In his writing, Kagan states very clearly that, "we must all think about our values, responsibilities, and our relationships with one another and with the society in which we live. This is the purpose of a liberal arts education. He goes on to include possible studies like history, philosophy and the arts. He also importantly notes the importance of a moral and civic education. However, there is one key part missing from all of this: The environment.
Maybe my conclusion comes about just because I've spent much time studying this topic this summer, but talk about nature and the environment is conspicuously absent from all this talk of liberal education. The only mention of it is our apparent superiority over all of nature when he says that human nature is, "a nature that are different from those of the other animals". In this short, simple statement, he more or less sanctions the superiority of humans over the nature world, which is a dangerous road to go down, especially in education.
No where does he talk about our relationship with our environment, how a liberal arts education may prepare us to life in harmony with our environment, solve environmental problems, or foster a sense of place that enables us to act and protect critical pieces of our environment.
Liberal arts needs to focus on systems thinking and connections across disciplines. What Kagan proposes is a distinct separation of the disciplines, which is the same academic place where many of our problems arise from today. We need to be talking across topics, be ready to apply our knowledge to solve societal and environmental problems, and work to build more sustainable communities.
Mr. Kagan’s world is stuck in a mindset that doesn’t foster connections to the environment, nor builds an effective liberal arts education. Many of the points he discusses are key aspects of the liberal arts, but he misses any discussion of solving problems, creating ecologically-minded citizens, or prepare students for the 21st century.
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