Why the Demise of Liberal Arts (And, Thus, Clear Thinking) Matter For The Future of America

Prof. Jonathan Jacobs (Presidential Scholar, and Chair of Philosophy, John Jay College, CUNY) has written a paper, “The Odd Couple: Reflections on Liberal Education” (http://www.academia.edu/4539351/_The_Odd_Couple ) that clearly explains both the importance of a liberal education – and its demise, not just through a lack of courses, but, more importantly through the same content deflation that I see in mathematics.  The only thing I can add to what he has written is the same thing that I have discussed here:  Many of the college students who aren’t getting a good education , but instead (as Prof. Jacobs points out) are not even learning how to recognize a rational argument, become high school teachers, who are then not able to teach their students what a rational argument is.

For readers of this blog who want to read a shorter piece by Prof. Jacobs, you can read his editorial http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324577304579055511904387286.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion#articleTabs%3Darticle