<p>Humanities and social sciences majors tend to be viewed as being lower in pecking order because more students drop other majors to those areas than the other way around. Also at most universities, they comprise the vast majority of students. At my son’s state uni graduation, the P’s had it with Philosophy, Psychology and Political Science making up most of the majors. Unless you go to a tech type school, that is usually the pattern.</p>
<p>Also because these majors are broad spectrum and there are so many graduates in those areas, it is difficult to find a job with a living wage.</p>
<p>I am a history major with mathematics and computer science minors. I was an applied math major for the first two years of my college career, because I was good at math and thought it would help me to find a good job after I graduated. Eventually, however, I decided that while I still enjoyed math to a certain extent, I much preferred history. I decided to switch my major, not because I was not getting high grades in my math classes, but because I wanted to do what I loved. And I know I’m not the only one who enjoys and/or is capable of majoring in both the humanities and the hard sciences. In fact, a number of great mathematicians were also philosophers.</p>
<p>Sure, as a humanities major, I’m not going to make a great deal of money after I graduate, but that’s all right with me. I plan to be a teacher, first through Teach for America, but then not stopping after my two years are up. My job is going to be difficult, I know, but I’m also expecting it to be more rewarding (to me, given my interests and personality) than a job I could get in the fields of one of my minors.</p>
<p>Anyway, both the humanities and the hard sciences help you develop critical thinking skills, though the types of critical thinking you do varies between the disciplines. Both are also helpful to society, in very different ways. I don’t think the humanities deserve the reputation they have here, but I also respect those with science majors or more career-oriented ones such as business.</p>
<p>Speaking as a math major I’ve got to respond to this. In my opinion, the best math majors are the pure math majors, and you know what I’ve discovered? They can think both critically and analytically at a level which is on par with literature majors. Everything you do with words, we learn to do. The beliefs that math majors are sitting and playing around with equations all day for hours and hours and hours feels antiquated upon the realization that math education encourages the concept of alternate thinking and solutions; problems that have an obvious solution that takes hours and hours of “busy work” give way to problems that have simpler, but more subtle solutions, ones that require the ability to approach from multiple angles.</p>
<p>EDIT: It seems Meltymervin beat me to the chase. For those of you who doubt Math’s ability to develop critical thinking, sit through analysis class. If you can make it out of it the class with your brain intact, I think you’ll see everything differently.</p>
<p>I think the reason why some people view humanities majors as people of inferior intellect is because of the way the educational system is set up. Valedictorians, at least at my school, typically major in a math or science-related field. The logical thinking skills which help them excel in math and science translate also to English and History courses, thus securing them the valedictorian status. My school teaches humanities in such a rote, black-and-white manner that those with a passion for history and English often don’t receive the best grades, because they favor a more abstract thinking style. A lot of people are drawn to the humanities because of the ambiguities, so some humanities majors might not have as high GPA’s as those with a more concrete thinking style. I’m sure there are certainly exceptions to this theory, but this is why SOME math/science people look down on humanities majors–because they think “I got an A in math and history, yet that history kid got a B in his own favorite subject and a C in math. I must possess a superior mind.” </p>
<p>I think a lot of negativity towards the humanities comes from teachers–my math teacher tells us that we might have A’s in history and English but we’re not going to make it in college because poor progress with math. “You people don’t understand without math you won’t have good money and you won’t be able to find a partner.” She told us “I don’t understand why so many of you care about English and history but not math.” So many people falsely equate not succeeding in math with not caring. Thus, the humanities are viewed as the route for failed mathematicians–an unfair assumption.</p>
<p>Humanities are important because of how universal they are. Art and music majors learn to produce work that can be understood by people of any language. Anthropologists try to understand people of religions, governments and languages completely different from themselves. Journalism majors help shed light on the issues in the world today. Humanities aren’t about trying to get someone else’s right answer, but about reaching a conclusion that only you could come up with. This involves a lot of skill, dedication and creativity.</p>
<p>^ I would have to disagree that most math/science people can do humanities with equal ease. At my school you have people who have As in AP Calc getting Cs in APUSH the AP Englishes, and even in AP Stats, a math that requires a different way of thinking than Calc, you have math geniuses making Cs and Ds with humanities kids getting As. This is not to say that either discipline is superior intellectually, but simply that each requires a different way of thinking.</p>
<p>Also every time a math teacher goes on about how math is more important for college my response is “That’s why the SAT is 2/3 English and 1/3 Math.”</p>
<p>As a prospective English major, it bothers me that humanities are looked upon in such a negative manner. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and each individual will be able to succeed in the field they are best at. Humanities majors have the opportunity to get their MBA/JD and do well in business, law, writing or communication. Math/Science majors can thrive in technology fields and other concentrations. I don’t think one should be looked upon as better than the other.</p>
<p>You know what I figured? To really succeed in this world today, one has to be well-rounded. I admire those who can, for example, do engineering or medicine, but still have a strong interest and be able to do things such as analyzing literature or philosophy (and vice-versa). I’m thinking about pursuing an English major, but I’m still planning to take science courses (chemistry, biology) and maybe minor in Biology in my undergraduate years before I pursue law school, as well as study Spanish. Who knows? Maybe I’ll switch to pre-med. After all, humanities majors do have the highest scores on the MCAT! </p>
<p>Seriously, guys. It’s so important to be well-rounded and to have an appreciation for everything. We can’t smile upon one major and frown upon the other. All of them have their worth, which is why everyone as a student should take the time to explore, and take classes in both the sciences and humanities.</p>
<p>meltymervin said: “And what major, may I ask, are you in? Your spelling certainly does not lend credibility to your argument.
Also, there is definitely a distinction even among humanities about which fields require the most talent: the purest first. English and History certainly rank first among the humanities, just as Mathematics and Physics (theoretical) are the harder of the sciences. Although Mathematics isn’t exactly a science, since the purer side has no base in empirical data.”</p>
<p>“Although Mathematics isn’t exactly a science, since the purer side has no base in empirical data.”</p>
<p>For reals?</p>
<p>Mathematics isn’t a science? Without mathematics, we would not have physical sciences as we know them, just natural philosophy. Where do they teach you that nonsense?</p>
<p>“Mathematics isn’t a science? Without mathematics, we would not have physical sciences as we know them, just natural philosophy. Where do they teach you that nonsense?”</p>
<p>I’m not siding with anyone here, but if your argument is true, wouldn’t philosophy be a science too? English too, I suppose, for English-speaking scientists.</p>
<p>No to both. Mathematics is the most fundamental and concrete subject we know. We are always learning more about mathematics, but mathematical objects are ceaseless and unchanging. Philosophy is not a science. If there is only one truth, philosophy doesn’t do a good job of finding what that truth is. Countless topics in philosophy have been debated for centuries on end, even millenia, and still no conclusion is made about possible truths.
English is also not a science. Besides the fact that “english” is just a name for some standardized mutually intelligible thing, the truth is that english is not a thing, but a constantly changing language. Mutual intelligibility is remarkably efficient, but no two people speak the same “english”. No mental grammar+lexicon is identical between different “english” speakers.</p>
<p>So to clarify, a hard science is a system fundamentally composed of axioms, such that the truth of the axioms is unchanging.</p>
<p>The reason why I say that math we would not have physical sciences AS WE KNOW THEM, is not to say that we would not have any sort of physical sciences, but that our observations would not be like how they are now because mathematics allows for theoretical physics to flourish, and allows for applied chemistry and physics to be observed in an unchanging way e.g. empirical data on physical and chemical phenomena.
I’m not saying that mathematics is required for either of those sciences, but I will say that mathematics are necessary to have the understanding of our universe that we have today, and to continue learning more about it.</p>
<p>But this is wrong. For example, let’s take mathematics. By your logic, the axioms have never changed since the creation of mathematics. If this was true, we’d only have rational numbers. Back in the day, mathematicians thought that only rational numbers existed. That they were given from God, who was perfect and rational and all that good stuff. As it turns out, axioms do get broken and when that happens, chaos ensues. People die. At least the guy who proved the irrationality of the square root of two did. </p>
<p>So, the question is, what is actually an axiom and what is just something we assume to be true when in fact it may not be? </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>So? That doesn’t make it a science. </p>
<p>Perhaps a good question to ask is “What is a science?”</p>
<p>Honestly… this sounds like what most humanities majors tell me… so that they can justify their existence. In a politer way, so that they can justify their choice to spend $200K+ on some degree that gets them nowhere fast.</p>
<p>Also a small observation but nonetheless consistent… I’ve noticed how math/science “minded” people know how to appreciate the humanities, music, philosophy in their own time or as a hobby, but it’s not usually the case the other way around. You know this is true: many humanities/lib arts majors are like “ughh… math? sci? i don’t want to hear any of it!”</p>
<p>I really hate the math/sci snob attitude, but I have to echo this sentiment. It’s hella hypocritical to style yourself an academic and not at least appreciate mathematics and the sciences. </p>
<p>There are a bazillion science classes for non-science majors, but you never see it the other way around . . .</p>
<p>I have heard humanities majors try to argue with me that math cannot be “deep” because it does not involve investigating emotion. </p>
<p>I think this is one of the most flawed ways of thinking imaginable, and is coming strictly from someone who doesn’t know what mathematics is.</p>
<p>What they feed you in school is a preset curriculum that exposes you to various foundational things, but the reality is people who extend math and the sciences think deeply about the philosophy of studying what they do. A large part of math is developing the correct philosophy to view certain fundamental objects, and what one must recognize is that the whole subject is about perspective – this is, when one actually aims to do something nontrivial in the field. There is tons of emotion and sentiment encoded into the perspective, and this is why sometimes one can guess the type of mathematics an individual does based on his/her personality. There is no emotion in literature either – it is all encoded into the words. It is a shallow perspective on literature to note that the emotion present has its basis in the emotions of those in the tales. The craft and choice of construction that actually reveal the emotion are deep in and of themselves. Therein lies an essential similarity with mathematics. Sometimes the philosophy of studying one narrow object can be more interesting than the object itself, and can translate to similar insights in studying a broad class of things. </p>
<p>Someone who is truly strong at one of these fields will respect the other. Those who are weak at both can quibble about which requires more effort to do the bare minimum. In that case, of course a humanities major on average is easier to complete the bare minimum for, simply by how most educational systems have been set up.</p>
<p>I’d also like to add that there are definitely limitations to the usefulness of “investigating” one’s emotions. (psychology, philosophy, art, humanities, literature, etc)…</p>
<p>For instance, knowing the why’s and how we feel pain and suffering does not eliminate the fact that we will always feel pain and suffering, in some sort of form. Thus, understanding the humanities or related fields is not really a fix for anything. Human behavior will persist the way it always has, no matter how deeply we “investigate” it. And to be honest, those who know why people behave in certain ways don’t necessarily behave better themselves, they just think they do.</p>
<p>It seems that many humanities majors on these forums state that majoring in humanities somehow gives insight to wisdom,empathy, and beauty, an insight that math/sci majors supposedly don’t learn. These traits are a function of time,experience,and introspective thinking, not from a set of classes you take at your college. It does not take a college education to realize that; purpose-driven people(whether they are humanities or engineering) do it on their own initiative, or are forced to learn it one way or another. Thus, a math/sci related major can be just as wise as someone who thinks he’s wise just because he took some courses on human history and behavior.</p>
<p>Ironically this is a very difficult concept for many humanities majors to grasp… at least those who live around my area.</p>
<p>Quite irritatingly, psychologists can be exceedingly arrogant about their confidence in assessment of why someone is behaving the way this individual is. I have little faith that going through a major (in accord with the poster above me) can give one suddenly deep insights into the human experience; rather, one must experience things and gain wisdom by being reflective.</p>
<p>Here’s the thing. We need humanists, social scientists, physical scientists, engineers, businessmen, artists, natural scientists, and so many more people to function as a world. I’m sick and tired of hearing the humanities and the social scientists downed, but frankly, the people who down the humanities and the social scientists don’t matter - they’re usually in it for very different reasons, and therefore the views are incomparable.</p>
<p>In high school - indeed, at many colleges - the humanities and social sciences are taught at such a rote, low level that any decent B.S.er can pass them with flying colors. As with pretty much all subjects in the US, the subjects simply need to be taught at a much, much higher level. Constant lowering of standards has done a lot of damage.</p>