The Enlightenment and the Modern University

The modern research university, with its combination of teaching and research, its seminar method of instruction, its laboratory as a research environment, and its various other distinctive features, is a direct descendant of the German university tradition that was developed in the eighteenth century. The Enlightenment was the period in which the modern research university first took shape, and the basic principles of the modern university were established in the various German universities of the period. This article examines the Enlightenment origins of the modern research university, including the German model, the research ideal, and the contemporary university.

The German University Tradition

The German university tradition was developed in the eighteenth century, and it became the model for the modern research university. The tradition was based on several distinctive features that were developed in the German universities and that have become the basic features of the modern university.

The first feature was the combination of teaching and research. The German universities, unlike the English and French universities of the period, were not primarily teaching institutions; they were research institutions, in which the professors were expected to advance the frontiers of knowledge in their various fields. The research ideal was supported by the various state governments, which provided the funding and the institutional support that were necessary for the proper development of the research enterprise.

The second feature was the seminar method of instruction. The German universities developed a new method of instruction, the seminar, in which the students and the professor engaged in the close study of primary sources and the discussion of the various questions that arose from the study. The seminar was an important innovation in higher education, and it has been an important feature of the modern research university ever since.

The third feature was the laboratory as a research environment. The German universities developed the modern research laboratory, in which the students and the professors could engage in the systematic investigation of natural phenomena. The laboratory was particularly important in the natural sciences, and it has been an important feature of the modern research university.

The fourth feature was the doctorate as a research degree. The German universities developed the modern doctorate, in which the candidate was required to make an original contribution to knowledge in the form of a dissertation. The doctorate as a research degree has become a basic feature of the modern research university.

The Major German Universities

The major German universities that developed the modern research university tradition include the University of Halle, the University of Göttingen, the University of Berlin (now the Humboldt University), and the University of Heidelberg.

The University of Halle, founded in 1694, was the first major German university to adopt the new philosophy. Under the leadership of Christian Thomasius and Christian Wolff, the university developed a curriculum that was based on the principles of the new philosophy, and it became a model for the other German universities.

The University of Göttingen, founded in 1734 by the Elector of Hanover (who was also King George II of Britain), became the leading German university in the second half of the eighteenth century. Under the leadership of Johann Christoph Gatterer, August Ludwig von Schlözer, Christian Gottlob Heyne, and the various other scholars who taught there, Göttingen became a center of the new natural sciences, modern history, and the new philosophy.

The University of Berlin, founded in 1810 by Wilhelm von Humboldt, became the model for the modern research university. The university was based on the principle of the unity of teaching and research, and it was organized around the seminar method of instruction and the laboratory as a research environment. The university attracted some of the leading scholars of the nineteenth century, including the philosopher Immanuel Kant and the various other members of the German philosophical tradition.

The University of Heidelberg, one of the oldest universities in Germany, was also an important center of the new research university tradition. The university was particularly important in the development of the modern natural sciences and the modern social sciences.

The American Adoption of the German Model

The American research university, which developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was directly influenced by the German model. The American scholars who had studied in Germany in the nineteenth century — including Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and the various other American intellectuals who had visited Europe — had been impressed by the German university tradition, and they had brought the German model back to America.

The first American research university was the Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876. The university was explicitly modeled on the German university tradition, and it was the first American university to establish a graduate school and to require the doctorate for the appointment to a professorship. The success of Johns Hopkins inspired the establishment of other American research universities, including the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and Harvard University (which was reorganized along the lines of the research university in the late nineteenth century).

The American research university has, in turn, become a model for universities throughout the world. The contemporary research universities in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America draw on the central arguments of the American research university, which is itself a descendant of the German university tradition.

The Research Ideal

The research ideal is the most distinctive feature of the modern research university. The research ideal is the commitment to the systematic investigation of the various fields of knowledge, and the production of new knowledge that advances the frontiers of the various disciplines.

The research ideal is grounded in the Enlightenment commitment to the use of reason as the proper guide in the investigation of the natural and the social world. The research ideal is also grounded in the Enlightenment commitment to the practical application of the new knowledge to the improvement of the human condition.

The research ideal has had a profound influence on the development of modern knowledge. The systematic investigation of the various fields has produced a body of knowledge that is far more extensive and far more reliable than the knowledge of any previous period, and the practical application of this knowledge has produced the technological and the medical advances that have transformed the conditions of human life.

The Critiques of the Research University

The research university has been the subject of intense criticism, especially in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

The first major critique is the critique of the narrow specialization of the modern research university. The critics argue that the research ideal has produced a kind of intellectual fragmentation, in which the various disciplines have become isolated from each other and from the broader concerns of human life. The proper response to this critique, on most contemporary accounts, is the development of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary programs that can bridge the various disciplines.

The second major critique is the critique of the commercialization of the modern research university. The critics argue that the research university has become too closely tied to the interests of the corporate world, and that the proper commitment to the disinterested pursuit of knowledge has been compromised. The proper response to this critique, on most contemporary accounts, is the development of safeguards that can protect the independence of the research enterprise from the influence of the corporate world.

The third major critique is the critique of the inaccessibility of the modern research university. The critics argue that the research university has become too narrowly focused on the preparation of the elite, and that it has neglected its responsibility to provide for the proper education of the broader population. The proper response to this critique, on most contemporary accounts, is the development of the various programs that can extend the benefits of higher education to the broader population.

The Continuing Significance

The modern research university is one of the most important and most successful institutions of the modern world. The research university has produced a body of knowledge that has transformed the conditions of human life, and the various other functions that the modern research university performs — the education of the next generation, the development of the various professional schools, the engagement with the various communities that the university serves — have all been important features of the modern world.