3 The Liberal Arts Tradition in Education

Abstract

This chapter presents historical development of liberal arts education in Western tradition as well as its development in China. The chapter covers several topics; (i) liberal arts education in historical context; (ii) definition of liberal arts education; and (iii) review of literature on liberal arts education in China. For Socrates and Aristotle, liberal arts studies were appropriate for the education of free citizens and pursuing human happiness. The idea of educating citizens of world had a significant influence on Western higher educational institutions and on many educators and philosophers, such as David Hume, Cardinal John Henry Newman, and Adam Smith in English tradition, and Thomas Paine and other significant founding fathers of American liberal arts education (Nussbaum 1997). With establishment of Oxford and Cambridge universities, idea of a liberal arts education with a focus on seven arts courses, classics, religious studies, and moral education became basis for educating English gentlemen.Keywords: Adam Smith; Cardinal John Henry Newman; China; David Hume; liberal arts education; Thomas Paine