The Values and Codes of Behaviour in Liberal Studies

In critically analyzing and digesting the contentions of Flannery’s perspective in his article on liberal arts and education, the path is greatly elucidated to say that, liberal arts provide a monumental sense of direction for technocrats, educators and students in this advanced era. To this quest, Flannery emphasizes the need for prospective students to comprehend the essence of living well. Flannery states that, the ultimate locus of control that can cause an individual to achieve the highest “good” is to identify the sake for which all things exist. He stressed the importance of skilled personnel in the world, however, he also advocates the need for liberally educated generation that can distinguish and discern good from evil and justice from injustice.

Flannery in his article typically depicts liberal education as composed of the liberal arts that are integrated into the curriculum of every institution and he arguably asserts the relationship of the liberal art disciplines to each other and the roles that each play in institutions. He mentioned that, the basic question of living well answered itself, due to the way the liberal arts are inculcated into mission statements and the curricula of institutions. Liberal arts, just like traditions, are likes codes of ethics which have their births rooted in deep crevices of history. Flannery indicated that, the mere fact that these traditions are taken for granted, creates an environment where the most important, “the central purpose of the institution” is taken for granted. The understanding perceived by leaders and authorities correlate into the fashion in which Liberal education is carried out. It is only in the creation of flow of knowledge between teachers and students that the traditions inculcated in the curricula of these very institutions becomes a living tradition. He also explicates that; liberal arts have a historical view about its necessity in society. This historical view of liberal arts is emphasized a lot through the teachings and principles of Socrates. In his note on the pillars of wisdom, Flannery demonstrated how the classical teachings of the Greece led to the birth of philosophy and the embroidery of the teachings of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

These were at the forefront of the revolution of the classical trivium and quadrivium which encompasses logic, grammar, rhetoric, mathematics, geometry, music, and astronomy. These seven disciplines were coined as the “seven pillars of wisdom” of liberal education. Thomas Aquinas mentioned that, the trivium and the quadrivium are the basis for other philosophical dimensions. They provide the foundation for liberal education, though each particular discipline has a distinct form of reasoning. Flannery argues out that, the educated individuals possess antithetic precisions in different fields of endeavor and their reasoning may be dependent on the issue under discussion. Also, one similarity between all fields is that, they all reveal elements of truth about the world. Nevertheless, the different foundations upon which all the disciplines have been built provides an order within all these disciplines. Furthermore, Flannery wrote that, owing to the nonfigurative nature of some of these disciplines such as mathematics, there exist the requisition of experience to find the benefits of other disciplines such as ethics and politics. The most fascinating and tough form of study climaxed into metaphysics which was later adapted to Christianity. As Flannery squealy describe this difficult assimilation; Christianity brought the consummate understanding of “the truth” freeing the soul and spirit.

Flannery discusses the amalgamating power, meaning and purpose that held the various disciplines of Liberal arts for nearly two millenaries before its collapse. He defines the shifts in these artistic components over the centuries and mentioned the need to fully comprehend the revolutionary era in order to absolutely appreciate the changes in recent times. Flannery argues that, the tradition of the liberal arts of freedom connotes free will which contrasts with the position of a slave in notably dominating instances such as the lack of necessities of life. For example, the art of economics is existing to ensure the survival of humans and the breeding of these arts also ensures the sustenance of the arts of freedom. The liberal arts are means to an end in its special way and not with the aim to accumulate possessions but to guarantee the existence of life as compared to other forms of art such as the mechanical arts. Liberal arts are the arts that instrumentally distinguish themselves in all respects by giving a striking difference between what occurs by chance and that of nature-they are defined by the conscious mindset of design, purpose and efforts.

Flannery also draws a self-contradictory and an elucidating enlightenment to the mind by explaining that, leisure is not mere idling, and freedom is not just a sporadic occurrence of willful arbitration but a conscious energizing zeal towards an accomplishment. The liberal arts provide a home for the free soul devoid of any form of undue coercion. Moreover, as Thomas Jefferson coined, the liberal arts are seen from the beginning as the creation of a free mind “the liberty of humanity.” Additionally, Flannery intricately weaves into the thought of the highest end of man-the bone of contention between Hobbes and the old stream of the Roman Catholic and Protestant Christianity. Nevertheless, “the highest good” was rejected and this led to the shuttering of the pioneering arts of freedom by arts of mindful necessities. Education’s goal is now relegated to ensuring the comforts of man’s desire and power on the universe-the contemporary age is now billowing in absolute rejection of classical learning and religion.

Friedrich Nietzsche perfectly summed up the delusion and the denial of objective reality which remained a central focused of thought in the liberal arts in American Universities. The liberal arts were nurtured by the revolution of political greatness in the Athens and Greece, Rome and spread of Christianity until the nihilistic delusion. Notwithstanding, the faintly glimpses of the “highest good” continues to boggle our minds. Being an individual from the science background has given me the opportunity to fully explore all the dimensions and fields of Liberal arts, since it confers an enlightenment to the soul and spirit. The theory of the big bang explosion and how life came into being is highly over-emphasized. Darwin’s promulgation of life with its central dramatic event of evolution describes why we are programmed the way we are and the ramifications of our existence presently and the future. Nevertheless, we also understand that, the “mere” presence of genes in us does not fully coordinate and condition our behavior. We eagerly recognize how the environment, society, origin, religion and idiosyncratic experiences shape who we are and how we relate to the world and each other. It is in this light that I trimmed my direction to pursue the Master of Arts program in Liberal Studies.

In this same perspective as Flannery stated, I believe that our personal experiences and the skills we acquire are meant for the liberation of our souls and minds and the “highest good.” The main essence of life is to know how to live well-this recognition drives our imaginations, actions, thoughts and our complete existence on earth. The distinctive personal experiences that we all build-on in life only account for small portion of the ideas we develop, the decisions we make, the things we give to society, but the legacy we leave, lives on. As life will make it, our behavior is like gifts passed onto us by our distant ancestors. The codes of behavior are handed to us through learning and training, therefore I believe that in order not to be enslaved by how to make a living, we need to identify the need to leave a legacy that is an end to itself.

The Master of arts in Liberal studies will empower me with the most powerful ideologies and principles that we need in this nihilistic era “the contemporary era”. If we know what is directing us and the highest end to all that life really entails: we know that we could change, like those before us, we will opt to live out of a diverse set of ideas and choose to do good, being fair and overall accepting what is noble and edifying. Reflecting on the ultimate human need, the knowledge that we can choose differently, comes the perspective of thought and actions and to this quest I believe that the knowledge acquired from the Master of arts in liberal studies will make me an individual with the cognizance about transforming the world into a liberated state. In the quest to develop a liberated world, freedom and reason must triumph and these two remained the cornerstone of every institution so as to ensure the peace and serenity of the mind. Our institutions are plagued with many discriminations based on gender, sexual orientation and color of skin and there is no foregone conclusion that it will cease.

Hence, we need to argue for its value, fight the dominating prejudice on women, children and minorities in our society- and ensure that we pass it on as a tradition which form the core (not taken for granted) of our institutions. The historical perspectives of Aristotle, Plato and Socrates brought forth the meaning of belonginess. There is nothing more satisfying than being part of a larger movement that will transform society. One of the fascinating advances science has bestowed on us is the capacity to find our place in the history of the universe. With the knowledge I have acquired over the years, I believe that Master of arts program in liberal studies will enable me to grip strongly the scientific method and the scientific discernment of the universe. In the light of Flannery’s perspective, the confidence to analyze the intricacies of history presents to us the tools to amend societal values and to creatively expand our knowledge to achieve greater success. The MALS program will empower me to bring into the lime light, biblical, classical and legends that society needs since liberal arts comes with a multifaceted view of the universe.

Having learnt a lot about Flannery’s dissected discussion, I have observed that, one’s comprehension of the world posits how he interprets and translates what he sees and reads. Thus, the knowledge obtained from the MALS program will increase and broaden my view of the world and add more depth to my graduate experience. Since the Liberal arts impacts a variety of knowledge in most fields, application of these skills will make me versatile in my chosen career.

Lastly, though changing the values and codes of behavior do not happen overnight and not a panacea for all forms of discriminations, I believe that with the knowledge and skills acquired through the MALS program, I will plough the path to creating a more civilized world in recovering resources to grow our capacity in creativity, literacy and excellence. The Gender and Diversity concentration will enable me to work with organizations to ensure equal opportunities for all gender and minorities with the understanding of how gender and discrimination have shaped history and navigating grounding footprints to correct the wrongs and improve human conditions.