Why the humanities are important for society

The enduring value of the humanities – St. Olaf College

 

Studying the humanities is important for a healthy society and democracy, further analyzing into everything to get a better understanding of it will better your knowledge. After reading or hearing someone else’s opinion on a certain topic, it is up to you to develop your own opinion on that specific subject. In the 2018 article Devaluing a humanities education ultimately devalues humanity itself writer Mandy Pipher argues, “These are not fringe skills. These skills are fundamental, not only to the development of an individual human mind and to our capacity for forming deep and varied relationships with one another, but also to the continued functioning of a democratic society.” She’s arguing that what you learn in English class or as an English major, is not only important for your education to further develop your reading and writing but also understanding humans and society. Breaking down a sentence or paragraph into a further understanding is important to connect it to life, yourself, and emotions so you can connect and understand it better. If you learn how to breakdown a sentence when reading, then when you’re talking to someone or hearing something online, it’s a good skill to have to further understand what they’re saying so you can form your own opinion. In today’s society it is very important to think for yourself instead of just going along with what someone else thinks. Everyone is allowed to have their own opinions but when you don’t look further into what you’re forming your opinion on and just agreeing with what you’re hearing isn’t right. What you read or hear in the media isn’t necessarily true, it is very possible it can be fake news. It is very easy to take something out of context, most articles are designed purposefully to be manipulative, so ensure you fully read everything don’t just take away what you want. In the video by Margarita G at the timestamp 3:49, Keating is shown reading the poem, the road not taken by Robert Frost, but he’s not actually reading it. He’s reading into it which is called conformation bias which is exactly what Keating is doing when reading the poem. He’s cherry picking what he already agrees with and believes in and just shares that with his class. 

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