On the Boundaries

Reflections on Some of My Primary Values. 1^st Post

In reading over the previous post on my principles, the following statement “jumped out” at me: “It’s obviously important to be able to distinguish between principles on the one hand and values, interests, desires, inclinations, etc. on the other, and I hope I have done that.” As I reviewed the two posts on principles, it became clear that I had not done that! So, before starting to talk about my values, let me try to make that distinction.

The first issue is which comes first—do principles generate values, or do principles arise out of values? If you care to do some research, you can find sound arguments on both sides of that question. At the risk of disagreeing with my wife, I’ll turn to etymology and note that the Latin word principium meant ”source, origin, beginning,” and came to mean a law or a primary truth that formed the basis for other beliefs.

David Guralnik, editor of Webster’s New World Dictionary, argued that principles are fixed, invariable, and absolute, while values are subject to change as the demands and needs of a society, or of an individual, change. I believe that Guralnik has made a helpful distinction between principles and values, although it will later become obvious that I don’t entirely agree that principles are always “fixed and absolute,”

For the purposes of this blog, I will posit that principles create a sense of purpose; they are what one stands for in life and they generally do not change over time. Recall, however, that the previous blog ended with the unresolved matter of whether a principle can ever be compromised—the “ditch” issue writ large—to which I will return later. Values, on the other hand, are beliefs and opinions regarding specific issues or ideas that arise largely from and are consistent with one’s principles, and are important in expressing one’s convictions and points of view. Like most everyone, I have more values than I can address here, and deciding is hard, but these are the ones I’ve chosen for now.

My First Value

I will begin, not surprisingly, with what I said in the first blog post in this series:  my prime value is also my first principle, and that is the supreme worth of human personality. It is human persons that I value above all. As noted earlier, my own attempt to do that is to honor this value in my thoughts and my actions. That includes doing what I can to nurture and preserve the highest standards of human behavior, starting with my own, and doing whatever is in my power and my sphere of influence to make human personhood lift and enrich human society, rather than dividing and corrupting it. Since the entire first post was my attempt to explain and describe my efforts to do that, I will let this value rest on that narrative.

My Second Value

As hinted on in the previous post, respect for and enjoyment of Nature is one of my Values. It provides for many, perhaps most of us, moments and sometimes hours of enjoyment—ranging from simple appreciation to heart-touching thrill—in the presence of nature’s beauty, fascinating order, dizzying diversity, and if we are fortunate enough to find it, a display unspoiled by human touch. And yet, one must remember that we—human persons—are also a part, and handiworks, of nature.

The loveliness of nature has not been hard to find in the United States, from Boothbay Harbor to Bar Harbor and Accadia National Park in Maine on the northeast coast, to the spectacular drive from Oregon to Southern California via the Pacific Coast Highway on the west coast, and some of the untold splendors in between, some of which I have seen, including the wonders of two of our National Parks—Yellowstone and Glacier. 

But my first experience abroad in 1974—already 38 years old, never having led a student tour, no second language—was taking a group of students for three weeks in Switzerland. It was “the spark that lit the fire” and I have been absolutely smitten for the rest of my life with the joys of eye-opening, enriching international travel. For example:

• I have been privileged to be caught up in the stunning beauty of the fjords of Norway, and the pleasure of a few days in the lovely village of Balestrand on the banks of Sognefjorden;
• the “Outback” and rain forests of Australia, its lovely walkable cities of Melbourne and Adelaide, and the scenic ocean drive by “the Twelve Apostles” rock formation between the two;
• the mountains, glaciers, and Sounds of New Zealand;
• the countryside and villages of the Cotswolds and the rugged coastlines of Cornwall in England;
• a memorable day hike in Wales, over the rolling landscape in County Gwynedd, ending in the forest of Coed y Brenin, thick with greenery and mist from its magical waterway, making one wonder if Merlin might appear;
• six weeks with ten students in the lovely ancient walled city of Perugia, in the Umbrian region of Italy, with its cobblestone streets,  medieval town square, and across the landscape, a view of the town of Assisi, historic birthplace of  St. Francis;
• while in Cairo, Egypt, a birthday boat trip down the lovely Nile river;
• the incredible number of open shops snaking along the pathways of the Medina of Marrakech in Morocco;
• the restaurants and shops in downtown San Cristobal de las Casas and the beautifully preserved 20-centuries old ruins of the Mayan city of Palenque, both in Chiapas, Mexico;
• the iconic “raised” village of Lacoste, in Provence in southern France;
• breathtaking views of rivers and lakes studded with sheer sided mountains in Guilin, China.

And, before you drowse off, there are more than I will attempt to describe from other naturally-formed and human-involved images that I have been so fortunate to see from many sites in Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Libya, Tunisia, Sweden, Denmark, and others I may have missed.

To return to the unpretentious and heart-touching, we relish simply sitting on our deck, looking out gratefully over our spacious “green-screened” and fenced-in back yard, with wild turkeys and deer in the woods, squirrels and bunnies scampering about, our two dogs enjoying their “kingdom,” and with the Blue Ridge Mountains visible beyond.  Our own visit with nature in the spectacular mountains and scenic countryside of Western North Carolina that’s hard to beat!

To take one step further, who has not been caught up in an ecstatic experience of “something more” in the beauty of a piece of music, object of art, a theatrical performance, or, to come back full circle, a transformative “magic moment” in a loving human relationship. But those, you might say, are not “nature.” Oh, but they are—human creations? Yes, but as noted above, remember that we, also, are a part of nature!

My Third Value

While I don’t want to labor the point, I can’t avoid noting that the liberal arts are and have been for most of my adult life one of my most prime values. Since I’ve written so extensively about this in a number of blogs, I will try to be brief! Let this be my basic point for development:

There is no inherent contradiction between the values of liberal arts education and preparation for vocation or profession. And here is the reason that this statement is important: one of the primary goals of a college education for most students and their parents is to help secure a satisfying and well-paying job. Public attitudes toward liberal arts education have a negative view, seeing it as “impractical.” However, CEOs and Human Resource Managers argue, rather, that “liberal learning” develops important career skills in such areas as problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, and a number of others.

I refuse to be captive to the trap set up by those who would argue that the liberal arts cannot be liberal if they are shown to be practical.  That is to drown by falling face forward in a definitional soup of one’s own making! 

“A liberal education,” in its best and widest sense, includes training objectives relevant to a given occupation, but it also transcends them to develop the student’s wider abilities. Ralph Tyler put it this way: “We should be less interested in whether students have acquired a bunch of little answers to little questions and more concerned with whether they are able to work out answers to their own problems because they have acquired the intellectual skills (to do so).”

Some knowledge and facts are, of course, necessary if students are to be prepared to negotiate the very complex world that confronts us. But that we can teach them, help them learn, everything they need to know for any job or career is patently ridiculous. The knowledge explosion is a reality. Since the typical college graduate will change professions (not just jobs) from five to seven times in his or her career, all students will have to become permanent learners.

The approach of the liberal arts to learning is at its best, interdisciplinary.  It asks the questions that form the bedrock of an informed citizenry. It points us to the passionate nurture of curiosity. And it embraces the development of certain skills:  for example,

• how to solve problems and to think critically
• to “learn how to learn”
• to learn how to communicate—to write, speak, and listen, effectively
• to learn to work both independently and in groups of diverse people

The liberal arts education that I value tries to generate individuals who are thoughtful and creative, open to new ideas, and capable of dealing with the complex world they will inhabit.

And enough for now. In a 2^nd post, I will address My Fourth Value. As hard as it has been to choose among my values—and my chagrin at those that have to be left out—I cannot possibly omit the value I place upon my family. I hope you will have the interest, and the patience, to follow along.