<p>This is an interesting concern and a hard one to address. First off, you won’t find yourself surrounded by a bunch of arch-conservatives. The student body tends to be very liberal (especially in santa fe), the faculty has representatives from the far ends of the political spectrum, but on the whole is moderately liberal, and the curriculum, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, is conservative insofar as it takes a historical approach to the humanities rather than focusing on the latest trends in the social sciences. The important thing to realize about the school is that members of the st. john’s community are much more interested in learning than they are in activism. There’s this pervading notion that activism begins once opinions are formed, and opinions are formed once conversation and openness to ideas has ceased. That said, there are plenty of students who are involved with different causes and community service is both encouraged and facilitated by the school. Reactionary partisan rancor, on the other hand, is not looked upon so favorably.
The books on the program are selected based upon the lasting impact they’ve had on western thought. It takes time to determine how enduring a book’s impact will be. Because of this, heidegger and husserl are the most contemporary thinkers that we’re exposed to. I imagine derrida, rawls, etc will be added once their lasting impact is clear. So the works we’re exposed to are not necessarily regarded as being the most “true” but instead the most useful in helping us familiarize ourselves with the philosophical underpinnings of our modern society.
St. John’s does have a group of conservative professors who are disciples of leo strauss and his students, but you will most likely never know what their political perspectives are unless you meet with them outside of class. The same goes with the liberal/socialist professors.
Sorry for this long-winded response, but I get so annoyed with those on the right and the left who try to politicize a great books education. As far as I can tell, there’s nothing intrinsically conservative or liberal about such a curriculum. We all read and take seriously the ideas of aquinas and augustine as well as those of marx and freud. The worst that can be said of exposure to such disparate world views is that it can force a person into a state of suspended judgment where activity takes a back seat to intellectual exploration. This doesn’t have to be the case. Sorry for the book. Hope that helped.</p>