On the Nature of the Classical Liberal Arts

By Christopher Ruckdeschel

Considering that the nature of the human being does not change, and that God made the world of created things as a constant means to lead to Himself, it is no surprise that the liberal arts contain a core, unchanging content. To understand the principles that direct their own cognitive faculties, humans must study the rules of language, thought, and persuasion (Trivium). To understand the root characteristics of the material world, humans must study the principles God uses in ordering creation, knowledge about creation that flows from these principles, and man's place in creation (Quadrivium). The classical liberal arts are the necessary intellectual prerequisite habits for humanity living in a material world to understand the nature of that world, the human soul, and God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Apr 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9781543967838

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Copyright © 2019 by Christopher Ruckdeschel

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing, 2019

ISBN: 9781543967838

Alpine Hill LLC

154 White Bridge Rd.

Middletown, NY 10940

Acknowledgements

The support I’ve received from others in the development of this essay has been absolutely essential, and I know I would never have completed it, much less sought to publish it, without their labor and generosity.

I am grateful to William Michael for his own work in researching the classical liberal arts.  He has been generous in sharing his own thoughts and resources with me, and I believe I gained much through my exposure to them.  In particular, his love of Scripture and respect for ancient sources heavily influenced my own thinking in general and this essay in particular. I am grateful for his presentation of the historical development of the arts, as well as his presentation of the quadrivium as absolute multitude, relative multitude, magnitude at rest, and magnitude in motion.  Lastly, I appreciate his mention of the Boethian texts De Institutione Arithmetica and De Institutione Musica.

I thank Peter McNamara for his work reviewing this piece and our subsequent discussions that resulted from it, and Jessica McKendry, Florence Ruckdeschel, and Delia Ruckdeschel for their work designing the cover.  I thank Fr. Claude Pavur, S. J. for his time and consideration.  His constructive, charitable criticism led to several improvements in the text.  In particular, I am indebted to Shane Haselbarth and Fr. Jon Tveit for their willingness not only to discuss the content of this essay over the course of many years, but also their diligence in suggesting improvements and challenging the faults they encountered in their review of this work.  Whatever errors that still may exist in this piece are my contribution.

Most importantly, I wish to recognize that this essay would not have been possible without the generous encouragement and support of my wife Delia and our five children.

Table of Contents

Preface

Considering the number of studies of the classical liberal arts already composed and the recent growth in educational programs that profess to follow some version of a classical curriculum, it may appear unnecessary to offer another examination of this topic. Nevertheless it is apparent that no small amount of disagreement still exists regarding what is necessary in the liberal arts as scholars negotiate the difficulties inherent in tracing their study through various historical periods as well as weighing their contemporary relevance in light of the advances in modern natural science.

  One difficulty is the determination of what constitutes the essential content of each art. For example, the classical liberal art Arithmetic regularly is treated as the modern study of the four operations of the same name: "the question remains about mathematics as an ‘art’. Here, too, one starts by learning certain determinate means whereby one is able to meet the problems of multiplication and division, whereby one learns techniques of measuring surfaces and solids".1 Such a mistake leads to subsequent errors in understanding the quadrivial studies overall: Mathematics, in the present day status of the liberal arts, begins with algebra in the first year of high school, and should be continued, if possible, through four years and further.2 Another difficulty is the integration of the liberal arts into a coherent, unified whole. Although a general definition may point towards important truths, the resulting obscurity may allow for subsequent error: [t]he liberal arts train the mind, are an intermediate stage in the educational process, and teach fundamental truths concerning God, man and nature.3 This lack of clarity in turn may lead some to add additional studies beyond the liberal arts themselves: history has not only been associated with the liberal arts but is one of them,4 history is liberal arts knowledge,5 and There is, of course, no earthly reason why two sciences (astronomy and the physics of sound)6 should be included, and all other sciences excluded.7

Even if one were to accurately identify the liberal arts and their respective content, however, will not the following question immediately confront him: Is there then no need at all for a reform of the traditional liberal arts, or their adaptation to current needs?8 Since the natural sciences have made rapid advances, it appears that the labor of today is the synthesis into the organic concept of the quadrivium, the present advances of the sciences9 which would require expert judgment to distinguish essentials from mere diversified applications.10 Although study in the modern natural sciences is clearly valuable and should be readily available to students, as it has yielded countless ancillary discoveries and inventions for the good of humanity, nevertheless, it is evident both that the message of creation communicated to