Humaniora – Humanities as Academic Disciplines - in Decline

In several academic institutions worldwide the fields of study which fall under the umbrella-term ‘Humaniora’, or Humanities, have seen a decline in priority. These are areas of study like philosophy, theology, literature, languages (philology), or history. Does history matter less? Are languages less important? Are literature, ideas, and all aspects of culture, to be neglected? 

There are many subcategories and minor fields which have developed in the social sciences, but in essence, humanities cover the aspects of human life, faith: ideas of what is valuable and important.

One line of criticism comes from the more technical fields, from empirical fields where the scientific methods are hands on and easily detectable. They consider their science hard core and real, whereas the prodding into people’s thoughts, feeling and beliefs seem too diffuse to be considered scientific. Naturally, this criticism has been met by development of scientific methods in historical sciences, in approaches to written and oral texts, in interpretation theory; likewise the social sciences have their data, data analysis, statistics, etc. as basis for their theories.

It really is not the lack of method and opportunity which have caused academic institutions to downgrade and give less priority and money to the fields of humanities. So, what is it? Is it simply because it does not produce, does not create revenues for the higher institutions of learning?

Karl Marx...

 No, I do not think so. I think the main reason lies in some basic presuppostions in Humaniora itself. They have to a large extent become irrelevant. For example, the Marxist-Leninists in the counter-culture of the 60ties and 70ties are still being hailed as important by professors.  It does not matter if their theories were wrong, if their predictions about society failed. It does not matter that the revolutionary ideals are irrelevant in today’s world; the academic instructors on different levels cling to them as a child clings to a teddy bear. I see them as a segment of an exhibition in a museum. They may claim the Herbert Marcuse is vitally important. They may emphasize the outlook of Jürgen Habermas or Walter Benjamin – but the truth is that these are now relics from the past, with little relevance to present day life and society. Granted, history is important to relate to – but there is a strong sense of the academics being left in the dust, with their heads somewhere in the clouds. I sense also a strong pessimism in the lecturers – no wonder. They play with a broken toy.

The field of philosophy, where sharpness of mind, where the forefront of analysis and creative thinking could develop – there I also meet the foggy notion of being irrelevant in what they say, and in the questions they deal with. It looks like an old-boys club of nonsensical English Lords chattering rather meaningless statements. One thing I agree with Plato in: Philosophy must be relevant to life, to the politics of human society.

I do not need to repeat my lament over the stuck-in-the past in relations to ideological thinkers – e.g. old Marxists. There are new fads – like philosophy of mind – which only engage a few. If the words and concepts in philosophical discourse become too foggy, too intricate, too theoretical for people to relate to them, the philosophers have dug the grave for their field of study.

How then, can we revitalize the study of Humaniora? Naturally, to leave Marx and all his entourage of follow-up ideologists to the field of history would be one fine step. Take inventory: apply critical thinking, text analysis, reality reference, a close look at this outdated Marxist material, as well.

Theology is a field, which used to be a fundamental field of study, in which other fields grew out of. Now this field has become quite haggard, struck down from inside and outside, questioned to the core, and – dear I say: betrayed. The miracle is evident: God is still who he always has been; but people have gone astray. Of course, there is always hope for this field of study, because it is not based on the efforts of the human mind alone. I believe theology is a foundational field of study to this day; and the revitalization of the whole field of human sciences can find its raison d’etre in the study of God.