Why arts? Why study humanities? What good are paintings, buildings, literature, salon conversations?
Old Mother Hen will dispense with the usual arguments here. Of course arts bring beauty to life, refine one's ability to make an argument, etc.
Arts and humanities are valuable because their ability to exist is a good indicator of the health of civilization.
They are the canary in the coal mine. When a society is civilized, beautiful old buildings and boundary-expanding communication can thrive. When civilization collapses, nonessential beauty is one of the first things to go.
Sainte-Chapelle is a Gothic cathedral in Paris, famed for its ethereal stained glass, which on a sunny day makes the roof look as if it's floating atop a sea of blue light. Those windows were installed in the 1240s, and they are still there today. They've had ups and downs - they were damaged during the French Revolution but then restored, and they were removed to avoid being blasted to smithers during the second world war and replaced when the coast was clear. Today they face the threat of air pollution, but so far the nation believes it is important to put the time and money into conserving them.
Contrast the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, deliberately destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 after standing for 1700 years. The loss of the statues is tragic, but what the loss says about the society is alarming.
We value our peaceful civilization, in which we can live unmolested in our homes and go about our business without worrying about attack, violent disruption of our transport, or loss of our shelter and food supply. When those conditions are met, we can worry about taking care of our delicate breakables. See Sainte-Chapelle - the French Revolution was an unhealthy moment in French civilization, and the church was correspondingly damaged. The nation cared enough about its pretty things, though, to put it back together again, and to protect it during an even more violent conflict.
So that's a real role for arts, humanities, and beautiful, delicate things - serving as a thermometer for the health of civilization.
Old Mother Hen will dispense with the usual arguments here. Of course arts bring beauty to life, refine one's ability to make an argument, etc.
Arts and humanities are valuable because their ability to exist is a good indicator of the health of civilization.
They are the canary in the coal mine. When a society is civilized, beautiful old buildings and boundary-expanding communication can thrive. When civilization collapses, nonessential beauty is one of the first things to go.
Sainte-Chapelle is a Gothic cathedral in Paris, famed for its ethereal stained glass, which on a sunny day makes the roof look as if it's floating atop a sea of blue light. Those windows were installed in the 1240s, and they are still there today. They've had ups and downs - they were damaged during the French Revolution but then restored, and they were removed to avoid being blasted to smithers during the second world war and replaced when the coast was clear. Today they face the threat of air pollution, but so far the nation believes it is important to put the time and money into conserving them.
Contrast the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, deliberately destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 after standing for 1700 years. The loss of the statues is tragic, but what the loss says about the society is alarming.
We value our peaceful civilization, in which we can live unmolested in our homes and go about our business without worrying about attack, violent disruption of our transport, or loss of our shelter and food supply. When those conditions are met, we can worry about taking care of our delicate breakables. See Sainte-Chapelle - the French Revolution was an unhealthy moment in French civilization, and the church was correspondingly damaged. The nation cared enough about its pretty things, though, to put it back together again, and to protect it during an even more violent conflict.
So that's a real role for arts, humanities, and beautiful, delicate things - serving as a thermometer for the health of civilization.
