ScholarWorks > WMU > Perspectives > Vol. 8 (1976) > No. 2
Abstract
While everybody shied away from defining humanities or liberal studies or 1 general education, some essential notions about these complex topics, so much a part of our lives and work, came through in what was said by us all. Let me try a couple of definitions. With appropriate nods to diffidence, let me just say flatly that the definition of the humanities should include at least the following elements: 1) centrality of concern on human beings rather than on structures of society or on the processes of nature; 2) attention to, probably focus on, the individual rather than the group; 3) awareness of the ways in which we know, ever mindful of Whitehead 's dictum that we think clearly in proportion to our own perceptions of how we reach our conclusions; 4) concern for moral values, whether drawn from God, man or nature; 5) insistence on the obligation to carry knowledge beyond description so that forthright judgments on values, on morality, find themselves comfortably enveloped within the processes of intellectual growth.
Recommended Citation
Broderick, Francis L.
(1976)
"A View on Three Days of General Education Summary Address, AGLS Convention, CBS 1976,"
Perspectives (1969-1979): Vol. 8:
No.
2, Article 8.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/perspectives/vol8/iss2/8
