Jianyang Geng seems to assume that the liberal arts claim a monopoly on critical thinking (Letters, 25 November). Well, we don’t – and never have. What those of us in liberal arts do try to encourage are ways of thinking that cross boundaries: bringing together ideas and methods from wherever they’re useful, whether that’s the sciences, the social sciences or the humanities. And this isn’t some modern reinvention. From the start, a liberal education paired logic, grammar, rhetoric and music with geometry, maths and astronomy.
The subjects may look different today, but the underlying attitude hasn’t really changed. The problems we face now, as well as the ones coming down the tracks tomorrow, simply don’t fit neatly into single disciplines. Good critical thinking depends on drawing from as many perspectives as possible. Criticising the liberal arts by taking its name too literally misses what it’s actually trying to do.
Dr William Rupp
Head of liberal arts, University of Warwick
