Baumann (1987) believes in a revised liberal arts curriculum in which the studies share an interconnectedness between them so as to create a wide range of skills development and to keep each subject connected to the next. Giamatti(1988)stands behind the idea that motivation is the basis of ones experience and liberal studies is part of how that motivation is strengthened. Lagemann(2003) argues that vocation should be considered the main focus of growth when choosing ones career in higher education. Baumann, Giamatti, and Lagemann approach the topic of liberal education from different perspectives, but they share the beliefs that liberal education is beneficial to both individuals and society, and is essential to being truly educated. It can be said that liberal arts core courses define humanistic values that ignite the thought about our own, and others, vices and virtues (Lagemann).
Enlightenment thinkers had three main long term beliefs that helped to shape America’s government. The first was belief in progress. The idea of progress was born after the scientific revolution, which influenced people to use human reason to solve social problems. Secondly, it caused people to stop looking at their church for guidance and to start using reason and logic to solve problems. The Enlightenment thinkers also wanted to abolish religious superstitions and promote tolerance of all religions.
To remain receptive to the intuitive process, an individual must trust in himself. Emerson and Kant warn that conformity and consistency in one’s thinking and acting permits society to dictate an individual’s being; therefore undermining the notion of taking responsibility for one’s own mind. This in turn creates barriers the individual must overcome in order to reach enlightenment. In “Self-Reliance”, Emerson believes that the individual loses a part of himself by not being self sufficient enough to trust ones opinions. “A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within…In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty…They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good humored inflexibility…” (Emerson, 164) Emerson stresses not the substance of the ‘‘rejected thoughts’’, but their quality of ‘‘majesty’’ or greatness.
Many literary critics interested in philosophy have found in Emerson's thought the origins of American pragmatism, and philosophers from around the globe who value the active mind more than systemic philosophical exposition continue to respond enthusiastically to the two sides of Emerson that Buell identifies: the democratic idealist and the anarchic provocateur. In addition, Thoreau's philosophy of civil disobedience, which hangs on a transcendental understanding of self-reliance, helped to inspire the movements of peaceful revolution set in motion by Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Futhermore, Whitman's radically cosmic belief in the unique grandeur of every self and every mindis Romantic vision of a universal oversoul connecting slave, whore, president, and preacher all alike through a daily sharing in the erotics of experience, as expressed in Leaves of Grass (1855)mounts to the first philosophically significant statement of tolerance and multicultural acceptance in American
Thomas Hobbes author of such works as the ‘Leviathan’ and ‘De Cive’ has also often been regarded as a fundamental thinker in political philosophy and vital in the development of liberal thought. It could be argued however that his ideas in his work can no longer be associated to the liberalism that developed from it. This has led some to argue that Hobbes is not a liberal. In this essay I will consider whether or not Hobbes’ ideas are consistent with the basic ideals of what liberalism has come to encompass. Ideals such as a focus on the individual, individual rights and equality, a social contract based on government by consent, free market, and minimum government intervention and maximum freedom.
For sake of clarity I shall utilise the concepts of each in their respective sections. In the comparison and conclusion I shall continue this distinction and use the terminology of each. Hume: The Naturalistic Approach and the Problem of Induction Living and working in the years 1711-1776 David Hume was born into a climate of reason, the Age of the Enlightenment. As a man who has been called a genius by both his contemporaries and his after-comers, Hume excelled as a philosopher and as an agent of the ideals that ruled his time. Inspired by other such luminaries as Newton, Boyle, Locke and Hobbes, Hume sought to renew philosophy into a form more fitted to an age of reason and scientific enquiry.
Reading the article “Teach Knowledge, Not Mental Skills” by Hirsh, made me think deeper about problems in the American education system and what cause those problems. In his article, Hirsh is emphasizing on “core knowledge curriculum”. John Baer, in his article “The Impact of the Core Knowledge Curriculum on Creativity”, quotes Hirsh and explains that term as “detailed and specific outline of content in the fine arts, geography, history, language arts, mathematics, and science…” (Bayer,2003, p.297). Hirsh claims that usage of the Core Knowledge curriculum across the U.S. will help raise the students’ achievements to a higher level and will make American students compatible with other countries’ students, where education is based on Core Knowledge
Religious wisdom cannot be tested empirically, but is, rather, based upon mystic philosophies. Scientific wisdom is likewise connected to the elements of nature, but modern scientists attempt to reduce these elements into a set of mathematical postulates through mental reasoning. When comparing Mengzi’s Confucian works and Crawford’s work on manual labor, these three types of wisdom were used as a basis for evaluation. The engagement in ritual and the act of workmanship both cultivate similar, if not the same type of wisdom. Throughout Mengzi’s reasoning, he consistently refers to wisdom.
Abraham Maslow Summary Abraham Maslow is considered to be the pioneer of the humanism paradigm in psychology. He is best known for creating his notion of hierarchy of needs and self- actualisation and focused on the subjective reality to be the primary guide for human behaviour (Henley, Hergenhahn, 2009). He believed studying individuals is more informative than a group of individual who shares personal traits or social situation in common; therefore he focused studying individuals rather than a collective of individuals (Henley et al, 2009). Furthermore, he emphasised self-discovery that helps to enrich human’s life. Overall, the goal of humanism is to understand the description of human being.
Humanism is a conceptual framework that is part of the liberal ideology, it is a political theory that stresses individualism by rejecting an authoritarian government, and defending and advocating individual freedom (Rathgen & Hulston, 2004, Issues in Curriculum course reader, pg. 14). Tanner & Tanner (1980, cited in McGee, 1997, pg. 20) reiterates this by describing this framework, although renamed as the romantic vision, as very much child centred whose focus is on placing the children at the centre of the learning environment and seeing the child holistically. The humanism conceptual framework is evident in the principles of the New Zealand Curriculum Framework (NZCF), whereby the teacher has the flexibility to develop classroom programme in accordance of the learning needs and styles of the students, and the acknowledgement that individual students will develop their essential skills to different degrees and at individual rates (MOE, 1993, pgs.