ABSTRACT
It is, nevertheless, safe to assume that much will have been said about the causes of the behavior both of academics and of academic institution. The crucial distinctions needed here are: a distinction between two fundamentally different senses of the word "cause"; a corollary distinction between two correspondingly different senses of the word determinism. The chapter considers and indicates how the people should refute a false view of the nature of man: a view that, it is often thought, is both presupposed and confirmed by the moral sciences; but that is certainly incompatible with any project for a humane and liberal education. Politicization in the academy takes two forms: one afflicts preestablished and previously nonpoliticized subject areas; the other involves the introduction of new, politically motivated programs. Both involve more or less serious defections from the ideal of a humane and liberal education.
