I'm surprised that the TV said that the various cultural studies are also being cancelled/disbanded. I thought those were quite popular.
Unfortunately, much of what passes for the humanities today is actually activism. The difference between a truly humanistic attitude toward knowledge and activism is that a real humanist is searching for truth whereas an activist is convinced that they already know what truth is.
Agreed.
I recently saw a set of two photos. One was a busy commercial street, lights ablaze, heavy traffic, bustling, high energy. The other showed green hills and valleys, with a road winding through, slow-paced, relaxing. There was considerable discussion and conjecture about the two photos, until it was ultimately revealed that both showed the same location, just from a different perspective.
This also brings to mind the story of the blind man and the elephant:
A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. The first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said, "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said the elephant, "is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.
In some versions, the blind men then discover their disagreements, suspect the others to be not telling the truth and come to blows. The stories also differ primarily in how the elephant's body parts are described, how violent the conflict becomes and how (or if) the conflict among the men and their perspectives is resolved. In some versions, they stop talking, start listening and collaborate to "see" the full elephant. In another, a sighted man enters the parable and describes the entire elephant from various perspectives, the blind men then learn that they were all partially correct and partially wrong. While one's subjective experience is true, it may not be the totality of truth.
Seeking TRUTH is a life-long quest, and science is never settled. To the degree that liberal arts and humanities studies encourage the sense of being a life-long learner, they are immensely beneficial.
