Artes Liberales

One of my central classes this semester is a study of the "artes liberales" ideal of education. ("The history and literature of a liberal arts education," according to the syllabus). We read selections from Plato to Cicero to John Henry Newman (and everyone inbetween), get a good bit of historical context and secondary sources thrown at us, and discuss any questions, big or little, that arise from the readings and lectures. It's quite a bit of work -- technically a 3-credit class, but people to say to consider it 4-6 credit hours of work. The profs inform us that it's basically a course with graduate-level reading requirements, but with (thankfully) undergraduate-level writing requirement.

I'm pretty much hooked, though -- mostly because the class raises and attempts to deal with some pretty important questions. Aka...

• What should an "education" look like? Vocational? Learning how to learn? For it's own sake? Proper proportion of "book learning" to "practical learning"?
  
• What makes a "wise" and/or "well rounded" individual?
  
• What is the relationship between education and life in the "real world"?
  
• What's the proper relationship between reason, experience, and revelation?
  
• Not everyone gets a liberal arts education...or wants to. Most people go the vocational training route. How does one avoid "elitism" -- or CAN we or SHOULD we?

Some main themes that keep showing up in the course:

• "Wisdom must be married to eloquence." Or "the true philosopher must be an orator, the true orator a philosopher." It is important both to know what is true, and to communicate what it true. Well-ordered speech shows a ready and well-ordered mind.
  
  
• A "liberal education" develops man's capacities for speech and reason -- both distinctly human characteristics, separating men from animals (and thus important). A "liberal education" also satisfies the distinctly human "desire to know." (Especially the desire to know the "ends" of things, and the "why" of things).
  
  
• A "liberal education" is both useful for many things -- and also good for it's own sake (in that it develops the uniquely human parts of man).