The article focuses on the problem of a crisis in contemporary European universities. The key question is whether the crisis in university education is a calamity or a challenge in these times of social transformation. Adapting a metaphor of health to the university education in the contexts of "politics", "knowledge" and "self-understanding", the author makes an attempt to throw some new light on the pedagogical issues concerning tertiary education. Specifically, he argues that the wholeness of university education does not narrow our outlook on the world. Conversely, it helps us to remember that learning and teaching always require real practice, critical knowledge and personal engagement. (Contains 4 notes.)