Achieving Knowledge Through Higher Education

Newman presents an argument in which he states that a universitys purpose is to train good members of society. A university educates students to perform well and better succeed in life. Knowledge plays a key part in the advancement of the student. The more knowledge a student has, the more well-rounded they are, the better they will succeed in life according to Newman. The way a student achieves this knowledge is through higher education, which is basically achieved through a university. Higher education is the center and key element of all civilization advancements. That is one of the primary definitions that comes to mind when asked about higher education at a university. Another definition about higher learning at a university is for oneself to learn who he or she really is in life. That person is also responsible for forming some kind of lifestyle according to what he or she has grasped onto from the university way of living. Many people also consider as true that a university is a place to receive a proof that he or she is qualified to work in a particular field of study as a professional. Each person should have the right to attend an educational institution seeking their own interpretation of higher learning. There are some people that have the resources, whether it be wealth or academically, to access higher learning at a university, but for those who do not, they have to be content with what they have learned through earlier years of school to succeed in life. A better understanding of each facet of education comes from understanding the dependence of each subject upon one another. Each subject is a branch of education and every branch stems from the same tree. Some branches diverge and have twigs and branches of their own, but everything is joined at the root. Education is very similar because each branch of knowledge relies on the other in order to advance. For example, science relies on language to document and publish experimental results. If these findings are published inaccurately, other scientists who use these publications in their own research will be misinformed. Each subject relies on another in some way. It is easier to understand each branch of the tree better if you can see how it is involved universally: where it stemmed from, and how it is dependent upon other branches; what branches stemmed from it, and how they are dependent upon it. Newman says,  ¡Ã‚ °true enlargement of mind  ¡ is the power of viewing many things at once as one whole, of referring them severally to their true place in the universal system, of understanding their respective values, and determining their mutual dependence. Newman is saying quite directly that in order to understand something, it must be looked at as one component of a universal picture. He is saying that when something is closely examined, there are no guidelines or basis for comparison, but when it is looked at universally, it is easier to see relationships and similarities making innovations more attainable. For example, the mathematical operations of algebra fulfill many practical needs in science. The ability to find values for unknown variables within sets of equations is a tool that science heavily relies on. The reason algebra is so conveniently practical in relation to science is because it was developed as a tool for science. The tools of algebra would not be present if Diophantus, the developer of algebra, had not been aware of the overall conditions his mathematical system needed to fulfill. Algebra serves society through science and its accomplishments. From building a nuclear reactor to altering chromosomes in a person's genetic makeup, every scientific field originates back to the basic rules of algebra. All of the groundbreaking advancements in society through science are functions of this mathematical tool developed to aid and expand science. Newman says that the purpose of the university is to develop your brain for the future. It broadens your mind and basically trains you for what is to come. It gives an individual a clear conscious to form their own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them(73). I agree with what he says throughout this passage. A university doesnt necessarily produce individuals that professionalize in one particular area. It helps the minds of the students develop and turn into mature beings. Higher education exists in many forms of definitions in life, but it is a decision that every person that enters a university must make of which interpretation pertains to his or herself. Everyone will approach it in their own way, but it remains to been seen who will flourish into the world as a well-rounded person on their conclusion. The decisions that we make as individuals dictate the lives that we lead in society.