Abstract
There are many reasons for the importance of the humanities, but in this article some of them will be mentioned from the westerners' point of view as well as Ayatollah Khamenei's perspective, very briefly.
Why the humanities are important?
There are a lot of reasons for the importance of the humanities, but in this article some of them will be mentioned from the westerners' point of view very shortly. 1. The humanities help us understand others through their languages, histories and culture; 2. The humanities foster social justice and equality; 3. The humanities reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of the world; 4. The humanities teach empathy; 5. The humanities teach us to deal critically and logically with subjective, complex, imperfect information; 6. The humanities teach us to weigh evidence skeptically and consider more than one side of every question; 7. The humanities encourage us to think creatively. They teach us to reason about being human and to ask questions about our world; 8. The humanities develop informed and critical citizens. Without the humanities, democracy could not flourish. [1] It is clear that all of these reasons have materialistic color. In another world, the importance of the humanities, in terms of material, is that the humanities help us in our life in this world. Briefly, “the humanities and social sciences are the heart of the matter, the keeper of the republic”. [2]
Why the humanities are important from the perspective of Ayatollah Khamenei?
In fact, the humanities are very important in his idea, because most of the events have happened in the world are originated by the theories of humanities.
He said:
"Many of the world events are influenced by the views of experts in the field of human sciences. It is them who provide others with the yardsticks in sociology, psychology, and philosophy. We should develop our own views in these fields, and we need to make efforts in this regard."[3]
He believes that the development of a country needs to some models, criteria and indicators that they were made by experts of humanities. [4]
In fact, in his idea the humanities are guidance, produce the thoughts and determine the direction and destination of movement of society. [5] About the importance of the humanities,the supreme leader also said: "indeed, all knowledge, all mobility in a society is like a body that its spirit is the humanities. Humanities determine on which side we are going and, what the knowledge we seek is. When humanities were diverted and based on false worldview, the result is that all community mobilizations proceed towards erroneous tendencies. [6]
References
[1] Here are 9 reasons why the humanities matter. What’s your number 10? (http://curt-rice.com/2014/02/25/here-are-9-reasons-why-humanities-matter...)
[2] The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, (2013), the Heart of the Matter, P.9.
[3] Leader's Address to Students and Academics in Shiraz, 3 May 2008 (3/05/2008) (http://english.khamenei.ir/news/840/Leader-s-Address-to-Students-and-Aca...)
[4] Gh.g (2009), "Humanities and its imperatives from perspective of the Supreme Leader", Journal of Education, No.71.
[5] Humanities and its imperatives from the perspective of the Supreme Leader (http://www.hawzah.net/fa/Magazine/View/5211/7151/87186)
[6] Leader’s Speech to Outstanding Personalities, 5 October 2011 (5/10/2011) (http://english.khamenei.ir/news/1550/Leader-s-Speech-to-Outstanding-Pers...)