"In every sort of study and line of inquiry, more humble and more honorable alike, there appear to be two sorts of competence. One of these is rightly called scientific knowledge of the subject, and the other is a certain type of education; for it is characteristic of an educated person to be able to reach a judgment based on a sound estimate of when people expound their conclusion in the right or wrong way. For this is in fact what we take to be characteristic of a generally educated person, and this is the sort of ability that we identify with being educated. We expect one and the same individual with this general education to be able to judge in practically all subjects; but if someone is educated in some narrower area, we take him to have this ability only for some determinate area--for it is possible for someone to have the ability of an educated person about a restricted area." (Aristotle, Parts of Animals, 639a 3-13, translated by Terrence Irwin and Gail Fine (Indianapolis, Ind.: Hackett Publishing Company, 1996)).
What is it to be educated? What is the difference between what Aristotle calls scientific knowledge of a subject (by which he means demonstrated knowledge in a particular field of study), and an education that gives one sufficient knowledge to be a competent judge in every subject matter? How do you imagine pursuing both a general education and demonstrated knowledge of a particular area of focus at the University of Dallas, through the Core on the one hand, and a major on the other?
