I'll confess that had I been a member of the audience, I'd have been made slightly uncomfortable by his use -- sole use -- of Christ as the example of a person of sterling character.

That said, I think it's a wonderful speech and it makes a point that we all too often forget -- individual agency is awfully important. We can choose to be good or evil, and even -- or especially -- the most gifted among us have that choice to make.
Ben | Homepage | 10.01.05 - 2:26 pm | #

I think that Stanley Fish's answer (see http://chronicle.com/jobs/2003/0...003051601c.htm) , basically that college should concentrate on intellectual cultivation rather than character, is a plausible one for the present in our culture, at least.

At the professional school level, perhaps the answer is different. Perhaps there we (if educators) ought to turn out teachers and doctors and lawyers who are good at their craft in part because they are good people. but that's a very tall order for higher education at any level to tackle.
Tom Huddle | 10.04.05 - 7:27 pm | #

I think character should be intrinsically united to the intellectual and spiritual development of the individual (regardless of their Faith).
Kristina | Homepage | 10.04.05 - 9:00 pm | #

Thanks guys. I will now admit that character is something that ought to be adressed, like Kristina suggests. How? Well, different schools can take different approaches. Then people can take that into account when they pick a school.
Curt | Homepage | 10.04.05 - 9:11 pm | #