How essential are the Humanities to our Society?

The academic disciplines known as the humanities have always been somewhat tied into our culture, politics, as well as society, but it almost feels as though it has become even more salient in our society over the past couple of years.

In our world today, it has become more evident that the use of technology, but more specifically social media has had a great impact on our minds and will continue to do so. The concept of social media being able to control the mind overlooks a multitudinous amount of people that it has become essential to become aware of the veracity of an article, or a post online. The statement that studying the Humanities is rather important and essential rather than “impractical and frivolous” is one that I agree with for many different aspects. In her January 2018 article, Devaluing a Humanities Education Ultimately Devalues Humanity Itself, Writer Mandy Pipher, expresses clearly that “These skills are fundamental, not only to the development of an individual human mind and to our capacity for forming deep and varied connections with one another, but also to the continued function of a democratic society”. She continues to express that she feels as though there is a lack of opinion dependant on logical reasoning and factual statements, which causes “stubborn fault lines” in our society. Taking this statement into consideration, I believe that this is extremely true in the sense that there has been an exponential growth in false information from not only news outlets but politics in general, which directly connects to the intake of the public population. One 0f the primary sources from which humans intake information in today’s day and age is social media, news, advertisements broadcasted on television, and more. But, as much as this can be viewed as a positive and a step forward in our society it has become a problem, in the sense that people are too quick to form an opinion before thinking about doing their own research. It has almost become petrifying how so many people are scared of being criticized for forming their own opinion so they decide to agree with the vast majority, instead of forming an opinion based on individual certainty. As said in June 2018 by Dallas Morning News Editorial in the article, Why the humanities matter now more than ever, “In a time of great disruption, the humanities, and the perspective and analytical skills they provide, will become more important”. As we are moving forward and evolving as a whole, the humanities will be a key decision factor in how our society is shaped; it will dictate how humans will absorb information and what they will choose to do with it. Without the teachings and principles of the humanities, it will become tougher for any person to form their own opinion based on their points of view which could ultimately escalate into something that could have been avoided.

The humanities have always been a necessary teaching, but with the continuation of misinformation spreading every day it has become even more important that it should be accepted in order to prevent the consequences that could misshape our society. The humanities should be prioritized in an era of false information because it not only provides us with beneficial skills for a healthy society, but also because we have seen time and time again that a thorough understanding of the English language will help form a thriving democracy.