According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, liberal arts colleges “aim at imparting general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum.” Seneca’s On Liberal and Vocational Studies addresses the importance of a liberal education. He emphasizes the importance of a liberal education as it serves as a way to gain true knowledge, form a liberated mindset, and live a life full of virtue. A result from pursuing a higher education in liberal arts is the gain of what Seneca defines to be true knowledge. From the beginning of his writing, Seneca claims, “there is only one really liberal study — that which gives a man his liberty. It is the study of wisdom, and that is lofty,
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“Why, them, do we educate our children in the liberal studies?” It is not because they can bestow virtue, but because they simply serve as a foundation or raw material to a virtuous life. It teaches how to uphold your morals and not give into temptation to go against them. When one learns how to prepare their mind for moral values and dedicate themselves to live by them, then they will come to an understanding of the reason and purpose of life, which is to live virtuously. “Hence you see why ‘liberal studies’ are so called; it is because they are studies worthy of a free-born gentleman.” A liberal arts education is surely of a higher benefit to anyone seeking a higher education, because these are the universities that provide students with distinctly different experiences and opportunities to form a virtuous character. Seneca provides many more reasons as to why a person should pursue a liberal education and the benefits they reap in his excerpt On Liberal Arts and Vocational Studies. He argues that “certain persons have made up their minds that the point at issue with regard to the liberal studies is whether they make men good; but they do not even profess or aim at a knowledge of this particular subject.” In conclusion, a liberal arts education provides many benefits to those who seek it, such as the gain of true knowledge, the ability to think with a free mindset and the ability to live a virtuous
“Why, them, do we educate our children in the liberal studies?” It is not because they can bestow virtue, but because they simply serve as a foundation or raw material to a virtuous life. It teaches how to uphold your morals and not give into temptation to go against them. When one learns how to prepare their mind for moral values and dedicate themselves to live by them, then they will come to an understanding of the reason and purpose of life, which is to live virtuously. “Hence you see why ‘liberal studies’ are so called; it is because they are studies worthy of a free-born gentleman.” A liberal arts education is surely of a higher benefit to anyone seeking a higher education, because these are the universities that provide students with distinctly different experiences and opportunities to form a virtuous character. Seneca provides many more reasons as to why a person should pursue a liberal education and the benefits they reap in his excerpt On Liberal Arts and Vocational Studies. He argues that “certain persons have made up their minds that the point at issue with regard to the liberal studies is whether they make men good; but they do not even profess or aim at a knowledge of this particular subject.” In conclusion, a liberal arts education provides many benefits to those who seek it, such as the gain of true knowledge, the ability to think with a free mindset and the ability to live a virtuous