Helping the tech sector, defending democracy are not the core goal of liberal arts: Moore

Many of the current defenses of the liberal arts argue that these disciplines will bring much-needed creativity to the tech industry or defend democracy against fascism, writes Andrew Moore, director of the Great Books program at St Thomas University. Moore adds that “these arguments – while effective in certain situations – might do a disservice to the liberal arts.” The purpose of the liberal arts is not to sustain the economic and political status quo, Moore argues, but to train students to ask fundamental questions about why we should pursue certain economic and political goals to begin with. “By reading novels and political treatises, works of history and theology, we can avoid sleepwalking through life,” Moore concludes. “We can learn not just how to do things, but also why we should (or should not) do them.” Times Higher Education