ABSTRACT
Since the early days of English University Adult Education, objectivity and political neutrality have been widely regarded as an essential element of the liberal tradition. It has long been a central tenet of that tradition that tutors and students pursue their studies together in an atmosphere of open enquiry, free of all prejudice and political propaganda, considering all possible answers to their enquiries before ultimately alighting upon the truth. In the sense that the term objectivity was loosely used to mean ‘the whole truth and nothing but the truth’, it came to be seen as a shibboleth. In 1946 the philosopher H A Hodges identified some factors of subjectivity which imposed logical limitations to objective thinking and teaching in this sense. One of the tensions within the liberal tradition has been how to respect this objective approach to teaching and at the same time preserve and foster the social purpose of English adult education.
