The meaning of a liberal educationMartin, Everett Dean
Philosophy
The meaning of a liberal education
Martin, Everett Dean
Education
“Conceding that there is a science of ethics that does not teach us
either to be good or that we ought to be good any more than logic
teaches us how to think or that we ought to think, or esthetics
teaches us how to appreciate beauty and that we ought to love it,
there yet remains the question, is there a legitimate place in
philosophical education for a science of ethics which frankly does
not disclaim a “practical” interest? Is there a science of ethics
that is “practical” in something more than the Protagorean sense of
supplying instruction in “how to manage our homes in the best way,
and to be able to speak and act the best in public life?” (Such
instruction might well encourage sophistry and the casuistry of which
Professor Carritt speaks.) Is there, in other words, a science of
ethics which is “practical,” not in the sense of telling the pupil
what moral decisions to make, but in cultivating the ἔρως φιλοσοφίας
which would render possible well-considered choices? If there is not
a place for such a science, it seems hardly forthright or consistent
to perpetuate the ambiguity. If there is a legitimate place for
it, it is the duty of moral philosophers to terminate the present
ambiguity by explaining it. We can scarcely afford to laugh at or
deny it.”
The relation of morals to education is to be found neither in special
discipline and habit formation in the effort for character apart from
intelligence, nor in drill in the logic of an _a priori_ science. When
moral training is made a special interest set off from other aims of
education, it defeats itself. There is no such thing as a moral good
separate from other goods. A moral good is simply the best choice among
the conflicting goods of experience, actual or possible. As James said,
the good is that which satisfies a desire. _A priori_, every desire
should be satisfied, since considered in itself it is a demand for a
satisfaction. But since desires are in conflict, choice is necessary.
The good deed is the right thing to do, or the right way of doing it.
All education if it is really education is moral education. It is
because people do not grasp this fact that futile efforts at special
moral training are made in which the connections with education are
artificial and extraneous. Thus the pursuit of knowledge is shorn of
its significance for conduct, and morals is divorced from intelligence.
As Professor Dewey says,
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