The need for the humanities: arguments by a medical biologist:

We need the liberal arts to help make sense of our world – as we grapple with issues like climate change, with hatred and prejudice, with economic inequality, with runaway technological change – the humanities can give us the critical thinking skills and the perspective to deal with these issues.

As, Joseph Aoun, president of Northeastern University, recently wrote in his book Robot-Proof, the humanities are even more important as the pace of technological change increases.

Allow me to quote from his book:

“Intellectually, morally and spiritually, the humanities are among the most fertile grounds on which to nurture a complete human being. They form the foundation of a life well-lived and the furnishings of a civilized mind.”….

Some critics might respond that while that’s all very nice, for most students, majoring in the humanities will not lead to a rewarding career. Get a liberal arts education and you’ll end up as a barista in a coffee shop, they say.

But here are some statistics that refute that:

55 percent of the world’s professional leaders are social sciences and humanities grads.

Humanities graduates are just as well paid as those in the sciences. Ten years after graduation, the average humanities grad earns as much as the average math or natural science grad.

Employers want the skills that humanities grads have.  According to a study of Canada’s largest employers, employers value soft skills over technical knowledge, especially relationship-building, communication and problem-solving skills, analytical and leadership abilities. These are attributes that are developed and refined through studies in the social sciences and humanities.

Santa J. Ono is President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia. These remarks are from his Carr Lecture, May 2019.

h/t Rob Townsend (@rbthisted)