What Hope for the Humanities?

Abstract

The significance of the Humanities in the changed circumstances of the modern world is considered. Any suggestion that the Humanities should be defended as ‘a luxury article’ is refuted. On the contrary, history and the disciplines of the Humanities are shown to play a vital role in understanding social reality. This justifies them as subjects for study and research. Unless society is to be run in a relatively unquestioned way by an elite it is essential that such knowledge is widely available. It is thus argued that the Humanities make an essential contribution to the understanding of society.