released 8/15/2025

In addressing the state of liberal arts education in the U.S., Gilbert Meilaender raises some core questions and makes some surprising proposals. In this 2014 essay, Meilaender argues that a true liberal arts education is a good in itself: the point of it is to better understand and know the truth about human life. Students studying the liberal arts should be taught by genuine experts in the various disciplines, he says, allowing them to make connections themselves among the disciplines about what it means to be human. Colleges and universities should not offer “liberal arts” courses as “frosting” on an educational program that has other purposes. And, Meilaender gently urges us to admit, a liberal arts education is not necessarily the right path for every student. There are other avenues for one to explore the meaning of humanity and to expand the freedom of one’s soul; Meilaender explores how worship is one such avenue.

This feature is provided courtesy of The New Atlantis, where it was first published in the Winter 2014 issue. It is read by Ken Myers.

28 minutes

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