Reclaiming Liberal Education

Overview & Synopsis

The main purpose of this paper is to articulate and defend an updated concept of liberal education. To achieve this purpose, the paper has attempted two things. First, to provide a meaning for the notion of liberal education by drawing upon, and discussing briefly, the ideas of three British philosophers, namely, Paul Hirst, Richard Stanley Peters, and Michael Oakeshott. And second, to discuss the need for an updated concept of liberal education, by pointing out the shortcomings of the traditional/classical concept of liberal education, in the context of contemporary reality. The implications of an updated notion of liberal education are also pointed out. The discussion highlights the fact that there is a need to reclaim the value of liberal learning not only in higher education but at all levels of education.