8 Comments
Nov 20Liked by Adam Robbert

Adam, there is so much to think about in this talk or essay. Thank you. I like especially your articulation of the humanities as “pathways to transformation—practices of perception and attention.” I think we are all victims of aesthetic injustice, the damaging of our abilities to feel, imagine, and perceive by governments, religions, economic systems, and others. One of the most important values of the humanities is their ability to offer an antidote by presenting a diversity of ideas, images, and perspectives that can expand and inspire our imaginations, feelings, and perceptions. This is one important way the humanities are transformative.

Gustavo H. Delaqua’s article, Aesthetic Injustice, originally published in the Journal of Aesthetics & Culture. 2020, Vol. 12, issue 1, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20004214.2020.1712183, offers insight into how the humanities can respond to injustice.

Though the humanities are often disvalued and seen at best as entertainment, it seems that under totalitarian governments artists, writers, poets, song writers, playwrights, historians, philosophers, and other practitioners of the humanities are among the first to be silenced, arrested, exiled, or disappeared. To get this kind of attention, they must be offering something more than transferable skills.

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Thanks for this comment. I love the idea of “aesthetic justice.” We are, at least to some extent, engaged in a type of perceptual combat underwritten by the practices made available to us by the humanities—hence their risk to various control systems.

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Excellent, thoughtful, clear, compelling, and certainly appropriate for these times. I'd add that if you take a look at Evan Thompson's Blind Spot, current cog sci, and even consider the ideas of Michael Levin, the biologist, who is describing life itself, as the ability of an "organism" to take a perspective, the role of the human and their perceptions matters very, very much to science. Thus, refining, shaping, and sharpening ourselves through contemplation and practices, may possibly be a biological and evolutionary necessity, and possibly necessary to the continuation and enhancement of the hard sciences themself. I know you don't go this far here, likely wisely, but I think it is a very real likelihood the humanities as you characterize them are fundamental to all human endeavors. Thanks for your work.

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Couldn’t agree more. And as it so happens, Evan Thompson will be in dialogue with Matt Segall at our next event in November. Some details here if you happen to be near the Bay Area: https://theorosproject.substack.com/p/events

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Wish I was there, I'd be sure to go. I will be following your project closely. Matt is a treasure for our times as well, I'm sure it will be a great event.

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Excellent piece.

As the first person who completed the Humanities PhD at York University after they launched the program in Toronto, this message is especially heartening to me.

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Glad to see this Adam. This feels important and timely. It also feels like your work to do, and I wish you and Jacob well with it. I have an inkling into how I might be able to help, and will be in touch if things develop as I hope they will.

Did you ever read Iain McGilchrist’s response to Stephen Pinker in the LA Review of Books?

If not you’ll probably enjoy it: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/can-this-couple-work-it-out/

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Thanks for these kind words, Jonathan. I haven’t read McGilchrist’s response, but I’m adding it to my list now. Let’s definitely connect as these projects continue to unfold.

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