It was the Greek philosopher Aristotle who said “all men by nature desire to know”. Inquiry is the basic nature of mankind. The world calls those who are well-informed and possess vast knowledge ‘intellectuals’, and they are judged to be superior than the others. The more a person knows, the higher they are regarded in society — at least that’s how it works in places where such people are valued.
A liberal arts education seeks to create a well-rounded and well-informed individual. It aims at widening the intellectual and factual limitations imposed on one’s thinking ability by exposing the person who studies it to a multi-disciplinary curriculum. It spans a broad spectrum of subjects that play an important part in our daily lives and social interactions. It is for this reason that in the modern world, archaic perceptions relating to the dominance of vocational training have given way to an acceptance of liberal arts as a better alternative. Thus to say that liberal arts has little to offer would be naove.
To the uninformed, the concept of a general enlightening may seem useless and too idealistic. The question that arises though is whether being idealistic is wrong. Idealism leads to the understanding that the world we live in is imperfect, and there exists a way to improve our lives. Liberal arts provide those who study it with a larger basis of reference, and therefore the ability to ‘think out of the box’. For people that consider education as a means to an end, liberal arts is a waste of time, but for those who hold the belief that the ultimate goal of higher education is the acquisition of ‘wisdom’, the pursuit of a liberal arts education should be an end in itself.
The pursuit of knowledge should not be reduced to its financial implications alone; rather it should be seen as a step towards becoming ‘well rounded’ and better informed. A subject such as philosophy, which lies strictly in the domain of liberal arts, has more to do with the search for knowledge rather than its practical application. In fact the word philosophy literally means ‘love of knowledge’. Subjects like literature, philosophy and other humanities fields can provide insightful mirrors to one’s inner self, and lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.
Research where those from underprivileged backgrounds have been exposed to a humanities education has shown that such exposure can empower such individuals. Students learn to relate their experiences with the teachings of great philosophers, and in doing so they manage to step out of the darkness in their lives.
Today’s class divided society has bred an atmosphere of insecurity and fear. For the rich, insecurity stems out of the fear of losing their wealth, and hence their power. The poor face the insecurity of whether they will be able at all to make ends meet. Therefore, for both the rich and the poor, the primary function of higher education is to provide the skills and knowledge to get a good job. There are many who think that knowledge should have some practical value or material benefit for people to seek it. Humans are greedy by nature and hence they will pursue only that kind of education which benefits them directly — those who subscribe to this view have a more immediate and material gain in mind.
Many students also tend to disregard what they think are ‘abstract’ subjects which may make them better people but will not get them a good job. Hence, such students will always prefer technical, professional or vocational fields. This is countered by the view that study of a liberal arts education can actually make the person who studies it a better person, and what can be more important a goal than that?
With the main purpose of education for many being a very selfish pursuit of anything that helps them gain lucrative employment, the concept of wisdom and of pursuing knowledge for itself has been completely sidelined. The idealist would choose to pursue wisdom, in an effort to better understand the world, and try and improve upon it. The realist on the other hand would pursue money and power, because he or she understands that the existing system that is based on greed and selfishness. In an idealistic world, wisdom will always prevail. However, in our own imperfect world, people are measured by their success, and hence, power proves to be much more useful.
In the current context, those who support study of liberal arts may appear to be in the minority, but given the rise in the popularity of this kind of education there may well be a sea change in the not-to-near future.
Interest in subjects like philosophy, history or anthropology among students today is increasing. Although they say that studying such subjects may be impractical, they still pursue them for the sake of seeking knowledge. Parents today are also becoming aware of this growing interest among their children in such subjects and should not see education only in terms of how much material benefit their children will receive.
The attempt at change based on a broadening of horizons is not entirely new. The Greeks managed to do it with the introduction of the arts and philosophy. It has been my experience that liberal arts, or social science subjects, are far more popular among students because of the interest that they generate. In fact, for on the most part, students often take specialization subjects only because they have to for fulfilment of certain degree requirements rather than out of any genuine interest.
Education should go beyond providing those who study it with bits of information — it should lead to an awakening in the minds of its students and encourage them to challenge the status quo. It is the first step towards reforming society. Our students are bred in an atmosphere of greed, and with the concept that power is supreme. A liberal arts education aim at reforming society towards a less selfish and better-connected whole.
This article was written for DAWN Newspaper by Sanam Z. Khawaja.
