本文旨在分析Habermas與Lyotard思想間的異同,藉以釐清現代性與後現代的爭論焦點,進而提出在教育上的意義。研究結果發現,Habermas係高揚批判理論的精神,冀期在「理想的溝通情境」中,透過「未受扭曲的溝通行動」來尋求各種分裂論述間的「共識」,以重建整體性的「生活世界」,確保民主社會的理性成果,繼續推動啟蒙現代性的進步計劃。而現代性要求心靈解放的教育觀也唯有在此種理性民主的社會情境中才得以保證。但相反的,Lyotard卻認為要求「共識」的宏觀敘述將會形成可怕的威權主義,而主張以小巧的敘述來保留住各自特色,突出彼此的差異性。而在後現代社會中,此種「局部決定」的「小巧敘述」正可以協助解決知識論述的合法性問題,是以必須保留各種論述發言的合法空間,賦予同等的發言機會,在「尊重」的原則上互相競爭、多元創造。在此種多元歧異的後現代情境中,教育上亦要求更多樣化、「離中心化」與「鬆綁」。教育亦不再為狹義的學校教育,而是成為生活中的一個層面。而另一方面,由於電腦、資訊與科技的發達,知識進入網路市場成為販售的對象,電腦知識遂成為後現代社會中必備的基本能力,能順利透過電腦取得資源並應用的知識將事後現代社會中的強大競爭者。後現代社會的到來已是不可抑制的狂潮,其並將對教育產生極大影響。若肯認教育的基本涵義為「啟蒙」,則遵循啟蒙運動以來追求理性發揚、心靈解放的人文主義路線應是必要的;但卻也必須注意到去尊重不同個人、群體、民族、文化間的差異性,避免威權主義的形成;如此則亦必要優求捍衛理性民主的社會,使各種論述可以得到合法發言的保障。是以「教育之目的為民主心靈的涵養」為後現代主義者與後現代主義者共同接受,應為毋庸議。
The paper is to clarify the argument between “modern” and “postmodern” through differentiating the differences and similarities of the thoughts between Jugan Habermas, one of the critical theory academies in contemporary German, and Lyotard, one of the postmodernism scholars in contemporary France. Moreover, its implications on educational activities. The methods used in this paper are theoretical analysis, historical hermeneutics and comparative method. After the analysis, on the related literature, the author points out that the main purposes of Habermas are to modify and implement the project of Enlightenment by provoking the spirit of critical theory. In order to reconstruct the wholeness of “life-world”, protect the rational fruits of democratic society and continue to promote the progressive project of the modernity of Enlightenment thought Habermas appreciates the “quasitranscendental” rationality of human language. However, the requirement of the mind-free education of modernity can only be achieved and assured under a rationally democratic society. Lyotard supposes that the requirement of consensus from the grand narrative approach to maintain individual features and emphasis the differences between each other. He also intends to utilize the local determination and petite narrative approaches to deal with the ligitimation of discourse on knowledge of postmodernism and show the phenomena of diversity and continuous creativity. In such a situation of postmodernism, the requirements on education are diversity, decentralization, deregulation and one of the dimensions of everyday life. Finally, the author points out that education still has its modern character in the one hand, and protects the right of voicing of race, culture and class etc., on the bass of mutual respect on the other when facing the chaos of postmodern era.