The value of a liberal (arts) education

Abstract

Traditionally, the liberal arts are those subjects or skills that were thought, in ancient times, to be essential for a free person, i.e. a citizen, to know in order to take an active part in civic life, and thus become a virtuous, knowledgeable, and articulate person. What constituted the liberal arts evolved, from a core of grammar, rhetoric and logic (called the trivium), to include 4 more subjects (the quadrivium), namely, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy (Schneider, 2004). Interestingly, 3 of 4 of these subjects in the quadrivium would now be considered to be part of the sciences. In the Renaissance, history, languages (Greek and Latin), moral philosophy (ethics), and poetry featured strongly, whereas in our modern times, a liberal arts education is thought to focus on literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics, psychology, and science (Scott, 2006). (Abstract taken from first paragraph of document)