Discusses the sorts of knowledge that the humanities provide, identifying the humanities with moral knowledge rather than practical benefits. Sees the humanities as domains of free intellectual inquiry, providing a training ground for moral decision making. (DMM)

Offers a critique of Alan Bloom's ideas on the Great Books approach to general education presented in "The Closing of the American Mind." Questions Bloom's assertions about the types of students who benefit from the approach and his rationale. Suggests that exposure to conflicting viewpoints via Great Books reinforces a relativist stance. (AYC)

Discusses the didactic value of literature study. Considers contemporary irrationalist philosophy's emphasis on human experience's subjective nature and its rejection of the possibility of shared, objective moral concepts being conveyed by reading literature. Acknowledges literature's subjective elements, while stressing the objective, cognitive…