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I count myself as one—who bases his or her practice on a particular attitude toward the “Big Questions. ” The questions of fundamental liter-acy in K–12 education, or of expertise in voca-tional and professional education, may be just as important, but we see them as quite different in kind. Indeed, the questions of liberal education take hold of people only under certain condi-tions. They call for distinct curricular and peda-gogical approaches suited to a particular kind of learner. Beyond the scene of learning, these questions also challenge societies more gener-ally to recognize the value of acknowledging, experiencing, and responding to them and to maintain forums for their discussion. Now I admit that this understanding of liberal education can sound pompous and old hat. For the last few decades, our societies have been challenging liberal educators in turn to explain why and how their practices remain pertinent to a swiftly changing, end-lessly modernizing world. Many such educa-tors have themselves joined the ranks of the doubting and contributed to sharpening and disseminating this criticism. Leaving aside the strains these changes have also put on K–12 and vocational and professional educations, could alteration in the social conditions of lib-eral education be presaging the latter’s extinc-tion? In our age of ever more sophisticated versions of critical, ideology-unmasking the-ory and ever more sensitive scruples about di-versity—not to mention competing, popular, and innovative media—the Big Questions can seem like inert, sacred cows. If we are to take them seriously today, we need at the very least to dispel their lofty vagueness and suspect majesty and to elucidate the specific nature of their appeal. What distinguishes these ques-tions from others? To whom are they appropri-ately addressed? How could liberal educators help such people respond adequately? RENÉ V. ARCILLA is associate professor of educa