The present thesis was undertaken with the purpose of elucidating the confusion surrounding Unamuno's thought. The existence of many contradictory interpretations of Unamuno's ideas, added to his claim that "contradictions" are the core of reality and cannot be avoided, is at the core of the hypothesis that the source of the confusion rests in Unamuno's use of the "contradiction" as a method of inquiry. This study investigated the novel Love and Pedagogy from the methodological standpoint. The first part, descriptive in nature, studies the meaning and use of the "contradiction"; the second part, speculative in nature, deals with the implications of the "contradiction" for education at the ontological, epistemological and axiological levels. It was found that the "contradiction" is a paradigm formed by opposing contradictories and similar to logical and dialectical contradictions. Concisely, the "contradiction" is a real opposition felt by the individual. Two main types of contradictions were distinguished; internal, referring to oppositions within the individual, and external, meaning oppositions between individuals and extremes of different nature imposed by circumstances. "Contradictions" can evolve and be transformed into others, depending upon the circumstances, but the radical opposition between the extremes remains. The education of Apolodoro in Love and Pedagogy reflects these fundamental contradictions. The basic thesis is that an element of difference is essential to education, and that such difference includes or excludes other concepts of education. It was concluded that the "contradiction" creates an ontological state of dependency between two modes of being. There is a radical dichotomy within the individual. Knowledge is viewed as a systematically pluralized process characterized by its preference and affinity for the concrete and its apprehension of the dual nature of reality. The axiology of Love and Pedagogy postulates, as a supreme value, the concrete and personal self. The use of "contradictions" allows for the reversal of values. The final conclusion was that Unamuno's "contradiction" has a heuristic value for philosophy and education.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/10837 |
| Date | January 1978 |
| Creators | Novell, José. |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 258 p. |
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