ipl-logo

Liberal Enlightenment Analysis

1005 Words5 Pages

If the Liberal Enlightenment Theorists were asked whether or not a Liberal Arts degree is worth pursuing in college, their response may be quite different from the opinion of the parents in this antidote. For John Locke, he might say that getting a degree in Liberal Arts — or a degree of any kind — is beneficial to one’s life. This can be explained by his beliefs of labor and property. According to Locke, “For ’tis labour ended that puts the difference of value on everything…”, meaning the labor you exert on anything, whether it be property or something else, is a determining factor of value you create in society (2002). I would argue that the labor used to obtain an education of any sort is of value. He would argue that this value makes the …show more content…

As discussed in The Subjection of Women, “human beings are no longer born to their place in life… but are free to employ their faculties, and such favorable chances as offer, to achieve the lot which may appear them the most desirable” (Rossi, 1970). With that I think it is possible that Mill & Mill would see financial aid as a way for one to move up in the world because of certain privileges given to them. This way of meritocracy for them could also be compared to the modern notion of the American Dream. I believe John Locke would argue on the opposite end of the spectrum, viewing financial aid as something people do not actually deserve, and in turn perpetuating the idea that charity is negative to society. This goes back to Locke’s belief in the labor contract, and that the way to be successful is to exert your own labor. In the case of financial aid, someone else’s labor has been used to create this money, meaning they are the ones who are actually deserving of …show more content…

Evolution and “survival of the fittest” mean that things are out of our hands to change (Spencer, 1896). For Spencer, women really have no chance of being equal in society with men. Even though they do have the opportunity to evolve, it will still be limited to their role in society and educational institutions probably would not be included for him. Additionally, Spencer might agree with the parents regarding the value of pursuing Liberal Arts, simply because he believes in biological processes, and scientific ways of analyzing social situations. A prime example of this would be his organic analogy that relates society to a living organism, that becomes more complex as it evolves (Spencer,

Show More
Related

  • Caroline Bird Case Against College Education

    900 Words  | 4 Pages

    Recently, many have begun to attack and degrade higher education in the United States. In the book How College Works, authors Daniel Chambliss and Christopher Takacs claim, “As state support has eroded, and as more students attend college in an increasingly desperate attempt to find viable jobs, the price to students of attending an institution of higher education has gone up, especially at more selective institutions” (172). So is college even worth it? Caroline Bird’s excerpt from her book Case Against College “Where College Fails Us” is an adequately written article that agrees with those who question whether college is a good investment. Bird argues that although some students would benefit from college and succeed, many fall short, wasting

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Charles Murray's Essay 'Are Too Many People Going To College'

    1353 Words  | 6 Pages

    People go to college to get a good paying job, have job security, and get a degree. Well at least that’s what it should be about. That’s what Charles Murray believes in his essay “Are Too Many People Going to College.” Murray counters the argument of Sanford Ungar who believes colleges should have a more liberal approach towards its classes and have students actually learn a broad range of real life skills instead of just going into a career just because it pays well. In Ungar’s essay he explains the misperception that Americans have on obtaining a liberal-arts degree and how they believe it doesn’t translate well to the real world.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The New Liberal Arts By Sanford Ungar

    593 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ungar has put this misconception to rest by saying the difficulty in the job market has nothing to do with a specific degree. A survey for the Association of American colleges and universities discovered that more than three-quarters of the nation's employers recommend that college-bound students pursue a liberal education. Misperception number three states that the liberal arts are a relevant for low income and first-generation college students. This misperception troubles Ungar and he says it is “ condescending to imply that those who have less cannot understand and appreciate the finer elements of knowledge”. He says this is a form or prejudice and makes very little sense.

    Read More

  • Caroline Bird College Is A Waste Of Time And Money Summary

    1356 Words  | 6 Pages

    As a college student who is currently spending thousands of dollars to further my education and achieve a career goal, it was, at first, disheartening to read Caroline Bird ’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money”. However, after thoroughly examining her points, I now see that her essay is illogical. In her piece “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird argues against the idea that “college is the best place for all high-school graduates” (1); in other words, college isn’t for everyone. Throughout her writing, Bird supplies her readers with evidence that explains how, for some individuals, college is a waste of not only time and money, but of intellectual effort, as well.

    Read More

  • Enlightenment Dbq Essay

    633 Words  | 3 Pages

    Enlightenment was a time period that revolved around philosophy, science, and society, and is less focused on religion. Enlightenment includes a concept proposed by the philosopher John Locke that all humans, when they are born, are entitled to basic human rights. The Enlightenment also includes the thought that things in the universe are constant, leading away from such a strong reliance on God. The concept of Enlightenment inspired many proceeding declarations, including the USA’s declaration because it encouraged equality to all men. John Locke was an Enlightenment thinker who proposed that as humans, we are entitled to basic rights and that when we are born we are blank canvases and are thereafter altered by our surroundings.

    Read More

  • Liberalism In The Progressive Era

    479 Words  | 2 Pages

    When trying to define a word such as Liberalism it seems difficult to find a solid definition. There are different forms of liberalism and different meanings depending on the time period it is being applied to (idea taken from Phil Badger author from philosophynow). To solve this ambiguity, I’ve decided to define liberalism based on the time period in which I will be conducting my research. Liberalism in the 1700s was the belief of freedom and equals rights generally associated with the enlightenment thinkers, John Locke and Montesquieu (as defined by wikipedia.org). Liberalism didn’t start in the 1700s.

    Read More

  • The Enlightenment And The Age Of Absolutism

    910 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Age of Absolutism is defined as a time period in Europe in which monarchs gained all of the power and wealth over the state for themselves, expanding the idea of single rule. The Enlightenment, on the other hand, is defined as a movement during the 18th century that rejected traditional social, religious, and political ideas, and introduced a desire to construct governments free of tyranny (or single rule). Document 3, a primary source written by King Louis XIV of France in 1660, is describing the idea of monarchy stating,“ The more you grant . . . [to the assembled people], the more it claims . . . The interest of the state must come first” (Document 3).

    Read More

  • Charles Murray Are Too Many People Going To College Summary

    786 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Charles Murray’s essay “Are Too Many People Going to College,” he believes that the concept of college has changed over the years. According to him, a four-year college is no longer as necessary as it was when it was first created because most jobs requires more on job training. He also adds to his reasoning by mentioning that because of the advancement of internet, physical libraries and the physical proximity of student and teachers is less important. Because of the changes he noticed he believes that people should go to college but not for liberal education. He makes the claim that the basic core knowledge of liberal education should be learned in elementary and middle school and that only people with high academic abilities should be encouraged to go to college.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The New Liberal Arts By Sanford J. Ungar

    1242 Words  | 5 Pages

    High school seniors are faced with a wide variety of decisions as they approach graduation. They must decide whether or not they are going to attend college, begin working, or do something else. If they do decide to attend college, they also must decide whether to pursue a liberal arts education or a vocational one. A liberal arts education primarily includes a collection of different classes and topics students can choose to take and study. A vocational route will mainly educate students on their specific intended career.

    Read More

  • The Pitfalls Of Liberalism Analysis

    444 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Pitfalls of Liberalism was a document by Stokely Carmichael who is known as one of the most recognized exponents of the “Black Power.” Movement. Stokely Carmichaels main argument in this document is that the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King along with other civil rights activists had reached an endpoint since the use of “Widespread resistance within America” (238) was in effect. Throughout the semester, we have never seen a document where a leaders only solution to advance is by “calling for the mobilization of organized violence by African-Americans in order to seize political power” (238). The concept of calling upon one single race to take action is new.

    Read More

  • Republican Motherhood Essay

    491 Words  | 2 Pages

    The right of women’s education wasn’t meant for their own benefit but to place them in a position to form future generations into good citizens and

    Read More

  • Judith Sargent Murray On The Equality Of The Sexes

    594 Words  | 3 Pages

    She again stresses that it is the equality of education that is being sought after. The essay by Murray is important because it demonstrates just one of the many thoughts that were increasingly being expressed by women of the time. The essay was written at a time where the prevailing idea of male superiority in society was still so ingrained, attempts at changing the status quo were impractical. However, it did help to foster the debate over women's status in the new nation that would continue over the next

    Read More

  • Essay On College Isn T For Everyone

    898 Words  | 4 Pages

    If a person’s parent or guardian drilled the idea of college into your head, or if they told you ‘do what you want’ or ‘I don 't care’, or ‘You’re not going’. While college is great, there are other means of education. The value of college is a low because there are people who do not qualify for a college education, and also because there are other ways of post-secondary education other than college. College is not valuable because many people will not make it into a 2 or 4-year college, much less graduate from one. To support this, in the article Why College Isn 't For Everyone, it says, “As a general rule, I would use graduates in the top quarter of their class at a high-quality high school should go on to a four-year degree program, while those in the bottom quarter of their classes at a high school with a mediocre educational reputation should not.”

    Read More

  • The Enlightenment And The American Revolution

    189 Words  | 1 Pages

    In conclusion, the Enlightenment was vital to the American Revolution and the creation of American Government. The Enlightenment beliefs that influenced the American Revolution were natural rights, the social contract, and the right to overthrow the government if the social contract was violated. The Enlightenment beliefs that aided to the creation of the American government were separation of powers, checks and balances, and limited government. As stated before, without the Enlightenment there would not have been a revolution, resulting in no American Government. The Enlightenment’s influence on the creation of America is irrefutable.

    Read More

  • Classical Liberalism: A Comparative Analysis

    941 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1970, the international tension that occurred confirmed the idea of realism to an extent. Hitherto, with the on-going inter-state collaboration and cooperation, a new philosophy emerged in the early 1980’s that completely changed the view of international system. The convolutions of contemporary world has led to the emergence of these two most prominent theories, as they can help resolve the complex issues of a globalized world. (Broad Historical Overview of International Relations', 2016).

    Read More

More about Liberal Enlightenment Analysis

Open Document