The hottest Liberal Arts Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Liberal Arts Will Save The World!

Polymathic Being • 85 implied HN points • 19 Jan 25
🚌 Education Liberal Arts Critical Thinking Curriculum Development Civic engagement
  1. The Liberal Arts include important subjects like grammar, logic, arithmetic, and music. These subjects are key to helping us think critically and communicate well.
  2. Many modern education systems have stopped teaching these fundamental arts, which affects how we think and understand the world around us. This gap can lead to confusion and polarization in society.
  3. By reintroducing the Liberal Arts into education, we could improve our discussions, mental health, and understanding of complex topics like technology and ethics.

Discussion: The AI Era Liberal Arts

Data People Etc. • 71 implied HN points • 13 Jan 25
🚌 Education Liberal Arts Curriculum design Skill development Critical Thinking
  1. We might need a new set of subjects for students today. The old tools aren't enough for the modern world that we live in.
  2. The seven liberal arts today should focus on skills like logic, statistics, and understanding psychology. These help us make sense of our world and make better decisions.
  3. It's more important to prepare kids to be adaptable and motivated than to worry about specific job skills. Being able to learn and think critically is key for the future.

The End of Liberal Education?

Castalia • 539 implied HN points • 27 Oct 23
🚌 Education Higher education Liberal Arts Social justice Student activism
  1. There is growing concern that elite universities like Harvard are losing touch with their traditional liberal values. Recent incidents have highlighted a divide between student activism and mainstream liberalism.
  2. The rising costs of education are making it harder for middle-class families to access top schools. This situation has led to a focus on superficial diversity rather than true socioeconomic representation.
  3. The environment on college campuses has shifted towards heightened sensitivity and protection of student feelings. This shift includes the use of concepts like 'safe spaces' and 'trigger warnings,' which some argue restrict open debate and dialogue.

Do English professors think of themselves as priests?

The Recovering Academic • 237 implied HN points • 29 Aug 23
🚌 Education Literature Liberal Arts University Reading Critical Thinking
  1. English professors are encountering ideological shifts, with a significant decrease in conservative representation in the field.
  2. Debates about the importance of humanities education and literature often arise in the context of changing university priorities.
  3. There's a growing concern about the impact of identity politics and activism on literature education and the declining enrollments in humanities programs.

Two perspectives on the liberal arts and the humanities

Heterodox STEM • 199 implied HN points • 10 Mar 24
🚌 Education Liberal Arts Humanities Literature Philosophy Classics
  1. Liberal arts education in the US may serve different purposes for elites and non-elites, with disparities in expectations and outcomes.
  2. Humanities education is seen as vital for a well-rounded education and understanding fundamental human questions and experiences.
  3. Reading classic literature may play a role in shaping perspectives and values, potentially reducing susceptibility to certain societal trends like 'wokeness'.
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We Need to Do Better than Hum 1 & Soc Sci 2 in General Education

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 215 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
🚌 Education Humanities Higher education Liberal Arts Critical Thinking
  1. The purpose of humanities in education should be more than teaching a limited view of Western literature and thought.
  2. It is valuable to provide students with a broad liberal education that includes exposure to different perspectives, even critical ones.
  3. American universities should focus on teaching true facts and how to think critically rather than implanting specific values.

The Liberal Arts Are Dying Because Liberalism is Dying

What Is Called Thinking? • 189 implied HN points • 03 May 23
🎭️ Culture Liberal Arts Liberalism Education Philosophy Identity
  1. Negative capability, the ability to entertain doubt and uncertainty, is a virtue crucial for understanding and self-improvement.
  2. Liberal arts decline is linked to the unfashionability of liberalism, impacting the promotion of open-mindedness and critical thinking.
  3. True thinking and poetizing require clandestine nurturing, not easily measured by traditional standards, acknowledging the elusive nature of cultivating deeper intellectual virtues.