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TheOwlofMinerva
Since It Is Useless, It Is Useful
ByJangHo-joon
EditorialConsultant
lthoughpeoplehaveconsideredthecrisisofuniversityhumanitiesmajorsasatediousissueinflue,it
brokeoutrepeatedlywithsomenewcharacteristics.Overall,theissuerevolvesaroundthetendencyto
avoidfundamentalmajorssuchasthehumanitiesandpuresciencewhenstudentschoosetheircollege
majors. Currently, the most popular majors with Korean high school students are medical and pharmacy
scienceonthenaturalsciencestrackandeconomicsandbusinessadministrationontheliberalartstrack.
Thesituationdoesnotappeardifferentoverseas.Forbes,awell-knownAmericanbusinessmagazine,issued
anarticlewhichintroducedthe10worstcollegemajorsonOct.11.Fieldssuchasthehumanities,liberalarts
and social sciences are included on the list because of the associated low demand and low earnings. Some
could ask, “How does this become a problem? Is it not certain that a good major should be determined by
what you can get with it in your society?” Apart from the problem of conserving the diversity of studies, the
issuesaboveshowhowstudyingbasicscienceisunderminedinmanysocieties.Infact,thetrendisaresultof
neglectinghowthefieldswestudyareconstructedbasedonfundamentalstructures.
It also tells how the value of studies is classified under the principle of capitalism, which is based on the
maximization of efficiency and profit. Recently, another strange phenomenon which follows the trend above
hasprevailedinKorea.ManybooksandCEOsbegantoemphasizetheimportanceofstudyingthehumanities
toachievesuccessindiversefields.MostofthemseemedtohavebeeninspiredbySteveJobs,abusinessman
who urged the convergence of technology and the humanities. Several bestselling books repeatedly tell why
weshouldlearnthehumanitiestobealeaderorsucceedinbusiness.Peoplebelievethattheycanadvancein
diverse fields after reading the classics according to those books, but soon realize that they are just using the
lessonsfromthoseclassicsinotherfields.Itleadsthemtoconsiderthehumanitiesasatoolofotherindustries.
As scholars pointed out, the humanities mentioned by Steve Jobs just refer to another name of business
administrationandtechnologywhichanalyzehumantraits.
Business,whichbeginstoembracetheanalysisofhumantraits,doesnotneedthehumanitieslikeliterature,
history and philosophy. It is possible to think that the new-born humanities force universities to merge
departments and government to reduce budgets for those studying liberal arts. The essence of humanities,
however,doesnotlieongettingsupportorbeingusedforotherfields.Itexiststorefutethethingsconsidered
apparent in the world. A critic said, “Usefulness oppresses human beings. The humanities are useless, so
they do not oppress them. They tell how oppression negatively affects people.” It is a mere delusion that
the humanities should be used for the development of other fields through easy lessons, which stops deep
introspectionandinterruptscontinuouscommunication.
firestorm@hufs.ac.kr
www.theargus.org

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