Why Humanities?

One of the casualities of a bad economy is humanities – philosophy, history, poetry and arts. Cash strapped universities have cut down on the study of “dead languages” and teach “useful skills.” As the debate about the value of humanities goes on David Tebaldi, executive director of Mass Humanities, explains why “a high civilization must not limit its efforts to science and technology alone.”

History teaches us how those who came before us have confronted the challenges of the past; literature provides insights into human needs, desires, and motivations; philosophy helps to clarify and illuminate what, in the end, is truly of value. Taken together, the humanities give us a fuller sense of what is possible, desirable, and right.[The lasting value of the humanities]

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1. Appearance of Modern Human Behavior “Modern humans have been around for at least 160,000 to 200,000 years but there is no archaeological evidence of any technology beyond basic stone tools until around 90,000 years ago....

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