Oh, the Humanities
Taki’s Magazine has an interesting article on the decline of the humanities departments in universities. It seems to suggest that students aren’t as interested in learning about the meaning of life as they are in making a living. This indicates to me that there is a disconnect between the intelligentsia in this country and the working class. Apparently the wise ones do not need to earn a living, or I guess they feel that people should appreciate their wisdom enough to supply their living for them. Just for being? And what does “being” mean again? I love the anecdote in the comments about Duke University hiring the best English Department in the country and then having them almost self-destruct the department because apparently great minds do not think alike.
Not that I think the humanities are unimportant. I do however have a fear that most people cannot earn a very good living with an advanced degree in them except as a professor or rarer, a popular author. They seem to me to be best studied as an undergraduate to enhance a continued path toward a law degree or political career or even a career in business. The humanities provide an opportunity to study people and life which can make a person more well-rounded, and they help people communicate better. There is value to a well-expressed view even if it is wrong, which brings me to NeoChalcedonian’s quote on his philosophy blog,
Why study philosophy? To reach truth, of course. But when you consider for how many centuries philosophers have been pursuing the truth, and how widely they still differ, what are your chances of capturing that truth? Not high, one must agree. Is the study therefore wasted? Not at all. For if you pursue the truth seriously, and fail to get it, as you may, you come out with a mind invaluably honed and whetted, and that in itself is prize enough. (Brand Blanshard)
As this quote says, philosophy, and I would say even psychology, history, and literature, does not bring us to ultimate, contextualized truth. Critical thinking can help us recognize what isn’t true, but only revelation will reveal what is. This is why I’m not so worked up against post-modernism. It is a reaction against misrepresented truth, imo. Not that they have the answers either, duh. My main objection is against the immorality and atheism among secular post-modernists. The truth of the meaning of life and the source of joy is in my view the Orthodox Church, which is barely represented in America’s schools and universities. Without the proper balance you have guilt-and-shame, externally imposed morality, while maintaining a rationalistic, secular view of truth, or an anything-goes, undisciplined shallow, liberal, or given-up-on view of truth.
As I consider these things, so far we have chosen the moral, rational, with the naive premise of universal, self-evident, view of teaching truth for our son who’s interested in the humanities, though he is going to focus more on a math degree until he can get into an Orthodox Seminary. With another son, we’ve chosen a technical university for engineering for his chosen career in that field. Our oldest son is pursuing an undergraduate business degree that I do not relate to at all, but I’m not going to dictate his path. Nevertheless, I hope someday that America will have more Orthodox options for lower and higher education.
As far as career options, most people don’t even end up getting a job in the field they study in college (I don’t remember what the actual percent is, but it is pretty high). It’s not like, say, because one majors in English means their only option is to teach.
The point of college, I think, is that one gains an education and the ability to think and learn necessary skills (for whatever job they end up working). Of course, there are some few obvious careers which you HAVE to specifically study for… you can’t study acting, for instance, and then get a job as a surgeon. But, beyond that, the world is full of options… if you look for them… If you trust in God, He will help you find what you need to meet your needs.
And, it’s not like everyone in the humanities is in it because they think it will lead them to The Truth… for themselves or for others. Those in communications learn to affectively communicate; in history, study the past; in English, learn to analyze and think critically… (of course, this model is very simplified). And no, studying these fields will not lead to truth any more than studying Math, Science, Art, Medicine or anything else will. Truth lies in God and He alone, not in the ever lacking Education System. It’s just something we have to deal with because we by no means live in a perfect world…
I’ve actually been starting to discover more and more what it means to be IN the world and NOT OF the world. It means that no matter what passes as we walk through the world, we must guard ourselves from the world and not be afraid to be different… even greatly alone at times.
The world does not like us; we are different, we are alien, and we are foolish by the world’s estimation. Christ told us we would be. We have to come to terms with being alright with being unaccepted and continue to live our lives and do what is necessary (like go to class and do home work… work at a secular job) while ceaselessly crying, “Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
I’m going to college because I know, while there is much which is bad out there, there is also much which is good to be learned… which God created for us to learn. The lens of Orthodox must, however, always be applied because much of this GOOD knowledge is buried within the muck of the world.
I grew up around engineers and my mother was an English teacher for a couple of years before having kids, so my experience is limited. I went to vocational school myself, so I look forward to seeing what you kids do with your liberal arts degrees.
Yes, it is true that our college is a liberal arts university. AND English is just about as Humanities as you can get, I suppose. Ana is now actually under the college of Social and Behavioral Sciences seeing as that is the college under which her interdisciplinary degree falls under (she’s doing Cultural Anthropology, Music, and English… so she’s sort of a mix of Arts, Humanities, and Social/Behavioral)
Not that I’ve had much experience… I’ve been home schooled my whole life!! (well… until now. But I still feel home schooled! :D)
I look forward to seeing what everyone ends up doing, too!! It will be very interesting!
And I don’t mean to belittle teaching, it’s one of the most important careers out there. I’m thinking mostly about people who have to support families with children and the income needed for that.