THE PHENOMENON OF ACADEMIC VALUES IN CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHICAL DISCOURSE

Abstract

The article explores the essential characteristics of academic values within a philosophical interpretation. It identifies the practical aspects of implementing such academic values as academic integrity, academic freedom, and the autonomy of higher education institutions. Emphasis is placed on the moral dimension of academic integrity and the importance of moral culture among all participants in the educational process for its meaningful realization in social existence.Academic freedom is highlighted as a core academic value that, within a worldview and cultural context, constitutes the foundation of educational relations in democratic societies. The scholarly literature presents it through a range of complementary definitions. At the same time, it is emphasized that academic freedom should not become a pretext for abuse – whether by university administrations or individual actors within the educational sphere. Within democratic education systems, academic freedom necessarily involves social responsibility in all its dimensions: legal, moral, institutional, and societal. Its realization requires comprehensive moral, legal, and intellectual preparedness from all participants in the educational and research processes – both in form and in substance.The value of academic freedom is shown to correlate with the axiology of institutional autonomy in higher education. As one of the foundational principles of the Bologna Process, institutional autonomy entails independence, self-governance, and responsibility in decision-making concerning the development of academic freedoms. Each educational system and specific institution establish its own balance of regulatory mechanisms and levels of freedom, which in turn determines the degree of institutional autonomy. Overall, three primary models of autonomy can be distinguished: minimal, partial, and full.It is concluded that academic values, in a philosophical sense, form the foundation for personal self-realization, serve as the basis for societal progress, and embody the principles of freedom and creativity in both individual and social existence.