Kenyon Commencement

Reading the commencement speech given at Kenyon College was interesting. What really stood out to me was how the speaker kept mentioning that a liberal arts degree teaches you how to think, that it is a cliche to say that. I do not think anyone needs anyone or anything to tell them how to think. Getting a liberal arts degree might open you up to a new line of thought or broaden your views, but it cannot tell you how to think. It is up to us to teach ourselves how to think. With that said, a liberal arts degree can still teach you a new way to think. The example given about the atheist getting lost is a good one to use here. He said that the passing Eskimos saved him, while the religious guy he was talking to said that it was because he prayed to God for help. Either way, the atheist was saved and both parties feel their thoughts on the situation are true. I feel that everyone is entitled to their own opinions; to have their own thoughts essentially. No amount of education can tell you how to think. It is up to us to know how we want to think.

The quote "the mind being an excellent servant but a terrible master" really stood out. How I interpreted this was that you are in charge of your thoughts, not your thoughts are in charge of you. This world isn't run by Big Brother; he cannot tell you how to think. I do not understand where the idea of liberal art educations teach you how to think came about, but it is completely wrong. No educational program teaches you HOW to think; the point of education is to help you to learn how to think for yourself.