In Defense Of A Liberal Education

Western thinking promotes the idea that “knowledge is dangerous” (137), a non-existent concept in non-Western societies. Ancient and modern thinkers suggest that humans are inherently curious. Early agricultural societies pursued “practical” knowledge, while the Greeks first sought “to understand the world in an abstract sense,” giving rise to philosophy, the “love of wisdom” (139). Philosophy was science’s “precursor.” Philosophy deals with what humans do not yet fully comprehend or know, while science deals with what is known. The former produced the latter. Indeed, the ancients called scientific inquiry “natural philosophy.” Human curiosity and knowledge acquisition generate power that can be used to cause harm, but they have mostly contributed to the common good. For example, life expectancy has consistently risen since the turn of the 20th century thanks to scientific innovations.

The liberal arts have also contributed to the world’s betterment. For instance, civil and human rights movements have improved the lives of racial and ethnic minorities, women, and LGBTQ+ people. Abuses like enslavement and domestic violence are no longer broadly accepted because “of broad, humanistic ideas, the bedrock of a liberal education” (144). Economic policies across the globe no longer benefit an elite minority, and many of the world’s nations are democratic: “Governments have come to adopt best practices from the social sciences” (146).