The Value of the Humanities

The Value of the Humanities - M. St. A. Woodside It is comforting for a humanist to reflect upon the well-known words of John Wilson, alias Christopher North, "Animosities are mortal, but the Humanities live forever." A few extremists may urge that there is more of the darkness of night than of the warmth of Ambrose's tavern in the remark, but hnmanists who have had experience of concentrated attacks on certain areas of their domain will cling to the promise of a day when hostility will vanish and the value of the Humanities will not be questioned. The immortality claimed for the Humanities in Noetes Ambrosianae is not open to doubt unless human nature suffers in the future a change such as has not occurred during the centuries of evolution and revolution known to history. It is perhaps safe to assume that until such a radical change does occur, men and women will find their understanding widened and their spirit deepened by Aeschylus, Shakespeare, and Goethe, by Rembrandt and Beethoven; they will reflect upon the meaning of "right" and of "good," of "freedom" and of "truth," and will profit by the reflections of the truly great thinkers of the past and present; they will be intrigued by the processes which have led to social success and failure , to the development of "higher religions," and to the building of the imposing structure of modem science both in its pure and in its applied aspects. Even in the mid-twentieth century, when shorter working hours and rapidity of transportation and communication seem to have had the effect of setting a high premium on leisure, serious novels are published; great playwrights, including Shakespeare and Sophocles, enjoy success; Toynbee's Study of History is not only talked about but read; and the philosophers are regarded as worthy companions, especially if one is formally introduced to them by a Will Durant or some other mutual friend. Admittedly it is a minority which displays this interest in the Humanities. Figures are not available, and probably never will be available , to show whether the minority is, proportionately, shrinking or growing; indeed, it is impossible to measure the extent, in breadth and THE VALUE OF THE HUMANITIES 509 depth, of interest in the Humanities. It is reasonable to assert, however, that they still have a very significant place in "our way of life" and that their immortality is not as yet in jeopardy. What, then, of the "plight of the Humanities"? What is the meaning of the phrase which has, at least until very recently, been almost a cliche in discussions about education and about culture generally? It is true that society through various agencies has been willing to provide funds for scientific study and research on a comparatively large scale and that increasingly large numbers of students have been adopting science as their field of study. It is true, also, that today everyone is aware of the critical shortage of teachers of science and not nearly so conscious of the growing shortage in other disciplines. The present situation might well have been foreseen by a moderately gifted prophet. The exhilarating progress of science and the exciting opportunities for scientists have naturally attracted young men and women. A society which is more and more supported by science must stimulate the production of scientists and the development of science. The magnitude of the need and the tremendous speed with which it has grown have naturally created shortages. It would, of course, be quite wrong to assert that a mathematician or a chemist or an engineer or an economic theorist who has received no formal courses in humanistic disciplines at school or university will normally be devoid of any real interest in the Humanities or of any true concern for what they stand for. The bridge-building barbarian and the illiterate industrialist are, it would seem, rare creatures in 1957. The danger is, to put it in extreme terms, that outside pressures, created by a desire for immediate returns, may deprive the student of an opportunity to realize the bumanistic interests which he possesses, at least potentially, may cause him to stifle such interests as they begin to develop...