Corpus of Modern Scottish Writing (CMSW) - www.scottishcorpus.ac.uk/cmsw/

Document : 541

Title: Statement by the Professors of Logic and Moral Philosophy Regarding theTeaching of Women Sudents

Author(s): Adamson, Robert; Jones, Sir Henry

Statement by the Professors of Logic and Moral Philosophy regarding
the teaching of Women students, as submitted to the Senate
on 16 Jan, 1896. See Minute Bk., p.205.


The Faculty of Arts in its Report has expresed and has given
grounds for the general view that in the interests of the education of
women students provision for their insturction in the ordinary Arts
curriculum should be made by admitting them to the ordinary University
classes. The Faculty has also recommended in partcular that, in
the case of certain claasses, including Logic and Moral Philosophy, the
change in this direction from the present mode of holding separate
classes or women students should be made forthwith. Agreeing in
the general view taken by the Faculty which we think strongly
confirmed by our special experience, we desire to make to the
Senate an additional statement bearing on the particular recommendation
made in so far as it concerns the classes of Logic and Moral
Philosophy.

1. In these clases the course of lectures, forming the main portion
of the work, is essentially systematic in character. The general principles
of the subject are developed in systematic fashion and applied to
details. For this reason alone it becomes impossible to effect any
satisfactory distribution of the work such as would allow of the
lectures being given in spearate portions by separate lecturers. If,
therefore, a separate class for women students to be held, it appears to
us that tehre cannot be in these subjects a division of labour between
the Professor and his Assistant such as is possible in varying degree
in most of the other Arts subjects. The lectures for the women's class
must be given entirely enitehr by the Assistant, who in that case
might either read the Professor's lectures or treat the subject independently,
or by the Professor. That the aassistant should read the Professor's
lectures seems to us a method so unsatisfactory in ever respect
that we do not think it should be considered as a practicable alternative.
That the assistant should discharge the functions of an
independent lecturer is a method which could not always be adopted,
which is open to the strong and we think unanswerable arguments

that have been urged against the extension to Arts of the system of
extra-mural lecturing, and which cannot commend itself as a
mode of making 'adequate provision' for the teaching of women students.
The only defensible method of making such provision seems therefore to be
the delivery of the complete course of lectures by the Professor.

2. The recent important changes in the conditions of graduation in
Arts have involved as a consequence an increase in the amount of
definite Honours lecturing in our classes, and in our opinion the
satisfactory working of the new plans of Arts study will necessitate
additions to the minimum of Honours lectures which is at present
undertaken. It will embarrass us greatly in our effort to form a
satisfactory school of honours study in philosophy if we have to
contemplate as a necessary portion of the ordinary work the conduct of
a separate class for women students.

3. While we fully recognise the obligation on our own part to accept
loyalty and to endeavour to give effect to any resolution adopted
by the Senate and Court respecting the provision of instruction for
women students, we draw attention to the fact that as regards our
classes there has not been adopted by Senate and Court, so far as
we are aware, any resolution defining the method for providing
such instruction. Nor has there been such revision of the conditions
of appointment to the Chairs of Logic and Moral Philosophy as might
naturally be expected if so heavy an additional demand on the time
of the Professors of these subjects was contemplated. If such a demand
were made the Professors of Logic and Moral Philosophy would be
placed in a very disadvantageous position not only as regards their
predecessors in this University but as regards the occupants of
similar chairs in any of the other Universities of Scotland.

These considerations seem to us to constitute a strong ground
for urging that the women students should
next session be admitted to the ordinary classes of Logic & Moral
Philosophy.


(Signed) Henry Jones
(") Robert Adamson