Ideas and Ideals

The article studies topical problems of teaching philosophy at musical colleges. The author proves that the main goal for students of creative specialties to study philosophy is in offering a set of basic visions motivating to choose consciously the purpose of existence. The article consistently expands on issues of cognitive theory, ontology, sociology, axiology, aesthetics, and ethics, essential for the formation of a student’s personal and professional status. In modern conception of Russian higher education, the searches of new role and meaning of philosophy are far from being finished. The process of decreasing the subject’s teaching hours in college programmes is accompanied with students’ significant loss of interest in philosophical problematics. This drastically decreases both the learners’ general thinking culture and their inability to confront challenges of life concerning their personal identity and behaviour. The possibility to group the essential topics of European culture philosophical experience around the current aspects of a professional musician’s formation is one of the ways to increase the efficiency of teaching philosophy at a musical college.

In the interview some problems are discussed regarding the present situation in the system of higher education. The recent trends are considered as well as the values which are implemented in the framework of educational programs. The comparative evaluation of students in the Anglo-Saxon and Russian universities is presented, and the higher independence and self-sufficiency of English students is stated. It is also observed what is happening with the system of education in the process of transition from public funding to private one, and how this is affecting the students’ approaches to education. Particularly the role of business in education is discussed, how the interaction has to be organized, and what is the relationship between the acquired specialty and the future career of the graduate. The pros and cons of distance learning are observes, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of broad and narrow education.