Contact President Ford at: forda@wabash.edu


















The need for a liberal arts education has never been greater. It is this education that provides the essential link between thinking critically and living humanely—between the mastery of knowledge that creates confident leaders, the questioning that creates wise ones, and the respect for life and learning that finds in this tension the most creative solutions.

Magazine
Summer/Fall 2002

From Center Hall:
Thinking Critically
AND Living Humanely?


by Andy Ford
Wabash College President

When I first heard that the theme for the summer issue of Wabash Magazine would be “Think critically…live humanely,” I thought two topics would be featured—one “to think critically,” the other “to live humanely.” I soon learned, however, that Steve Charles and his colleagues envisioned one topic: thinking critically in order to live humanely. This linking of the two topics brought me up short, probably because I had assumed unconsciously that they were in conflict or in tension, not linked, to one another. Thinking critically, it seemed, often made it hard, if not impossible, to be humane, charitable, civil; the stronger the critical power, the harder to be nice. Given these unspoken assumptions, I watched with special interest as Steve built this issue of the magazine.

Our goal at the College is to help our young men become gentlemen who always think critically and live humanely. Even if these two notions are not naturally or easily linked, they need to be joined if one is to live a good life. The pages of this magazine demonstrate our continuing effort in this regard.

In her course on bio-ethics, philosophy professor Cheryl Hughes teaches future doctors to be sure they ask the appropriate “first questions;” but her conviction extends to other majors as well.

“These are life issues, and they affect people who are going to be leaders, regardless of their vocation,” Hughes explains. “Our students need to be able to consider these issues thoughtfully, to be able to articulate their positions and have conversations about them with others in their community.”

These words speak to the heart of a liberal arts education—its integration of disciplines and dedication to educating mind, body, and spirit. Recent events in the business and financial world bear witness to our need to educate men to become leaders with such integrity.

While we do not offer a major in accounting, we need as part of our liberal arts education to graduate men who understand the importance of the rules of accounting not only for how they affect a corporation’s profitability, but also for how they shape public policy and impact the country. The scandals involving Enron and WorldCom (and who knows what other firms by the time this issue gets printed) make it clear that as a society we have not been very successful in helping people understand how judgment goes into preparing financial reports. We need to do better, both with the technical understanding and those important “first questions.” Liberal arts graduates need to know the myriad ways in which accounting laws and regulations can affect all sections of this country, even if they never had a course in accounting.

Because there is so much to know, the need for a liberal arts education has never been greater. It is this education that provides the essential link between thinking critically and living humanely—between the mastery of knowledge that creates confident leaders, the questioning that creates wise ones, and the respect for life and learning that finds in this tension the most creative solutions.

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