission is educated. The foundations of this doctoral dissertation are determined by research focused on analyzing the phenomenon of ethical and educational values, their bearers and proposed systems. From such set subject, the research sample is determined by the available pedagogical literature and selected works chosen according to the principle of the author's value judgment that relates to relevant epochal thinkers and theorists of ethical and educational value systems. The dissertation peruses, categorizes and methodologically frames ethical values disseminated from the ethical theories of epochal relevant representatives.. The dissertation analyzes aspects of ethical values primarily in the context of educational science. In addition to the analysis of selected philosophical works of prominent ethical theorists, the dissertation also analyzes the available contents of the literature of various authors dedicated to the implications of values in educational activities. Within the Theoretical part of the research, as an introduction to the consideration of the phenomenon of value, its terminological and conceptual determinants are presented. In this regard, the principle of grading complexity in understanding the concept of value from a simpler to a more abstract definition was applied. Therefore, it is presented in a gradation from the notion to the system, its hierarchy and lastly value orientations.
In the second chapter of the theoretical part of the paper, an interdisciplinary approach to determining the phenomenon of values is applied. Values as a complex and layered concept are viewed in this regard as a phenomenon whose field of research is widespread within many disciplines of the social sciences and humanities. Various approaches to the phenomenon of values are formulated within representative theoretical positions that have developed within the disciplines of anthropology, philosophy, sociology, psychology, and pedagogy. In this regard, the dissertation seeks to consider the phenomenon of values through a holistic approach in which various systems and theoretical positions in this research are viewed as a whole and not just a set of parts. This seeks to provide the widest and most systematic insight into the phenomenon of values, but also to determine the necessity of its interdisciplinary consideration from the position of modern science. The interdisciplinary approach to theories of values concludes with a pedagogical approach to the phenomenon of values in which the educational role in shaping the values of the individual and society is considered. Values are presented in terms of their indispensable educational role from the position of pedagogical thought. The importance of thinking about their content concerning the educational effect that arises from their experience is emphasized. The important role of education is presented in their mediation, and thus to the educator himself as the basic carrier and transmitter of values. The dissertation, therefore, focuses on the consideration of moral education as a process of transforming values from mere physical, psychological or social drivers into the reflexive and active ability of an individual to judge moral categories. The dissertation problematizes the issue of implementation, responsibility, relativism and competencies for the conduct of moral education, which refers to unconsciousness, ignorance, indifference and passivity in terms of its conduct in the custom of both teachers and students. Within the third chapter of the theoretical part, the dissertation presents a terminological definition of the concept of ethics and morality, and in this regard focuses on the theoretical framework and basis for the development of deontology as an ethical theory. The starting points in understanding the deontological theory and deontology of teachers serve the purpose of establishing the theoretical framework of pedagogical deontology. The Research methodology, in accordance with the interdisciplinary nature of this paper, relies on several areas: philosophy, pedagogy and history. The primary methodological starting point of the dissertation is determined in accordance with the knowledge of modern pedagogy and therefore the methodological approach to this topic derives predominantly from this area. The dominant research methodology is set within a qualitative field with a predominant hermeneutic paradigm and descriptive analysis of the content of primary and secondary sources of philosophical and pedagogical literature. Qualitative analysis of the content of the literature explores and presents ethical and educational values in the context of their representation, educational impact and possible temporal connections in order of their systematization into a separate theoretical system of modern pedagogical deontology. Ethical values are viewed as desirable factors of educational activity that should be reflected in the character and work of the educator as well as the educator. By researching, analyzing and synthesizing and presenting the basic ideas of values and their systematization during historical development, we consider it important to emphasize their educational effects and impact on the development of humanity. In the context of ethical theories, values are presented as human virtues and are analyzed and interpreted in accordance with this understanding. Their further determination in terms of division into formal and material values is taken into account in the presentation of individual ethical values within the theoretical determinants within which they are expressed. Within the Discussion part of the dissertation, five historical periods are analyzed, within which the genesis of ethical and educational values is marked. Starting from the period of ancient Greece, we rely on the beginning of research into the phenomenon of ethical values. We present the anthropological period of Greek philosophy, which marked the transition from the cosmological period through the development and focus on a practical sphere and social issues. By his actions, Socrates redirected the consideration of external phenomena to the subject examining them, so at the centre was the notion of arete (ἀρετή), which in the broadest sense is translated as a virtue. Since Socrates left no literary trace, he is presented through an analysis of eight of Plato's dialogues, which date back to the early period of his work, and in which his distinct intellectual influence is highlighted. As the second representative of Greek thought, nine of Plato's dialogues were analyzed, concluding with the mature period of his work in which his Republic is presented as the culmination. The last representative analyzed in this time period is Aristotle who, as a student of Plato, developed his theory of the ethics of virtue, but provided new determinants of the ethical phenomenon by which he delivered a further developmental step in relation to his predecessors. The Roman period certainly relied heavily on the ideas of ancient Greece with its culture, thinking and teaching regarding the development of ethical values, moral and educational thought. The research analyzes the Stoic thought that dominates the period of ancient Rome and experiences its greatest prosperity within the works of Cicero, Seneca and Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Therefore, within this period, we mainly present the ideas of prominent thinkers of the given school and the mentioned authors. Also for the purpose of presenting a link with the period of ancient Greece, the ideas of the Neoplatonic school, as one of the dominant traditions in the thinking of this time period, are presented through the analysis of Plotinus' work as its founder and main representative. Concerning the medieval period of research of the development of ethical values, two thinkers are presented who, through their work, embodied two fundamental authorities regarding the development of the classical tradition of ethical thought. At first, we rely on Aurelius Augustinus, who, although did not live in the Middle Ages, by his thinking, teaching and influence is classified in the period of scholastic thought of the Middle Ages. In terms of ethical values, st. Augustine lays the foundations of early Christian thought in which their theological explanations are developed and shaped. Another dominant representative and authority in the field of ethical values is certainly Thomas Aquinas. Within his work Summa Theologica a widespread, detailed, systematic and comprehensive overview of ethical values in the form of virtues are provided and its analysis and complete presentation are contained within this dissertation. The research then focuses on the study of Renaissance thought which, unlike medieval scholastic science and theology, is primarily focused on man becoming the centre of its interest. The centre, in this sense, is no longer found in God but man, and accordingly, the ancient ideal of man is being renewed and increasingly explored. Renaissance representatives are characterized by a free way of thinking that is unrelated to any form of dogmatic, religious or other scientific authority, thus indicating a departure from the medieval understanding of the world which they approach rationally and critically. As the basic representatives of this period, we present the Italian thinkers Nicholo Machiavelli and Tomaso Campanella, whose literary sources we use in the analysis of the development of ethical values. The period of the Enlightenment is presented as the last period in which the analysis of the development of ethical and educational values is examined. Within this period, the works of the following ethical and educational scholars were analyzed: Thomas Hobbes, Baruch de Spinoza, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant and finally, as the founder of modern pedagogy, Johann Friedrich Herbart. In addition to other scholars involved in the analysis of the content of literature, Immanuel Kant's deontological theory is extremely important to us because, in addition to presenting that ethical values can be expressed in formal form, it serves as a basis for shaping the theoretical framework of pedagogical deontology. The Interpretive part of the dissertation provides syntheses and links in the development of the phenomenon of ethical values, which are presented in accordance with the time periods in which their analysis was performed. Each period provides implications for the development of the phenomenon of ethical values and from the position of modern pedagogical science presents insights into their educational significance. Interpretation seeks to connect the developmental implications of the phenomenon of ethical values both within individual developmental periods and in their interrelationship. Developmental implications serve the purpose of formulating conclusions that are presented at the very end of this doctoral thesis. Within the Conclusion, the dissertation provides affirmative answers to the set research claims which state: (1) that the development of ethical values is conditioned by education; (2) that historical sources indicate a desirable educational influence of ethical values; (3) that there is a historical continuity of idea holders and theorists of ethical value systems; (4) that certain categories of ethical values are represented in all historical periods covered by the analysis of selected literature. The dissertation also gives an affirmative answer to the claims: (5) that there is a connection between the desirable values of pedagogical action in different ethical theories observed through historical development; (6) that ethical values are represented within the deontological ethical theory and (7) that on the basis of the analysis of the development of ethical values it is possible to establish pedagogical deontology as a theoretical concept of moral education. The proposal of the theoretical framework of the pedagogical deontological theory is based on ethical values through which the principles of moral teaching are structured and content-wise and formally determined. In this sense, we present ethical values as an urgent need for successful performing of the pedagogical vocation as a specific area of human activity through which values are mediated, developed and sustained. We consider the development of ethical values of an individual to be the key to the development of the values of the entire society and in this regard the educational process as a process of mediation and developmental shaping of values as indispensable. Within the concluding chapters, a list of literature, pictures and tables is presented as well as the biography of the author of this dissertation. |