HONEST TO BLOG

Here's To The Humanities

The "human sciences" have a general bum rap in our society. This is typically exemplified in the reaction I get when someone discovers I'm a philosophy student. It comes across as a mix of pity and fear. No one seems quite sure what philosophy is, what it's good for, or why anyone would care. Many seem suspicious that whatever philosophy may be (other than totally boring and irrelevant) it is most likely bizarre or dangerous.

Well, thanks to the Kluge Center, we now have our own version of the "nobel prize." The first recipient is Leszek Kolakowski. One can only hope that this may contribute to a broader societal appreciation of philosophy and the other "human and social" sciences.