Academic Life

Educational Mission

The Program of Studies is rooted in the classical and Christian views of liberal education.  The historical foundations of this kind of liberal education are the life of Socrates, the philosophy of Plato, and the establishment of the Academy.  With the dictum “the unexamined life is not worth living,” Socrates set forth the mission of liberal education — to live life well.
To assist young persons in their journey toward living life well, Socrates began by questioning, through dialogue, the opinions and beliefs that they held to be true.  These opinions and beliefs, Socrates asserted, stem, for the most part, from a particular cultural experience or historical moment.  His initial discourse with the young sought only to unmask opinion and belief so that they could be seen clearly for what they are.

Herein lies the threefold educational mission of the Program of Studies:  (1) to unmask the opinions and beliefs that are peculiar to the post‑modern era; (2) to demonstrate the connect­edness of things; and (3) to ground the odyssey toward living life well in those first principles and fundamental relationships that are universal to mankind.

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