Excellence and Social Responsibility

Abstract

Excellence is generally perceived as an individualist value, which stands in opposition to social values. This contrast is included in the framework of the much broader discussion of the relationship between knowledge and value. The ancient debate between Socrates and Protagoras raises this argument in a manner still relevant today. This paper attempts to present the problem from an historical viewpoint and to show how the curriculum of the Israel Arts and Science Academy assumes the challenge of integrating education for excellence with social value-oriented commitment. The Israel Arts and Science Academy is defined as a school for excelling students, yet it simultaneously aspires to ensure that it will graduate students socially involved in their community. In that light, the school academically addresses questions concerning the knowledge-value relationship, the relationship between pluralism and personal identity and questions of ethics in science. It also creates a framework in which its students actually experience social action and contribution.