The Three Faces of Thinking.
Just how important are the humanities in the education of our youth? Aren't they really just frosting on the caketasty, to be sure, but certainly less essential than the more rigorous disciplines? If the humanities are really that important, then why have "the teachers of the humanities lost their confidence and sense of mission?" Why have the humanities become "bureaucratized, interest groups defending their turf, rather than a force for deepening our understanding of human values" [14, pp. 234-35]? In fact, do music and art really matter? Do the poets somehow say it better? Do Moby Dick and The Brothers Karamazov advance our understanding of ourselves in some unique sense? Can't the lessons of history be adequately summarized by the modern social sciences? And of what possible relevance is Aristotle to our modern era?1 Most of us continue to pay lip service to the humanities. Some of us believe that, when properly taught, they provide unique insights and perspectives, refinement and intellectual growth. In particular, some of us believe that there is a profound link between a humanistic