Reinventing academic humility and cleaning up the academic environment in universities

Humility is a virtue, and it seems to be especially important for scholars. In both Chinese and Western academic traditions, humility has traditionally been regarded as a virtue of scholarship.

Socrates famously said, "The only thing I know is my own agency. Confucius also said, "Learn and then know that you are not enough". Galileo also said: "When I have counted the many marvelous creations of all human inventions in art and literature, and then look back at my knowledge, I feel that I am simply shallow". Einstein also said, "A big circle represents what I have learned, but beyond it are so many gaps that it means ignorance to me". Such modest self-positioning abounds in the history of science.

Researchers in the history of science has also found this common phenomenon. The American historian of science Sutton said, "Those who are well versed in science do not like to talk too much and too loudly, and the greatest scientists have generally always remained modest. British historian of science Beveridge also concluded: "Most scientists, for the most part, abhor the highest adjectives and hyperbole, and great men are generally modest and cautious." The sociologist of science Merton also believes that "self-aggrandizement" is against the norms of science, and that modesty is a fundamental part of the role of the scientist.

We can thus argue that the modesty of scientists is not only a quality of individual scholars but also an integral part of academic culture and a code of behavior of scientists or groups of scholars.

We can also borrow from Merton and elevate humility to the spirituality of scientists or scholars.

Humility as a kind of spiritual temperament of scientists can be roughly broken down into three levels.

First, respect for the research results of predecessors and peers, which does not only refer to the technical level of respect, such as not plagiarizing but also a moral level of respect and recognition, a sense of reverence for the academic community.

Second, a rigorous attitude toward knowledge, that is, what we often say is a realistic and honest attitude toward learning, not exaggerating, not false beauty.

Third, the knowledge of one's shortcomings and limitations, which is also known as self-knowledge or "learning and then knowing the shortcomings".

This spiritual temperament, which is composed of these three elements, can be called academic humility. This spiritual temperament of academic humility makes scientists and scholars "not like to talk too much and too loudly", not like "exaggerated techniques" or "self-aggrandizement", and can maintain a They can maintain a modest attitude toward learning. This ethos has also shaped the academic tradition of science and scholarship.

Merton on humility as quality of scientists.

But there was a time when the academic culture of humility began to change.

The virtue of "humility" seems to have been forgotten under the influence of the main theme of "creating the best" and "getting bigger and stronger". Even now, with all the talk about academic standards and academic ethics, humility is still an issue that is rarely mentioned. On the contrary, the phenomenon of academic "modesty", such as exaggeration, boasting, and arrogance, is on the rise.

Specifically, there are two major manifestations of academic modesty.

First, self-packaging.

In universities, applying for projects, applying for funds, declaring awards, declaring titles, preparing evaluation materials, and preparing promotion materials are all matters that teachers cannot get around, and it can be said that they have to face the work every day.

All these matters are very competitive, and if the declarant only tells the facts but lacks the ability of "beautiful words" or "beautiful face", he or she may lose the opportunity. This is why self-packaging has become the last resort for teachers.

Second, self-promotion.

The traditional wisdom of "wine is not afraid of the alley" has become somewhat outdated, and more people believe that wine is also afraid of the alley, so we must learn to self-promote. Self-display, self-promotion, self-publicity has gradually become reasonable behavior.

Not only teachers, but students are also the same, know how to show themselves, to leave a deep impression.

I once heard a saying that when writing promotion materials, if there is a "1", you must write 1.2 or 1.5, which is a reasonable range. Writing "2" is too much, but only writing "1", obviously will suffer a loss. I guess this "advice" must also apply to all kinds of other applications, evaluations, and reporting materials.

In short, in this atmosphere, you don't exaggerate, you lose. Not surprisingly, self-packaging and self-promotion have come into vogue.

Both self-packaging and self-promotion are considered to be within the realm of reason since they do not violate the academic ethics and code provisions listed in the charter code, so they are not taken lightly.

Many people will naturally add "pioneering," "leading in the country," "international impact," "filling gaps," and other "beautiful words" in the declaration materials. " and other "beautiful words", but also know how to say the achievements of some full, to the extreme.

"Using the material to the fullest", "telling your story", and "leaving a good impact" not only have legitimacy but also becomes a positive academic ability.

This practice of self-packaging and self-promotion, of course, does not fall from the sky, not because the hearts of the people are not ancient, but because it is closely related to our academic management system.

It should be noted that it is the new managerialism, the cult of assessment, and the various excellence movements that have quietly evolved self-packaging and self-promotion as legitimate behavior and that have unwittingly led university faculty and students away from the tradition of humility. It should be noted that this exaggerated self-presentation has become a survival strategy for members of the university organization.

What's more, some people are not satisfied with self-packaging and self-promotion and have crossed the line to engage in self-false packaging and self-false promotion.

We certainly abhor academic misconduct and have developed a series of measures to address it. But while we are dealing with academic misconduct, we should also see that seemingly reasonable academic self-packaging and self-promotion have laid the foundation for academic misconduct, and academic misconduct is largely an extension of self-packaging and self-promotion.

Therefore, reshaping academic modesty, the spiritual temperament of scholars, should be the key policy to purify the academic environment and academic culture in universities.