In the dimension of the unsettled and the uncertain, we face the ongoing possibility of radical transformation. Within the framework of the particular disciplines, the ideal form of discourse is one that is calm and dispassionate. Giving oneself over to a shared understanding of what is important permits one to engage in a kind ethos of rationality that centers on consensus and common purpose. Complementing this model with a philosophically oriented core assures that a full diversity of voices can be interwoven into a community that, dynamically alive, is always in the process of emerging. While I recognize that an important condition of diversity is that as many cultural traditions as possible be actively represented on campus, I do not think it can be fully realized until all participants are invited to actively question their own worldviews as a precondition for entering the common quest for truth.
Simple representation is never enough.
Full diversity will not blossom without the explicit invitation to self-transcendence that is the direct consequence of the philosophical quest for truth. Only where we are serious about truth, do we have an incentive to listen to one another. Where we capitulate to cynicism by permitting our conception of truth to melt into the diverse field of opinions and fictions with which we humans seek to hold reality at bay, we destroy genuine diversity at its root. Education must not succumb to such nihilism. To reduce fundamental human outlooks to this level is to put an end to the conversation between human spirits.