Liberal Arts Education

Student Choice

December 1, 2016

Allan Bloom provides in his book the Closing of the American Mind a criticism of the current university system for being consumed with relativism, falling into nihilism akin to Nietzsche’s philosophy. He accused the system of leaning too much towards the vocational aspects of an education and not thinking enough about questions that matter. He writes that there has become a disconnect with what students are learning and the important questions – questions of beauty, of good and evil, questions that change our thinking. As an alternative, he advocates for the great books education. This would involve small classes and discussion about books that he argues are timeless. He writes that these books have themes that will resonate with our nature, that will attempt to provide answers to the larger questions of life. As we spent a semester reading and discussing C.S. Lewis’ books, I think we are doing something very similar to what Bloom discusses. Lewis’ books prompt questions about beauty, the sacred and holy, about reason and emotion, about faith and sight. These are questions that do not just exist in the classroom but are a part of our daily interaction in the world. As I read about the beauty of Narnia, I think about moments of beauty in my life. As I read about Orual’s struggle to believe what she cannot see, I think about my own struggle to believe that God is good and involved in my life. A class about these principles is one that connects the theory of an education to real life.