http://tinyurl.com/39ba4rg
Martha Nussbaum's passionate defence of the humanities falls flat because, in the end, she is not defending the humanities but rather a method of teaching.
Oddly, the Socratic method Nussbaum holds in such high esteem is most commonly used in the case study method for law students and MBA's. While not purely technical, law and business school are studies well loved by university administrators who want focus on "practical learning".
Any field of study can be an occasion of open inquiry and a development of a questioning mind. Law, business and the Talmud are good examples of hierarchical disciplines where the form of study is generally more open than the topic itself.
Humanities are important not because they lead to something, even something as important as educated and engaged citizens -- humanities are not a tool but an end. Humanities are valuable in and of themselves: l'art pour l'art.
1 comment:
Fine, but don't bitch about how your art leaves you flipping burgers to make a living. It's not studying humanities that is the problem, it's the sense of entitlement to a government paid living that galls so much. Art, as it is in the eye of the beholder, should b paid for by the beholder.
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