The text of a lecture in the University of Arizona Wilson Lecture Series on values in higher education is presented, with responses by Richard H. Gallagher, Jeanne McRae McCarthy, and Raymond H. Thompson. The theme of the talk is that man is by evolution and by necessity a thinking animal, who now finds himself in a technologically dependent society. Our educational system grew up to meet national objectives, which are summarized in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States. Of all man's great innovations, the university is the most appropriate response to his nature, and may be the most successful agent for controlled and constructive change. Comments on the lecture focus on these issues: the proportions of federal support of higher education, current proportions of the higher education enterprise, underrepresentation of certain populations in the university community, and the potential for undesirable homogenization of university education. (MSE)