Why We Need The Liberal Arts Essay

Recently in English class we read an article titled, "Why We Need the Liberal Arts" by Joseph R. Urgo. It explains the issue in our society in which people consistently trade intellectually stimulating Liberal Arts college degrees for practical and much more profitable degrees in different, less intellectually stimulating, fields. The author believes this is because people don't like to wait for profit. In fact, most people don't like to wait for anything. Thanks to our technology, we are used to being able to have any information at our fingertips at all times of the day. This is what people want with their careers: instant gratification and tangible results. The author probably believes that a Liberal Arts education is beneficial in the long run. He probably …show more content…
Have you ever heard the saying: "Necessity is the mother of invention." Thomas Edison using his practical thinking skills, with no Liberal Arts education whatsoever, invented something incredibly practical that we still use to this day. The author believes that a Liberal Arts education is preparing students to think creatively in the real world. History on the other hand, shows hundreds of people who have invented new things or came up with creative ideas without a Liberal Arts education. I believe you need real world experience to learn how to be creative and solve problems. No classrooms, no matter how hard they try, can effectively simulate the real world, not even a Liberal Arts college. The author also believes that the only way to fight despair is to be creative. To put it simply, this is the only thing he said in which I agree. I come home from school every day after listening to my classmates annoying antics, do my homework, and immediately after go into my garage to build things. Creativity is a way for me to escape the real world and enter an entire world bent around what I can think