Learning Should Be Undertaken “For Its Own Sake,” But Get Real

by Joshua Gibbs

It’s fine.

Classical educators often talk about “learning for its own sake,” as opposed to leaning for the sake of getting a job. While it’s fair to speak this way, many classical educators use this expression in a manner which is dangerously and willfully naive. In effort to get classical educators to speak more precisely and carefully about the point of education, I offer the following seven theses.

1. “Learning for its own sake” is a high-minded ideal that describes very, very few people in the history of the world. Expecting the average child to “learn for its own sake” is a bit like expecting the average child to pass a fitness exam to advance in the Navy SEALS. In a twenty-year career, you might encounter a dozen students who can handle the psychological burden of “learning for its own sake.”  

2. The social models of education wherein students “learn for its own sake” have nothing to do with the typical American private school. Our students are neither landed aristocrats, nor monks.  

3. Most classical schools are subliminally undermining the claim that learning is done “for its own sake” in six dozen ways that the administration has deemed “economic necessities.”  Very little about a classical school suggests, “We do this for its own sake.” This isn’t wrong or sinful. It is wrong, however, to pretend like this isn’t the case. 

4. Claiming that students should “learn for its own sake” is often (not always) a cop-out by teachers who can’t explain why their subject matters, or what good it will do to those who study it.  

5. Nonetheless, the student who claims his classical school should change the curriculum “because I need a job” is not in earnest. You’re going to get a job just fine. “Because I need a job” usually means “because I need to go to a more prestigious college than other graduates,” which is not a rationale that needs to be taken seriously.  

6. The best way of getting anybody to do anything “for its own sake” is to offer them good company while doing that thing. I’m not particularly interested in spending the afternoon washing greasy dishes, but if I could spend the afternoon washing dishes with Sofia Coppola or Iggy Pop, it would be a thrill. Likewise, if you want students to learn “for its own sake,” you’re going to have to hire some really colorful, charismatic weirdos.  

7. Let’s say that learning “for its own sake” is the ideal. It’s the high end of the spectrum. But what’s the second most noble reason for learning? The third most noble reason? The fourth most noble reason? If a classical teacher can’t explain lesser reasons for learning, I’m not sure they understand the ideal. Similarly, if I hear someone say, “America is the greatest nation in the history of the world,” I want to ask, “What’s the second greatest nation in the history of the world?” If that person doesn’t have a plausible answer, their original proclamation isn’t all that compelling.