In a world dominated by science and technology, it’s easy for us to wonder what the purpose of teaching the humanities in schools and universities is. When speaking in terms of practicality, it seems as though there is little that they contribute to our world. The number of practical employment opportunities in STEM-related careers is almost limitless, but when it comes to the humanities, it’s hard to list off more than a few.
However, the humanities are important for virtually every career, for they are present in virtually every part of our life. No matter what career you pursue, you will have to be able to interact with people. You will have to be able to express your ideas in a cultured way. Were it not for the humanities, we would not have thoughts or opinions - we would simply do what we are told.
Science is truth. Science, math and technology consist of the cold, hard facts. There are no doubts to the information that is being taught, for they have been proven time and time again. Meanwhile, there is no complete truth in the humanities. What one person interprets from a novel may be completely different from what another person interprets. What some people may consider “mistakes” in history may be successes in another person’s mind. In art and music, nobody crafts the same piece of art or composes the same song. In fact, it is this proven validity that gravitates many people towards STEM, and that is completely okay. Some people prefer the facts, and some people prefer thoughts. This being said, it’s important that we create an equal balance in our educational institutions, and it’s especially important that students understand why the humanities are important.
The other day, I had a friend tell me philosophers contributed nothing to society. I responded that while in terms of production they might not contribute much, philosophers help form the society. They determine society’s beliefs, what is right and wrong, and even the purpose of life. She asked what the purpose of contemplating the meaning of life was. I told her that at the end of our lives, we wanted to know that we had lived for something. When we lie on our deathbeds, we don’t want to say, “I worked 10 hours a day, five days a week.” We want to think back to our adventures, to the people that we loved, to the places we explored. Ultimately, we want our lives to have meaning and purpose. But we cannot know that our life holds meaning if we do not stop to think about who we are, what we believe, and what we want to achieve. Pushing these instinctive thoughts to the back of our mind does nothing except make us a greater part of a whole and less of an individual.
At the end of the day, the humanities are what make us human. They allow every one of us to be individuals, to be different from one another. They allow us to express our varying opinions in a sophisticated manner. They allow us to feel empathy and emotion for one another. While the facts are important, there are no feelings in them. We do not interpret them in different ways. We do not feel anger or disgust or pride or love when we study them.
Pushing away the humanities is pushing away our humanity. Literature, history, philosophy, music and art teach us that everything in our lives is not about numbers or data. They teach us beauty, creativity, and wisdom. The humanities teach us culture – something that should never be eradicated.
