On Saturday 26 October 2024 we gathered at the premises of the beautiful University Foundation in the heart of Brussels to discuss all things higher education. What better place than the Émile Francqui room, named after the Foundation’s founder (1863-1935) who sought to invest in higher education to rebuild his country after the Great War.
Our President set the stage with a concise overview of the critical state of universities in the West, emphasising how students no longer study, teachers no longer teach, and researchers no longer research. What were once centres of education have been turned into activists’ stages, with the value of degrees having gone down dramatically also because of the marketisation of the university.
Andreas De Block presented his sociological research into the political and idealistic make-up of academics in the US, UK, and mainland Europe. With the overwhelming majority of those teaching at universities consisting of left-leaning individuals – in particular in the humanities – it is no surprise that teaching programmes reflect this ideological strand. As a result, conservatives in general are less drawn to university careers, with conservative students opting for degrees where this leftwing influence is less noticeable. This in turn lowers the quality of education for students of all backgrounds, for lack of intellectual diversity.
Alicja Gescinska structured her contribution around a quote from Roger Scruton: ‘Thinking, real thinking, no longer happens at universities.’ Underneath the problems universities display on the surface, she identified the lack of knowledge and knowledge-based education as one of two core issues. The other: a lack of judgment. In a time where judging others is frowned upon, we need to strive for the return of proper judgment, as a sign of maturity, a ‘right of passage’, as Scruton called it in his 2009 Farewell to Judgment.
The symposium concluded with a discussion on stage between the speakers, with ample input from the audience. Time ran out before the questions ran out, so audience and speakers continued the conversation during the reception following; but not before our President outlined Lux Mundi’s plans for the coming years.
That conversation has only just begun. Higher education in the West needs to change dramatically if it wants to fulfil its purpose: to form young men and women into well-educated, well-spoken, well-balanced individuals ready to take up their place in society. To be continued!