I never open up a book with the expectation of finding a fixed answer on how to create meaning in my life; nonetheless, I know that I will walk away with a new understanding of how to examine the world. Depending on the moment of time in my life, literature speaks to me in different ways and provides me with new ways of seeing and being. Oftentimes, when I return to some of my favorite literature or philosophy, it offers up new perspectives that I have yet experienced. Similar to when you (actually) hear the lyrics of a song and realize the meaning it ends up adding a whole new level of appreciation. I love literature for this reason, no matter how many times you return to a well-written work of literature you can draw out new material that opens up the un-invaded spaces of your mind, providing you with yet another new way of seeing things. People often resist literature for its demands for you to think critically and its inability to produce something physically useful.
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I did not always create the space or time for literature in my life. In high school, I enjoyed English courses, but I never knew that you could make a career out of it. Growing up in a pragmatic household, I was expected to major in Finance, Engineering, or some kind of science—anything that involved practical application. Once I finally left panopticon, or what we call high school, I evolved my critical thinking skills to see what I really wanted. I also aged to the point where I could escape the firm grasp of my parents’ dogmatism. Settling into my college career, I found myself enthralled with literature and philosophy courses that I did not experience prior to my ascent into higher education. After thorough consideration, I decided to major in English and minor in Philosophy. I hope to guide people to new ways of seeing the world. When I made this decision, I excitedly told my philosophy mentor who responded with immense disappointment, “did you not learn anything in my courses?” This professor subscribed to the notion of effective altruism, or the idea that we should use our reasoning faculties to determine the most effective actions to help those in need. Although he was a philosophy professor, he told me that I would accomplish more tangible change in my lifetime by pursuing a career in science or math. He told me now that I learned philosophy, it was my duty to go into the fields outside of the humanities and use my evolved critical thinking skills to produce research that benefits humankind (physically). Rage rose up inside of me, and I descended into an existential crisis. My indecisiveness spiraled, and I left his office devastated and disconcerted.
One of the main reasons that the humanities face criticism stems from its inability to produce tangible objects. In a society that revolves around mass production, the emphasis falls on how much you can produce and the quality of the produced within the restraints of time. What people neglect about the humanities is its ability to teach empathetic ways of existing in the world. By reading about the ways that others experience the world (fictional or nonfiction) new ways of understanding emerge. Literature also teaches how to think critically and engage with the world, where one can remove themselves from a situation and see multiple perspectives and approaches to a problem or issue—a necessity in a world that sees things in black and white.
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Literature is a tool of the humanities, that assists in teaching these things and it takes time to develop these skills. Literature demands to be read slowly, and this defies the standards of production. Friedrich Nietzsche, a philosopher from the nineteenth century, writes: “philology itself, perhaps, will not ‘get things done’ so hurriedly: it teaches how to read well: i.e. slowly, profoundly, attentively, prudently, with inner thoughts, with the mental doors ajar, with delicate fingers and eyes.” Nietzsche writes of philology in the sense of “love of learning and literature; the branch of knowledge that deals with the historical, linguistic, interpretative, and critical aspects of literature; literary or classical scholarship” (OED). All of these modes of reading help to evolve critical modes of thought and empathy. Although developing these skills takes time, one must press on and battle for the humanities’ place in academia.