What Liberal Arts Education Does and Why It Still Matters

Liberal arts education is doomed to an AI-fueled obsolescence. Or is it? With its focus on fostering deeply human skills such as empathy, creativity, and ethical reasoning, this might just be a moment in which a liberal arts education is more relevant than ever. Starting the new academic year in this transformational AI moment, many of us are asking ourselves what kind of education is needed now and into the future, and what value does a liberal arts education offer. 

Birmingham Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A high-quality liberal arts education does many things, but two are especially critical today:

A liberal arts education helps you develop skills for a great career AND develop skills for a meaningful life.

 

This is so because an education grounded in the liberal arts:

 

• Energizes analytical thinking,
• Boosts creativity,
• Nurtures self-awareness,
• Elevates empathy, and
• Unlocks an appreciation for life.

Interestingly enough, these abilities align directly to five of the top eight core skills that employers say they are looking for in their employees. “Soft skills,” as they are sometimes called, are in high demand, and increasingly so in our AI world. (See the World Economic Forum's "The Future of Jobs Report 2025" for the details.)

A liberal arts education is invaluable because it:

Energizes analytical thinking. "Analytical thinking" is the top skill employers say they need. And rightly so. In any work environment, learning to formulate meaningful questions; synthesize information from multiple sources; create coherent arguments; question assumptions; apply moral and ethical reasoning to complex situations, are invaluable skills. As one AI-engineer shared with me, “AI can do Excel but you need to be able to think critically, think deeply across different problems, in order to make use of it and not be replaced by it.”

Boosts creativity. "Creative thinking" is fourth on employers’ lists of core skills they seek in their employees. While AI-generated content is all the rage right now, many people are voicing concerns, dissatisfaction, or outright disgust with some of the types of output they are encountering. It is even possible that we may see a swing back to interest in human-produced content: writing, music, poetry, art, books. See Jessica Stillman's interesting take that "The Rise of AI Will Make Liberal Arts Degrees Popular Again: Here's Why."

Nurtures self-awareness and Elevates empathy. Encountering the experiences of other people through music, movies, literature, poetry and art, we learn to visualize the stories of others. Opening our minds this way invites understanding and compassion, engaging other people and ourselves as whole persons. Martha C. Nussbaum explains:

We do not automatically see another human being as spacious and deep, having thoughts, spiritual longings, and emotions. It is all too easy to see another person as just a body—which we might then think we can use for our ends, bad or good. It is an achievement to see a soul in that body, and this achievement is supported by poetry and the arts, which ask us to wonder about the inner world of that shape we see—and, too, to wonder about ourselves and our own depths. (Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities, 102)

And note also that the number five core skill on employers’ lists is "motivation and self-awareness" while the number seven core skill is "empathy and active listening."

Unlocks an appreciation for life. Employers seek people who posses the core skills of "curiosity and lifelong learning" (number eight on their lists). Philosophy, theology, and related disciplines remind us that there is a gentle radiance, a quiet but luminous presence, a spiritual dimension, in all aspects of being: humans, living creatures, plants, inanimate objects, the earth itself. Depending on your view you might call this transcendence or the sacredness of creation; or you might say this world is enchanted, charmed with magic. Regardless, whether we perceive this mysterious aspect of the world depends largely on our ability to slow down, quiet our minds, and, with awareness, offer reverent attention to the world around us and the world within us. “But the magic of life is not about definitions and labels; it’s about love. About finding the beauty in the everyday motions of life” (Courtney Peppernell, Watering the Soul, p. 30). A liberal arts education invites us to appreciate the beauty and wonder of this world in which we live.

 

More than just practical in their own right, development of these skills and qualities prepares a person for "leadership and social influence," which is the number three skill sought by employers. Add “technological literacy” (#6) and “resilience, flexibility and agility” (#2) to your capabilities and you possess the top eight skills employers seek.

 

What can you do with these skills? Use them in all areas of your life to support meaningful relationships and meaningful work. A deeper sense of understanding who you are, appreciating the complexity of others, and an ability to engage each new circumstance with openness and creativity are qualities that will serve you well your whole life.