To the Editor:
Re “The Humanities for Love, Not Money” (Continuing Education section, Aug. 26):
Besides the sheer intellectual and aesthetic pleasure that can be
derived from the humanities, they also provide the knowledge and wisdom
by which we in the present can better question the values that we live
by and those that are imposed on us by organizations, government and
society in general.
The sciences and other studies that are more lucrative are necessary, of
course. No one would want to lose the benefits of modern medicine or
engineering.
But any society that loses interest in humanities is vulnerable to
exploitation by any commercial or political power willing to seize the
opportunity.
Our universities receive much less financing for the humanities than for
the sciences. Undervaluing the humanities leads to citizens who are not
willing to confront the moral challenges that make them good citizens
and protect their freedoms.
Edward J. Volpintesta
Bethel, Conn., Aug. 27, 2010
Keith Burgess-Jackson, J.D., Ph.D. 