I grew up just prior to the tech revolution as well, and I think your insights about the state of the humanities are well-founded. We still see it today in how children are taught, what adults value and what we all choose to give our attention to. It can be pretty depressing.
Here's something I find interesting and perhaps a little hopeful, however:
"There is something particularly soul-sucking about the devaluation of the humanities. In a way, it feels as if we are writing ourselves off as a species—a willing nosedive into the abyss."
I figure we can go one of two ways: on the one hand, maybe this is just us turning into something more akin to a Vulcan race—where cultural knowledge is passed down through textbooks instead of stories. Which, y'know, might be cool after awhile. Warp drive and pointy ears might be neat.
But honestly, based on the evidence, I don't think we're capable. On the one hand, we're being taught to treat stories as entertainment, belief as superstition and that reality is only physical. But on the other, this train of thought is making us depressed. Even stranger, we're making up our own mythologies and beliefs anyway—in fact some of the most fantastical come from the rationalists who believe they're above that style of thinking.
I think we can't help ourselves, which means that on the one hand, the humanities are, fortunately, going to be sticking around. But on the other, it's dangerous indeed not to be deliberate about which stories and beliefs we choose to adopt and internalize. That's where I think the humanities needs to lean in more.
I grew up just prior to the tech revolution as well, and I think your insights about the state of the humanities are well-founded. We still see it today in how children are taught, what adults value and what we all choose to give our attention to. It can be pretty depressing.
Here's something I find interesting and perhaps a little hopeful, however:
"There is something particularly soul-sucking about the devaluation of the humanities. In a way, it feels as if we are writing ourselves off as a species—a willing nosedive into the abyss."
I figure we can go one of two ways: on the one hand, maybe this is just us turning into something more akin to a Vulcan race—where cultural knowledge is passed down through textbooks instead of stories. Which, y'know, might be cool after awhile. Warp drive and pointy ears might be neat.
But honestly, based on the evidence, I don't think we're capable. On the one hand, we're being taught to treat stories as entertainment, belief as superstition and that reality is only physical. But on the other, this train of thought is making us depressed. Even stranger, we're making up our own mythologies and beliefs anyway—in fact some of the most fantastical come from the rationalists who believe they're above that style of thinking.
I think we can't help ourselves, which means that on the one hand, the humanities are, fortunately, going to be sticking around. But on the other, it's dangerous indeed not to be deliberate about which stories and beliefs we choose to adopt and internalize. That's where I think the humanities needs to lean in more.
Love your insights here, thank you for sharing this! (And sorry it took me so long to get back to this comment!)