Humanities teach life lessons

Dan Blanchet, Guest Writer

I can’t really imagine what my life would be without my decision to pursue a major in the humanities. As an optimistic 18 year old, I had aspirations of going to law school as vehicle for an eventual career in politics. But as I entered college, presented with a seemingly unlimited array of options, I felt conflicted about what to study. As I bounced between political science and philosophy, I came to the conclusion that either way, my brain was hard-wired for inquiry-based, thought-provoking content.

What ultimately drove me toward philosophy was the intrigue of asking a question and instead of finding an answer, finding a hundred more questions. Philosophy satisfied my natural intellectual curiosity and exposed me to thought-provoking debate and discussion with a diverse group of my peers, but it also built within me a healthy skepticism that motivated me to continue to question—to cautiously doubt—to, as president Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust but verify.” Some may look at a degree in Philosophy as a waste of four years of study (and countless thousands of dollars). I look at it as an inoculation against deception. Studying philosophy has motivated me to look at the world in much the same way as French rationalist Rene Descartes did – by considering each situation from every possible angle and perspective, and dismissing those views that are illogical, or proven false by incontrovertible evidence.

Philosophy has also given my life meaning, and my choices purpose and consequence. Studying the existential writings of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Camus and Sartre opened my eyes at a time when the world was changing in profound and terrifying ways. The 9/11 attacks acutely affected my thinking, fundamentally altering my ideas about hope, justice, faith and love. These thinkers helped me to understand that each choice we make has consequences, and that though our human realities are intertwined, our individual fates are uniquely ours, as we bear the full responsibility and weight of our actions in a random and absurd world.

Studying humanities has made me a life-long learner – and my decision to become a teacher was motivated by that incessant need for deeper understanding. I learn something new each and every day in pursuit of being a better teacher. Sometimes I get new ideas from reading articles or books. Other times it comes from listening to my students working in groups, or facilitating club meetings. Still, other times it comes from someone cutting me off in traffic, or bumping into me in the hallway. Every experience I have, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, provides another window into understanding the world around me. And without my decision to study philosophy, I would likely dismiss these mundane occurrences as bothersome or annoying rather than appreciating them for what they really are: learning opportunities.

And please don’t misconstrue my support for a humanities education as criticism of a STEM education. Remember that most early philosophers were also mathematicians and scientists. Where would we be as a species without the likes of Archimedes, Aristotle, Galileo, or Charles Darwin? Edward Jenner, Jonas Salk, Marie Curie or Albert Einstein? Science and the humanities are not mutually exclusive, they are mutually beneficial. What science does for the mind, humanities does for the soul.

So my advice to anyone wrestling with what to study in the world beyond Madison High School is twofold: First, don’t rule anything out – even if you’re not sure how it will translate into a career. And secondly, anything that makes you a better thinker and dreamer while at the same time making you a more tolerant and loving human being is not, in my opinion, a waste of time.