The meaning of a liberal education

The author contends that liberal education is more than information or vocational training, presenting education as emancipation from herd opinion and the cultivation of self-mastery, suspended judgment, critical self-examination, and an appreciation of human worth. Chapters contrast such education with mere animal training, propaganda, and book learning, argue for the educational value of doubt and enduring intellectual dilemmas, and celebrate the free spirit. The work treats relations between education, work, and morals, examines classical and humanist perspectives alongside tensions between science and superstition, and concludes by considering the aims and challenges of adult education.