I am a student who is majoring in the humanities. I applied at the Department of English Language and Literature because I like English, and wanted to study English linguistics and literature professionally. However, I doubted my choice after I entered the university because people are prejudiced against humanities as a course. They say it is not practical in real life, and is not helpful in getting jobs as well. With the development of technology, people tend to focus all of their values on monetary values. For this reason, people classify studies into two groups, as good or bad, in terms of job market or employment. In this case, the humanities, as a course, is likely categorized as bad learning for employment.
However, it is not true that studying the humanities is not practical because it is the study of fundamental human problems, ideas, and culture. In other words, it is the study of problems related to human values. In this sense, the humanities is the most basic knowledge in human life. Moreover, the humanities is a term that encompasses many subordinate studies, including history, philosophy, religion, literature, and linguistics and so on. We can find many reasons why the humanities is important through these detailed areas. People can indirectly immerse themselves in other people’s experiences through literature, and learn from other people’s experiences through history. Furthermore, philosophy explores the essential rules that encompass all the things mentioned above. Therefore, we can learn the life and wisdom of our ancestors through the humanities, as well as establish the direction of our lives.
Celebrities who have succeeded in global technology also emphasize the importance of the humanities, including Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple. He said Apple created an innovative product because Apple always tried to be in the
intersection of technology and the humanities. He added not only technology, but also the humanities as well in Apple’s DNA. High technology is, of course, important in modern society, but there should be a liberal background underneath it. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, also chose the humanities as the main reason for Facebook’s success. When he devised the idea of Facebook, he tried to include Aristotle’s famous words, “Humans are social creatures by nature,” in social media. As a result, his idea became a huge success. Facebook recorded more than 1.49 billion monthly users in 2015.
Even in the fourth industrial revolution, in which the importance of information and communication technology has rapidly risen, the field of humanities is essential in exploring fundamental human problems. There are always reasons for the way humans think and act, and the study of humanities explores them. To win the hearts of those around you, you must deeply understand what they think. In this respect, the humanities is the most important area of study in our lives. Thus, I want to interpret the word “humanity” as a combination of the adjective “human,” which means humane, and a noun ending in “ity.” The humanities refers to a humane study.
Jung Yeon-wook
ywjung@soongsil.ac.kr
