In this book, philosopher Harry Brighouse and Spencer Foundation president Michael McPherson bring together leading philosophers to think about some of the most fundamental questions that higher education faces. Looking beyond the din of arguments over how universities should be financed, how they should be run, and what their contributions to the economy are, the contributors to this volume set their sights on higher issues: ones of moral and political value. The result is an accessible clarification of the crucial concepts and goals we so often skip over – even as they underlie our educational policies and practices.
The contributors tackle the biggest questions in higher education: What are the proper aims of the university? What role do the liberal arts play in fulfilling those aims? What is the justification for the humanities? How should we conceive of critical reflection, and how should we teach it to our students? How should professors approach their intellectual relationship with students, both in social interaction and through curriculum? What obligations do elite institutions have to correct for their historical role in racial and social inequality? And, perhaps most important of all: How can the university serve as a model of justice? The result is a refreshingly thoughtful approach to higher education and what it can, and should, be doing.
Contents:
Harry Brighouse and Michael McPherson
One/ Introduction: Problems of Morality and Justice in Higher Education
Amy Gutmann
Two/ What Makes a University Education Worthwhile?
Christopher Bertram
Three/ Defending the Humanities in a Liberal Society
Paul Weithman
Four/ Academic Friendship
Kyla Ebels-Duggan
Five/ Autonomy as Intellectual Virtue
Allen Buchanan
Six/ Education and Social Moral Epistemology
Lionel K. McPherson
Seven/ Righting Historical Injustice in Higher Education
Erin I. Kelly
Eight/ Modeling Justice in Higher Education
Harry Brighouse and Michael McPherson
Nine/ Conclusion: Future Research on Values in Higher Education
Acknowledgments
Contributors
Index
About the Author
Harry Brighouse is professor of philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of several books, including "School Choice and Social Justice and On Education", and is, most recently, co-author of "Family Values: The Ethics of Parent-Child Relationships".
Michael McPherson is president of the Spencer Foundation and was previously the president of Macalester College in St. Paul. Prior to that he was professor of economics, chairman of the Economics Department, and dean of faculty at Williams College. He is co-author or editor of several books, including "Economic Analysis", "Moral Philosophy", and "Public Policy" and co-founder of the journal Economics and Philosophy.
Reviews
"This collection of essays is valuable in reminding all of us that higher education both raises profound moral and philosophical issues and, at its best, encourages faculty and students to be more conscious of the importance of such issues, better prepared intellectually and personally to confront them, and, yes, wiser. These essays are also a useful antidote to the arrogance too often represented by strident assertions that 'I am right and you are wrong'. Issues of consequence rarely lend themselves to one-sentence answers" – William G. Bowen, president emeritus of Princeton University
"With all the understandable attention being paid to the economics of higher education, it is wonderful to focus also on the many moral issues in play. Brighouse and McPherson – and their superb team of contributors – challenge us all to step back and consider ethical dimensions underlying how and what we teach, the distribution of educational resources by the government and by colleges, and so much more. What a provocative and engaging volume" – Morton O. Schapiro, president of Northwestern University
"This is an ambitious volume, providing valuable philosophical tools to tackle three critical policy questions within higher education: What should the content of curricula and pedagogies be? Who should have access to college education? And what should be the relationship between higher education and broader society?" – Danielle Allen, co-editor of "Education, Justice, and Democracy"
