Importance Of Humanities

In the discussion of humanities, one controversial issue has been about its importance. On the one hand, some people argue that it is important. On the other hand, some contend that it’s not. My own view is that it is really significant for our society. In the book Art of Being Human, Richard Janaro and Thelma Altshuler clearly explain the meaning and importance of humanities. They emphasize that “...only through a study of classical art, literature, and philosophy could a person become fully human” (1).

According to the book, the study of humanities has, “expanded… beyond Europe” (1), which explains that other countries also find the study of humanities important. “All of us belong to the human race and should want to know as much as possible

AAC&U survey has found that “among the institutions that have common learning outcomes for all students, 92 percent require coursework in the humanities” It also states that in US population, degrees in humanities has increased since the 1950s. “The percentage of college-age Americans holding degrees in the humanities has increased fairly steadily over the last half-century, from a little over 1 percent in 1950 to about 2.5 percent today.” And employers also think that their employees have to be “comfortable working with colleagues, customers, and/or clients from diverse cultural backgrounds, and a job candidate’s demonstrated the capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than their undergraduate major.” Which is what the humanities course overall teaches us. In The Humanities Matter infographic, the author shows the importance of humanities through statistics. In 2012 survey, “652 US born Chief Executive Officers and Heads of Product Engineering showed almost 60% had degrees in the Humanities. A study of 100 FTSE companies’ CEOs showed that 34% studied the arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.” While only “31% had a Science and Technological background.” “Over two-thirds of Humanities and Social Science graduates enter the private sector, primarily the financial and business sectors, followed by wholesaling and retailing. These sectors represent some of the fastest growing areas within the economy.” But “despite these benefits, in the USA in 2010, just 0.45% of federal research money went to