Augustine and the liberal arts

Abstract

In an early dialogue, On Order, Augustine sets out a program for thinking about thinking. Through such reflections, students attain self-knowledge and prepare for philosophical inquiry. The liberal arts are useful for this project, insofar as they provide opportunities for thinking, yet they are not ultimately necessary. I suggest that On Order's program, correctly understood, provides a rationale for Augustine's beginning but never completing a set of works on the seven liberal arts, and that his approach has contemporary relevance. Current discussions of the liberal arts move between concerns for particular content, which after a canon war may seem political or arbitrary, and useful skills, which reduce the liberal arts to quasi-vocational programs. Augustine's focus on rational activity escapes the content/skills dilemma and gives us a fresh perspective on the liberal arts' value.

Message From the Editor in Chief

“…Even with a cursory following of higher education, one gets the sense that the liberal arts (however defined contemporaneously) and the liberal arts major are "on the ropes" (Donoghue, 2010;Kiley, 2012;Moraff, 2013). But the concept of the value of the liberally educated college students has had and continues to have its champions.…”

From Rational Inquiry to Sacred Insight: The Role of Religion in Augustine’s Views on Liberal Education

“…In contrast to Plato and Aristotle, Augustine played a crucial role in interpreting the liberal arts in religious ways, specifically by linking them to the Christian God. St. Augustine's religious perspective on liberal education has been discussed academically (Kenyon 2012;Paffenroth and Hughes 2000;Pollmann and Vessey 2005), and it is often specifically considered in the construction of liberal arts curricula in universities (Chiariello 2015;Scott 2015;Whitfield 2015).…”

“…The purpose of this study is to examine the role of religion in liberal education according to St. Augustine. Previous studies have focused on On Order in discussions with liberal arts education (Kenyon 2012;Paffenroth and Hughes 2000). However, because these studies only deal with Augustine's early thoughts, they have the limitation of ignoring Augustine's later thoughts when his stance on liberal education changed.…”