The Lost Art of Being Human: Why the Humanities Matter More Than Ever??

In a world governed by technology and dominated by data, where algorithms predict our tastes and metrics measure our worth, the humanities may seem like relics of a slower, more thoughtful age. When people talk about “the future,” it’s often painted in the sterile colors of computer science, finance, and engineering—a world where efficiency, not empathy, leads the charge. And yet, the humanities hold answers to questions that science can’t fully grasp: What does it mean to live a good life? How do we understand love, loss, and the inexplicable weight of human experience? Why, in a world of constant connection, do we feel so alone?

1. The Human Side of Progress

At the heart of the humanities is a commitment to human life in all its messy, beautiful complexity. Literature, history, philosophy, the arts—they explore the depth of human emotion, the heights of our ideals, and the shadows we try to ignore. Think about it: when we read novels, we don’t do it to memorize characters’ names or track how many pages we can finish in an hour. We read because we recognize ourselves in those pages. We feel the pull of their struggles, the ache of their hopes, and in doing so, we are reminded of our own.

There’s a reason why, even in the most remote corners of our planet, people are drawn to stories. They’re not just about escapism; they’re a way to understand ourselves and each other. And here lies the paradox of progress: while we are more “advanced” than ever, understanding each other is a skill that we seem to be losing.

2. Empathy: An Underappreciated Skill

The world we’re building is complex and often divided. So many global issues—like climate change, migration, and public health—are tangled with moral and ethical considerations that can’t be solved by numbers alone. A formula won’t help us understand why a family leaves their homeland, what it’s like to live in fear, or the weight of grief in a mother’s heart. The humanities teach us empathy, something that no machine or algorithm can replicate. They make us pause, look deeper, and recognize the shared threads of vulnerability and resilience that bind us all together.

Empathy is not just a nice thing to have; it’s essential for a functioning society. Without it, we are left with hollow systems and policies that serve ideas more than they serve people. If we are going to tackle the problems of our age, we need people who are trained to ask questions like “What is just?” and “How will this impact lives?” Not just people who can do things, but people who understand why those things matter.

3. A Map to Our Own Minds

For all our advances, the human mind remains as mysterious as the depths of the ocean or the vastness of the universe. We have apps that track our steps and devices that watch our sleep, but none that can tell us why a song makes us cry or why we long for places we’ve never been. Psychology and philosophy, poetry and art—they serve as maps for our inner worlds, revealing the contours of our hopes, fears, and unspoken desires.

When we read poetry, for example, it’s not just about appreciating pretty words. It’s about making sense of things we often can’t put into language ourselves. A poem might catch a truth about loneliness, joy, or heartbreak that we’ve felt but never understood. In this way, the humanities give voice to our unarticulated selves. They allow us to sit with our discomforts, to face our own contradictions, and, in doing so, they offer a rare form of healing—an understanding that, whatever we’re going through, we’re not alone.

4. Humanities as a Call to Action

Some might argue that studying the humanities is indulgent, even elitist—a pursuit for those with time and money. But the truth is, the humanities are radical. They teach us to question, to challenge, and to envision the world as it could be, not just as it is. History, for instance, does not simply record what happened; it calls us to confront the mistakes of the past and imagine a better future. Every era’s injustices—from wars to civil rights abuses—have been chronicled by those who cared enough to write them down, and it’s from those records that we learn not to repeat them.

The humanities urge us to dream. They ask us to look at the world not just with the critical eye of what it currently lacks, but with the hopeful gaze of what it might become. They invite us to be brave enough to think, to feel, and to act with purpose and compassion.

5. The Price of Forgetting Our Humanity

Imagine a future in which the humanities are no longer taught. People could live whole lives knowing little about history, unable to name a great work of literature, or unfamiliar with even the basics of philosophy. This may seem like a distant dystopia, but we are already on that path. The less we teach and value the humanities, the more we risk losing our ability to communicate deeply, to understand each other’s pain, and to solve the complex moral dilemmas that science alone can’t answer.

If we abandon the humanities, we risk creating a society that’s efficient but empty—one that values productivity over purpose, success over meaning, and power over empathy. And if that happens, we will have lost the very essence of what it means to be human.

The Humanities Are Our Compass

As we navigate the fast-paced and uncharted waters of the 21st century, we need the humanities to ground us. They remind us that life is not just about what we produce or achieve, but about how we connect, what we create, and who we become. In a world where it’s easy to feel insignificant, the humanities insist that we matter—that our voices, our dreams, and our struggles are all part of the larger story of humanity.

This is why the humanities are irreplaceable, and this is why they matter more than ever. In their teachings, we find the courage to be vulnerable, the wisdom to understand ourselves and others, and the conviction to create a world that values people over profits. In embracing the humanities, we preserve our own humanity. And in doing so, we not only make sense of the past but give hope to the future.