The liberal arts influence | Jillian Stevens | TEDxVCU
Summary
TLDRThe speaker passionately advocates for the importance of liberal arts education, emphasizing its role in developing general knowledge and intellectual capacities beyond vocational skills. They argue that liberal arts provide a broad perspective, enabling individuals to navigate life's complexities and ambiguities. The speaker also highlights the personal contentment that comes from applying liberal arts knowledge to everyday life, asserting its relevance in a society increasingly dominated by science and technology. They conclude by urging recognition of liberal arts' value in fostering critical thinking and self-expression, essential for a well-rounded society.
Takeaways
- 📚 Liberal arts are defined as studies in language, philosophy, and literature that aim to provide general knowledge and develop intellectual capacities such as reason and judgment.
- 🤔 The speaker emphasizes the importance of liberal arts in developing an open mind and specific skills to deal with life's ambiguities and complexities.
- 🏛 Liberal arts education is broad-based, preparing students to understand and navigate the world beyond the scope of their immediate studies.
- 📰 The speaker finds joy in seeing the connection between what is learned in class and current events, highlighting the relevance of liberal arts to everyday life.
- 🧐 Liberal arts are useful for developing intellectual capacities that allow individuals to make informed decisions and engage with complex issues.
- 💡 The speaker argues that liberal arts provide a sense of personal contentment and fulfillment that cannot be measured by money.
- 🌐 Liberal arts education enables individuals to ask questions about the world and analyze their surroundings, fostering critical thinking skills.
- 📚 The absence of liberal arts in society is illustrated through dystopian literature, which often portrays societies without the balance of humanities.
- 🗳️ Michael Lond's quote underscores the necessity of a liberal education for citizens in a democratic republic to make informed decisions and participate effectively in public life.
- 🌟 Liberal arts remain relevant and important in today's society, focusing on understanding the current state of various aspects of life and contributing to the future.
- 🚀 As the world becomes more dominated by science and technology, liberal arts serve as a grounding force for humanity, allowing for self-expression and constant analysis of the world.
Q & A
What is the definition of liberal arts according to Webster's Dictionary?
-Liberal arts are college or university studies in areas such as language, philosophy, and literature, intended to provide chiefly general knowledge and to develop general intellectual capacities like reason and judgment, as opposed to professional or vocational skills.
Why does the speaker emphasize the importance of 'general knowledge' and 'intellectual capacities' in the context of liberal arts?
-The speaker emphasizes these aspects to highlight that liberal arts aim to provide a broad-based education that equips students with an open mind and a specific set of skills to deal with life's ambiguities and complexities.
What is the common question the speaker faces regarding their study of liberal arts?
-The common question is about the practicality of studying liberal arts, with people often asking why they don't choose something more technical like nursing or engineering that guarantees a job.
How does the speaker respond to the question about the practicality of liberal arts?
-The speaker responds by expressing their love for learning and how the knowledge gained from liberal arts is reflected in everyday life and headlines, emphasizing the value of understanding shared humanity and the factors governing daily life.
In what two ways does the speaker argue that liberal arts remain useful?
-The speaker argues that liberal arts are useful in developing intellectual capacities and providing general knowledge, enabling students to deal with life's ambiguities, and in giving a sense of personal contentment by applying knowledge to everyday use.
What does the speaker mean by 'life isn't clean' and how does it relate to the liberal arts education?
-'Life isn't clean' means that life is complex and full of difficult decisions and opinions. A liberal arts education helps students to have an open mind and the necessary skills to navigate these complexities.
How does the speaker describe the value of liberal arts in contributing to society?
-The speaker describes the value of liberal arts as providing a sense of personal contentment and the ability to apply knowledge to everyday life, which cannot be measured by money but is very relevant and applicable in society.
What role does the speaker believe liberal arts education plays in a democratic society?
-The speaker believes that a liberal arts education is crucial for citizens to understand what is happening around them, enabling them to make informed decisions and participate effectively in a democratic society.
What quote does the speaker use to emphasize the importance of liberal arts in a democratic republic?
-The speaker uses a quote by Michael Lond, stating that in a democratic republic, it is necessary for all citizens to have at least the basics of a liberal education to adequately perform their minimal duty, such as voting.
How does the speaker conclude the importance of liberal arts in the context of a society dominated by science and technology?
-The speaker concludes by stating that liberal arts should not be discounted in a world where science and technology reign supreme, as they allow for self-expression, fulfillment, and constant analysis of the world around us, keeping humanity grounded.
Outlines
📚 The Essence of Liberal Arts Education
The speaker begins by defining liberal arts according to Webster's Dictionary, emphasizing the development of general knowledge and intellectual capacities such as reason and judgment. They address common misconceptions about the practicality of a liberal arts degree, arguing that it provides a broad-based education that equips students to deal with life's complexities. The speaker shares their personal passion for liberal arts, highlighting its ability to connect classroom learning with real-world events and to foster a deeper understanding of humanity and societal structures.
🌟 The Relevance of Liberal Arts in a Technological World
This paragraph delves into the ongoing relevance of liberal arts in an increasingly science- and technology-driven society. The speaker refutes the notion that liberal arts are 'useless' or 'soft majors,' asserting that they offer a critical balance to technical education by promoting self-expression, fulfillment, and continuous analysis of the world. They stress the importance of liberal arts in maintaining humanity's grounding and in enabling individuals to critically engage with and contribute to society, drawing on a quote by Michael Lond to underline the necessity of a liberal education for informed citizenship in a democratic republic.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Liberal Arts
💡General Knowledge
💡Intellectual Capacities
💡Vocational Skills
💡Broad-Based Education
💡Ambiguities of Life
💡STEM
💡Personal Content
💡Dystopian Literature
💡Citizenship
💡Science and Technology
Highlights
Liberal arts are defined by Webster's Dictionary as studies in language, philosophy, and literature that provide general knowledge and develop intellectual capacities such as reason and judgment.
Liberal arts education is intended to be broad-based, providing an open mind with a specific set of skills.
The speaker emphasizes the importance of liberal arts in dealing with life's ambiguities and complexities.
Liberal arts students are trained to understand and analyze the world around them, including both scientific and humanistic perspectives.
The speaker discusses the personal contentment derived from applying liberal arts knowledge to everyday life.
Liberal arts education is described as providing a sense of personal contentment that is intangible and not measured by money.
The speaker argues that liberal arts enable individuals to ask questions and analyze the world, contributing to a better understanding of societal issues.
Dystopian literature examples such as 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 illustrate the potential consequences of a society without liberal arts.
The importance of liberal arts in focusing on the current state of politics, economics, and society is underscored.
Liberal arts are essential for contributing to the future through improvements, suggestions, and civic engagement.
Michael Lond's quote highlights the necessity of a basic liberal education for all citizens in a democratic republic.
The speaker asserts that liberal arts education is crucial for citizens to understand and participate in public life.
The power in a democracy is supposed to come from the people, and for them to make informed decisions, they need education in both sciences and liberal arts.
Some may view liberal arts as useless or soft majors, but the speaker argues that they are vital for keeping humanity grounded in a world dominated by science and technology.
Liberal arts allow for self-expression, fulfillment, and constant analysis of the world, which are essential as society advances.
The speaker concludes by urging the audience not to discount liberal arts in a society where science and technology are paramount.
Transcripts
so I'm here to talk about what is
liberal arts but in order to do that I
think we all need to have a common
definition of um what it is so Webster's
Dictionary defines liberal arts as
college or university studies as
language philosophy and literature
intended to provide chiefly general
knowledge and to develop General
intellectual capacities as reason and
judgment as opposed to professional or
vocational
skills so that's a really big definition
that's a really big mouthful um but
there are two things I want you to
remember from that the first is when it
says uh intended to provide chiefly
general knowledge and the second was
when it's said to develop General
intellectual capacities
so why liberal arts why am I up here
speaking to 1,00 of my closest friends
friends uh about liberal arts I always
go home for uh holidays and breaks and
my family and colleagues even ask me
what are you going to do with that and a
lot of people get that question a lot of
college students will get that question
but the follow-up question is the one
that really differentiates they always
ask why not pick something more
technical like nursing or engineering
something that is definitely going to
get you a job and I never know how to
react to that question
um but my response is that I love what
I'm learning I love going to class and
then reading the headlines in the
newspaper the next day and what I've
learned in class is right there in the
headlines I love learning more about our
shared humanity and I love more learning
more about what governs our everyday
lives so there are two ways that liberal
arts are still useful the first is uh
going back to those two things I wanted
you to remember from the definition uh
to develop intellectual capacities and
to um intended to provide chiefly
general knowledge so liberal arts is
meant to be broad-based it's it's meant
to give you a very open mind with a
specific set of
skills um and a student who is trained
in Liberal Arts is able to take that
broad education and deal with the
ambiguities of life and what I mean by
that is life isn't clean it's not simple
there's a lot of hard decisions and opin
opions to be made and in order to do
that you need to have an open mind you
need to be trained in not only the
Sciences um Fields like stem which is
science technology engineering and math
but the liberal arts as well so you
understand what is going on around you
the second reason liberal arts is still
very useful is slightly more cliche and
I touched on it earlier when I mentioned
uh why it matters to
me liberal arts is still useful because
it gives you a sense of personal content
um I'm not going to make as much money
as someone who is a doctor or in NASA um
or doing research in a lab but the fact
that I can apply my knowledge to
Everyday Use is something that no one
can ever take away from me um my
knowledge is intangible it's unable to
be measured by money but it is still
very relevant and still very applicable
in today's
society um it also enables you to ask
questions about the world and it it
allows you to analyze the world around
you why does this matter to me what did
I just read in the newspaper and
literature has showed us what the world
would be like without liberal arts a lot
of that classic dystopian literature
such as 1984 Brave New World um or
Fahrenheit 451 so why does this matter
why do liberal arts still matter I want
people to realize that liberal arts do
still matter it's still very applicable
in today's society liberal arts focuses
on what is we focus on the current state
of politics or economics where is
society going um philosophical questions
anything you can really think of we
focus on what is so we're able to
contribute to what will be uh through
improvements suggestions writing to your
Congressman uh just talking to your
neighbor anything uh Michael lond is a
political writer and he has a great
quote and he says in a Democratic
Republic isn't it necessary for all
citizens to have at least the basics of
a liberal education even if their partip
participation in public life is limited
to voting occasionally citizens cannot
adequately perform that minimal Duty
unless they have training and reasoning
and rhetoric so that's another really
big quote what does that mean liberal
arts is still important so that citizens
understand what is going on around them
in a democracy whether or not people
still believe this is true the power is
supposed to come from the people so in
order for the people to be educated and
make decisions where is society going
who do I want representing me in order
to do that they need to be educated in
the
sciences and what's going on around them
the world around them that governs a lot
of their everyday lives
ultimately some people may walk away
from this Ted Talk they may leave this
event today and they may continue to
call these studies useless or soft
Majors but liberal art should be
considered as the one thing that might
keep Humanity grounded as we move into a
world where Science and Technology reign
supreme liberal arts allow for
self-expression and fulfillment and they
allow for constant analysis of the world
around us so again as the world moves
into a society where Science and
Technology reign supreme don't count
liberal arts out just yet thank
you
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