Philosophy 5: Critical Thinking and Composition

Pierce College

Department of History, Philosophy, & Sociology

Group Exercise for Delbanco Reading

(Notes on the importance of group exercises.)

Group Work Summary: Each group paraphrases one of the following passages, and then provides an explanation to help someone understand the quote–and an example if you have time.

A) "Seen in that long view, the distinctive contribution of the United States to the history of liberal education has been to deploy it on behalf of the cardinal American principle that all persons have the right to pursue happiness, and that 'getting to know,' in Matthew Arnold's much-quoted phrase, 'the best which has been thought and said in the world' is helpful to that pursuit."

B) "Knowledge of the past, in other words, helps citizens develop the capacity to think critically about the present–an indispensable attribute of a healthy democracy."

C) "These ideals and achievements are among the glories of our civilization, and all Americans should be alarmed as they come to be regarded as luxuries unaffordable for all but the wealthy few."

D) "But for many more students, college means the anxious pursuit of marketable skills in overcrowded, under_resourced institutions, where little attention is paid to that elusive entity sometimes called the 'whole person.'"

E) "To succeed in sustaining college as a place where liberal learning still takes place will be very costly." "But in the long run, it will be much more costly if we fail."

F) "What parents want for their children is not just prosperity but happiness. ... And though it is foolish to deny the linkage between the two, they are not the same thing."

G) "A class should be small enough to permit every student to participate in the give-and-take of discussion under the guidance of an informed, skilled, and engaged teacher."

(To track your group exercise participation, each group should supply me with a sheet of paper with today's date, all of the group members' names, and your paraphrase.)