Who Needs a Liberal Arts College? A Philosophy of Education by Alburey Castell

Description

Alburey Castell, a significant Twentieth Century American philosopher, turned his attention to issues in education at mid-point in his academic career. Engaged in an enduring polemic with scientism’s effort to abolish personhood, most notably in B.F. Skinner’s thought, Castell forged the concepts of “agency,” “activity,” and “process” to stake out the claims of personhood. Carrying such concepts as tools into the field of education, Castell drove a wedge between the humanities and the sciences. The person, or “self,” reasons, while processes in the natural world are reasoned about. Logic is the description of the reasoned “activities” of the self, while laws of science are descriptions of the “processes” of nature. Applications to the everyday concerns of educators abound. Understanding the daily tasks in teaching presupposes knowledge of the logic of coming to know. Students are not stimulus-response mechanisms, but resourceful reasoners assembling connecting links to conclusions. The role of social science is exposed as a complex and open question. The issue of the aims of education is directed to the development of the individual person as a free and rational agent. This individual must come to understand himself and his place in the modern world. The modern world is aptly described as requiring a professional and managerial class with special educational needs. Castell then describes the function of the liberal arts college as providing the foundations for the special, further educational skills acquired at the graduate and professional school level.