Colleges and universities used to be among the nation's most prestigious institutions. Recently, parents, as well as the public, have become more concerned about whether or not college is even worth the expense. Are universities still the true bastions of open inquiry? Have liberal arts become obsolete in the 21st century? 

According to conservative political theorist and professor Jonathan Marks, liberal education is the antidote to this crisis. In this episode, he explains that the true purpose of college is to encourage people to be reasonable. Ultimately, he says the liberally educated person should consider reason more than just a tool for scoring political points.

Jonathan and Greg discuss his book Let's Be Reasonable, the future of liberal arts education, free speech, and the role of higher education in advocating for democracy.

Is the best defense of liberal education based on its practical utility?

[00:05:23] It seems to me that the language I used to attempt to justify liberal education was practical. You need comprehensive enlargement of mind. Not to be well-rounded, not to be refined, but to avoid doing stupid things. So, our narrowness prevents us from being good judges in our chosen field of work.

Are universities marketing themselves to prospective students fairly?

[00:12:32] I think that there's a real problem there. That is to say that colleges and universities do often market themselves as producing great changes. So, you might go out into the world and say, “Well, I'm offering a transformational experience”. But without talking too much about what the costs of that might be, what the difficulties might be.

How can universities encourage the collective pursuit of knowledge and reasonableness?

[00:18:28] We've taught some of it in C.I.E., the common intellectual experience, which is our first-year seminar here at Ursinus College. It focuses mainly on spotting fallacies. About the avoidance of error, which, I think, is important. It talks much less about what good judgment is, in a more positive way. I do think that's important probably for psychologists working in decision-making and also for universities. What provisional standards do we have for trying to distinguish good judgments from bad judgments? Maybe a little clearer in the natural sciences and the humanities. But what provisional standards do we have available to us? And then, what qualities of character and mind might be conducive to making good judgments? What are the intellectual virtues? 

00:00:39 Why it's hard to find people who are standing up for liberal education in a world where everyone wants to know what it's for?

00:07:45 Are we underemphasizing the idea that we need to learn how to pick apart our own argument

00:22:10 Do cancel culture and safe spaces mean students promote coddling and protecting them from ideas that are different from theirs?

00:27:51 Repeating history and mistakes of the past by worrying unnecessarily about the youth of today?

00:32:35 Thoughts on sensationalism and a cognitive bias towards an opposing belief

00:40:12 Why do people who consider themselves as conservatives lean towards the preservation of liberal education?

00:47:50 If the universities are not for the promotion of justice, then what are they here for?

00:53:27 Is the most significant danger to our production of reasonable people the gradual marginalization of the humanities as a field of study

Guest Profile:

• Author Profile at Princeton University Press
• Jonathan Marks on Twitter
• Jonathan Marks on LinkedIn

His Work:

• Jonathan Marks on Google Scholar
• Commentaries by Jonathan Marks
• Let's Be Reasonable: A Conservative Case for Liberal Education