Prescribing the Life of the Mind: An Essay on the Purpose of the University, the Aims of Liberal Education, the Competence of Citizens, and the Cultivation of Practical Reason

By Charles W. Anderson

Book Overview

A distinguished political philosopher with years of experience teaching in undergraduate liberal arts programs, Anderson shows how the ideal of practical reason can reconcile academia's research aims with public expectations for universities: the preparation of citizens, the training of professionals, the communication of a cultural inheritance. It is not good enough, he contends, to simply say that the university should stick to the great books of the classic tradition, or to denounce this tradition and declare that all important questions are a matter of personal or cultural choice. By applying the methods of practical reason, instead, teachers and students will think critically about the essential purposes of any human activity and the underlying arguments of any text.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0299138348
• ISBN13: 9780299138349
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Length: 173 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Good introduction to the philosophy of higher education

I bought this book with the intention of getting a better understanding of the general philosophy of higher education: the book did not dissapoint me. This is not however a deep and rigorous philosophical study of higher education, rather it should be seen I think as a quick and terrif way of getting a better overview of the field - what are the major tradeoffs as far as educational ambitions are concerned? - what can and ought universities teach? - who should decide these questions?, etc. etc. It should also be pointed out that the book is not historical, if you want a better grasp of how things actually evolved and why, Frederick Rudolph's classic is probably where to go. As for the writing, it is elegant and easily accesible through out the book, which makes it a pleassure to read. In summary, if you are new to the field of philosophy of higher education , this book will definitely get you off in the right direction.