Why humanities still matter: The soul of civilization

Kuwait Times

6 days ago

Why humanities still matter: The soul of civilization
By Hessa Alotaibi
In an age increasingly driven by technology and market demands, the humanities— literature, philosophy, history, and the arts—often find themselves on the defensive. Critics question their 'utility,' yet the value of the humanities lies not in producing things, but in shaping persons. To understand this deeper function, it helps to look at three kindred ideals: adab, humanitas, and paideia—concepts from the Islamic, Roman, and Greek traditions that all stress the cultivation of the human being.
In Islamic thought, adab refers not only to etiquette, but to a moral-intellectual refinement achieved through engagement with poetry, history, and religious learning. The goal of adab was to form a well-rounded person—both eloquent and ethical. Similarly, the Roman ideal of humanitas, as Cicero understood it, meant an education in letters and philosophy that cultivated virtue and civic responsibility. 'For we are all attracted and drawn to a zeal for learning and knowing,' Cicero wrote, 'and we think it glorious to excel therein, while we count it base and immoral to fall into error, to wander from the truth, to be ignorant, to be led astray' (De Officiis 1.6). In Greece, paideia referred to the education of the soul and mind, the process by which one becomes a citizen capable of reason and justice.
These traditions remind us that the humanities are not just about information, but transformation. They help us ask questions like: What is a good life? What is beauty? What do we owe to one another? Such questions don't necessarily yield profits, but they make us human.
There is also a deeper imperative at work. When education is reduced to mere training, the result may be technical proficiency, but not necessarily wisdom or discernment. The humanities, by contrast, cultivate our ability to reflect critically, to step outside our own assumptions, and to imagine the lives of others. As Martha Nussbaum puts it, what is at stake is 'the ability to think critically [...] and, most important, the ability to imagine sympathetically the predicament of another person.'(Nussbaum, Not for Profit, 2) These capacities are not only enriching; they are essential for the preservation of any society that wishes to remain reflective rather than reactive, composed of individuals rather than instruments.
In a comparative light, adab, humanitas, and paideia converge on a key idea: human flourishing depends not only on material well-being, but on the development of judgment, empathy, and taste. These are not luxuries. They are necessities for living together well. Of course, we live in a different time from ancient Rome or the Abbasid caliphate. But the underlying question remains: What kind of people do we want to be? A society that abandons the humanities risks forgetting how to reflect, to feel, and to differ without violence.
To study the humanities is to engage in a long conversation across centuries and civilizations. That conversation is not always comfortable, nor should it be. But it is vital. 'Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the overman,' Nietzsche once wrote, 'a rope over an abyss.' (Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra) The humanities help us walk that rope. And sometimes, they even teach us to dance on it.