But what are the larger purposes for learning about bodies of knowledge and traditions, and for developing analytic skills, Mr. Fish? If the goal of social justice strikes Fish as just so much bunk to be debunked, then perhaps the time has come to debunk the debunker.
The goal of social justice arguably provides an over-arching goal for expanding the goal of trying to develop ethical individuals. No doubt more than just a token ethics course is needed to help try to develop ethical individuals. Indeed, the entire thrust of liberal arts education is supposed to contribute to developing ethical individuals. In a similar but different way, the entire thrust of liberal arts education should contribute to promoting social justice.
But stripped of the over-arching goals of contributing to developing ethical individuals and to promoting social justice, liberal arts education flounders because it lacks over-arching goals as reasons for its existence and as reasons for students to make the effort to discipline themselves enough to study and learn difficult subject matters.
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