I believe the term liberal arts was rooted in “free.” That is, historically, free (and oppressive) classes of people saw the ideas of a liberal arts curriculum (as they defined it) to be too powerful to share with oppressed (often enslaved) classes of people.
Yes. It is loosely considered to be well rounded education that any free citizen should have to be a good citizen – in the old days – from Rome. Liberal arts education - Wikipedia
If “critical thinking” is the criterium, then I’d suggest that a discipline like mechanic engineering requires as much “critical thinking” as many fields in liberal arts. There’s really nothing “mechanical” in mechanical engineering.
Also, a person who isn’t “educated” in a traditional “liberal arts” field can still be highly “educated” and participate fully as a citizen in a democratic society.
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The keyword here is “historically”. My question is whether the term “liberal arts” still has meaning today.
It also became intertwined with the study of Greek and Latin because those were the written languages that helped preserve much of what the world knew about science, and math during the Dark Ages. The fact that the chief stewards of this knowledge tended to be monks and priests lent a kind of monastic quality to the study of these subjects. The monasteries grew into great temples of learning at places like Oxford and Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leipzig, and others, but was still more concerned with the study of the past than with the contemporary world. All of that began to change with the rise of the modern university where research - particularly scientific research - became the central mission of the institution (which incidentally required the study of modern languages as well.) Ever since the nineteenth century the “liberal” in liberal arts has been taken as a dedication to free inquiry, free of religious bias, free of vested interests.
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I don’t follow? Are you suggesting that because critical thinking is useful in something like mechanical engineering, that liberal arts education is somehow not a meaningful approach?
Critical thinking is useful in any any field, separate and apart from the particularized skills required of a practitioner in that field. That’s the point.
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I thought I made it clear. I don’t think “critical thinking” can be used to define “liberal arts” precisely because critical thinking is also an essential ingredient in most other fields outside of traditional “liberal arts”. I don’t discount the value of a “liberal arts” education, but question whether such an education should be so narrowly defined today as it was historically. Perhaps it’s about time to rethink, critically, about and broaden the concept of “liberal arts” education itself.
Then again - so is not going to college at all?
If we’re casting the net that wide, isn’t even Kindergarten pre-professional for most? 
I mean, it’s one of those things where you probably aren’t wrong. But, so much depends upon how you define critical and thinking. Regarding the latter, I think, you think, everybody thinks. To imply that a particular training doesn’t teach you how to “think” in a certain way would be insulting. The key word is, “critical”. According to Oxford languages, the word “critical” can be defined as “censorious”, but also “analytical”. Engineering absolutely requires the ability to think analytically. But the database also includes synonymous meanings with “interpretive”, “expository”, and “elucidative”. Do we really seek out engineers for their "interpretation’ of a problem? Or how well they “elucidate” a problem?
IMHO, I would also include the word, “experimental” as in applying the Scientific Method to the solution of problems. I’m sure there are all sorts of experiments going on constantly with metallurgy, nuclear energy, and pharmacology, but is “experimental engineering” really a thing? I tried googling it and the first thing that pops up is related to software engineering.
I agree - usually combined with the attribute “small”, I think rather than being a precisely delineated definition, it’s just a convenient way to communicate the (vague) notion of a smaller college, with a more “intimate” learning environment, that doesn’t see itself as an engineering, technical, or other career-targeting institution - even if some of those degrees might be available.
Which is why I’m not sure that I would attempt using the term to differentiate large institutions/universities with a whole palette of different schools, graduate schools, etc.
Engineering often includes understanding the problem before trying to design a solution to the problem. Elucidating the problem is often a key step in getting a team of engineers on the same page as to what the problem is, so that they can design a solution.
Failure to understand the problem could result in wasted effort to solve a symptom of the problem rather than the root cause of the problem.
Materials engineers work in metallurgy, nuclear engineers work in nuclear energy, and chemical and biomedical engineers work in pharmacology, so wouldn’t some of the experiments done in those areas be done by engineers, often to see how realistic a theoretical engineering design or process actually is?
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When was a “liberal arts” education ever narrowly defined? Why should it be narrowly defined today?
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I gave you a thumbs up because it was a good question. I don’t have the answer to it.
ETA: I think it’s like architecture: there would be a good many aspects of the project that would be farmed out to an engineer, yes. But I don’t think they would be considered coequal with the lead architect.
I don’t know of an example of a Liberal Arts University. There are Liberal Art Colleges, and most universities have liberal art schools or liberal arts colleges within them. Richmond and Bucknell are generally described and self-described as LACs, but they are Universities, not Colleges. Both have liberal arts schools within them, along with pre-professional schools or colleges.
A little off-topic from the original question, with the Gen Ed requirements still at the majority of universities, most kids are getting an authentic liberal arts minor no matter what their chosen major.
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I incorrectly phrased the second part of my sentence you quoted above. What I meant to say was “I don’t discount the value of a “liberal arts” education, but question whether such an education should be so narrowly defined today as it was historically”.
I made the correction in the original post.
Again, when was a liberal arts education defined narrowly? What was the definition then, and why exactly is that definition too narrow now? Do you want to expand the definition to include highly specialized and concentrated fields such sub-categories of engineering? If so, what wouldn’t be liberal arts education?
Earlier in the thread you wrote the “definition of ‘liberal arts’ seems too artificial to be useful in today’s world.” Sounds like you’d like to scrap the concept all together. Do I have that right?
Yes, I do think the term “liberal arts” is ill-defined and too artificial to be useful in today’s world. The existence of this thread and the confusion around which colleges should be called “liberal arts” colleges/universities shows the term may not be suitable, or at least needs clearer definition.
You’re incorrect that I suggested “to expand the definition to include highly specialized and concentrated fields such sub-categories of engineering”. I mentioned mechanical engineering as one counterexample only in response to the suggestion that “liberal arts” can be somehow defined by “critical thinking”. If you think “liberal arts” is still a relevant concept in higher education, how would you define it, without just using examples/counterexamples?
It’s basically “readin’, writin’ and 'rithmatic” but with a lot more sub-fields.
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I think reading this thread - I go back to what I said in my initial #6 message:
I think in general, classifications are artificially established borders.
What I’ve read is - everyone defines what a LAC is differently - that perhaps there is no singular type of school that is an LAC vs. perhaps other types that another may also consider an LAC to be.