Column: Thoughts from Dr. Joe: Seeking wisdom through the liberal arts
Throughout ancient history, education was mostly aligned with a specific task, which was deemed necessary to advance society. Since hunters, soldiers, farmers and builders were essential for an emerging civilization, the onus of learning at that time was to educate the masses who would cultivate society.
Well, more than 2,000 years ago all that changed, and you can blame the Greeks for it. Influenced by a bunch of wise guys called philosophers (philosophia means love of wisdom), they had this newfangled idea called “arête,” which, roughly translated, meant virtue and excellence. So now they’re telling everybody that education should be grounded in virtue and excellence.
Well, they ain’t done. Now that the Greek city-state Athens is the center of civilization, they come up with this crazy idea of government called democracy, which they believe vests the power to the people and not to a chosen few. Can you imagine what that did to educational structures? No longer was it sufficient to educate a citizenry that would sustain civilization, it was now necessary to educate a populace that would be capable of running their own affairs and at the same time pursue excellence. Yikes!
At the time a broad education and the defining characteristic of democracy, which they called liberty, became important to the Greeks. But I have to tell ya, it was my ancestors the Romans who defined this approach of instruction. They called it “liberal” and used the Latin term liberal in its original form, which meant pertaining to free men.
You get what these wise guys are saying? An individual who lives a life of virtue and who pursues excellence is necessary to sustain a democracy. Well, I ain’t pointing any fingers, but can you not see the irony regarding the current state of America?
Education evolved and became conjoined with ideas from Asia, the Middle East and of course the explosive Age of Enlightenment. Rational thought opened a new era; science and technology became the new messiah. If the world is to sustain itself, then it must evolve, and so it did.
I have advised students regarding their education and understand its role in preparing them to navigate four years of college successfully and, at the end, find a meaningful and profitable career. However, it seems many students transitioning from high school are fixated on attending a pedigree university and major in fields such as engineering, medicine and technology that are likely to land them a big payoff. This is especially true in towns such as La Cañada that have excellent schools whose students are driven by successful parents who micromanage their child’s education. Thus, the importance of a liberal arts education atrophies before us.
My favorite mythological character is Prometheus, who’s considered the savior of humanity. Y’all know he’s the guy who stole fire from Zeus and brought it to humans. But “fire” was merely a metaphor for knowledge. Prometheus introduced us to the arts, writing, mathematics, science and literature. It was he who brought us the liberal arts. Aeschylus explains him best: “Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”
When it is combined with experiential learning, I am a proponent of a liberal arts education. I believe it yields critical, creative and analytical thinking, the ability to speak and write well and deal with a convoluted world. Liberal knowledge is a seed that continues to germinate and enables one to be a chameleon in a hyper-changing world. By enhancing courses of study with relevant content from the humanities and social sciences, students connect with the world.
Wisdom is essential and information ain’t wisdom. We can look at education as a means to make a living, but a living is not always a means to make a life.
JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.
