.1. Hutchins makes a case for the study of the liberal arts and the great books as essential to freedom.
What is his case? Do you agree with him? Hutchins claims that, “To be free a man must understand the tradition in which he lives.” While he fails to define what he means by “freedom,” he clearly isn’t talking about physical freedom or such freedoms as freedom of speech or freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. Instead, he seems to be talking about the particular freedom gained by learning to identify and question the assumptions of your own culture. Only with this perspective, he implies, can one truly be free. Hutchins defines a “great book” as “one which yields up through the liberal arts a clear and important understanding of our tradition.” With freedom and great books defined in this way, it is reasonable to believe that the study of the great books could lead to greater freedom.
Does it follow, however, that such an education is, “One and the only one which would enable us to comprehend the tradition in which we live?” I don’t agree with his conclusion. Rarely is there only one path to any destination. People can gain a sufficient understanding of their own tradition to achieve Hutchins’ vision of freedom in ways as disparate as meditation, international travel, making or viewing art or religious experiences. Hutchins makes a strong case for the value of a liberal arts education, and properly calls for universities to provide one to their students. However, the claim that the study of liberal arts and the great books is essential to freedom is too strong to support.
2. "Either we must abandon the ideal of freedom or we must educate our people for freedom."
Is there evidence today that our people are not being educated for freedom? Explain your answer.
Using the concept of freedom Hutchins developed, only a small minority of Americans could be considered to be truly educated, and therefore free. Hutchins makes this point strongly by titling his autobiographical essay, “The Biography of an Uneducated Man.” He claims that after obtaining multiple degrees, teaching at a Yale and becoming president of the University of Chicago his education had barely begun. If the quality of education necessary for freedom is so great, our current educational system, like that of Hutchins’ time, seems woefully not up to the task. The media and political involvement could theoretically supplement traditional education in promoting the understanding that leads to freedom. However, in our current society these forces generally work against any deep understanding of our own tradition.
Hutchins defines the liberal arts two ways: reading, writing and speaking; and grammar, rhetoric, and logic. The average American spends very little time in these pursuits, and the results can be seen everywhere. Examining or questioning the traditions and assumptions that steer our culture is neither highly valued by society at large nor widely practiced. Reading has dropped off steadily for many years. Most Americans almost never write anything of any substance. Speaking, at least in public, is such a lost art that fear of it is actually reportedly stronger than fear of death. While freedom remains a word with a tremendous positive connotation, Hutchins’ ideal of freedom is achieved by only a few in our society.
3. "To be free a man must understand the tradition in which he lives." Defend or dispute this statement.
A remarkable amount of our behavior is governed by the traditions that surround us. Things like how we dress, what we eat and how we organize our households are obviously guided by tradition. How we view our relationships with other people, the natural world and the cosmos are more subtle but also more powerful ideas which are culturally bound. If we are not able to understand the traditions in which we live, we can never be free to consciously decide whether or not to follow the rules that tradition has handed us, nor to challenge the reason behind those rules. For this reason, I agree with Hutchins’ statement that, “To be free a man must understand the tradition in which he lives.”
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