The value of a liberal arts and science education has been much in the public discourse these last few years. Political and economic forces--some might say agendas--have shaped that discourse, as they have for at least the last century, particularly in the United States. But before assuming a shared understanding of what constitutes liberal education, perhaps we should pose that as an essential question.

In the past, Center for Teaching workshops have done just that, invited participants to jot down their own definitions of liberal education. And while the variety of answers can be fascinating, they almost always revolve around three notions that together describe an educated person as...