The point of university is critical thinking

Re: “The religiosity of education” Sept. 14

This article is well placed at the start of the school year and I think that questioning why people go to university is important at this time.

However, I feel that you mischaracterized arguments against your own points when you say that “Those that fail to recognize the accumulation of knowledge as a key facet of university are forced into choosing from the unsatisfactory philosophies of pragmatism, hedonism or agnosticism with regard to the purposes of education.”

I would suggest that university is not about acquiring knowledge but acquiring the strong ability to think critically.

This must be accompanied with developing good intentions as neither knowledge nor critical analysis is good in and of itself.

A university degree (for arts anyways) is about allowing you to critically analyze the actions of yourself and others. This allows you to reassess your beliefs, actions and assumptions as well as things you hear from others.

This critical analysis is a powerful tool for good, allowing you to dispel damaging states of mind, false beliefs, terrible assumptions and lies/mischaracterization. It can also be used for evil, allowing you to become overly skeptical, lacking belief in anything.

Thus, acquiring critical thinking at university is not an end in itself but part a wider path to develop both tools like critical thinking and the right intention to guide their use to truly help ourselves and others.

In summary, university is about gaining the ability to critically analyze not just gain knowledge.

More importantly though, gaining knowledge and/or gaining the ability to think critically is not good in and of itself but part of a broad struggle to develop the right tools and right intentions for ones own good and the good of others.