Questions for discussion

1. Several tendencies that threaten the humanities have been described in the content hub (commercialization, quantification, moral indifference, lack of money). At the same time, these are all externalities. What is the role of humanities themselves in their decline? For instance, standards have often been lowered in humanities, though sciences practice a severe selection. What is the part humanities played themselves in their decline?   

2. Modern academic research is based on the idea of financial investment and return on investment. Put differently, the economic model prevails when it comes to funding research. Understandable. The climate crisis for instance needs considerable investments and no one wants to deny the importance of its relevance. Yet, the idea that research also implies moral choices, the transformation of mentalities, communities, individual rights and so on, hardly seems to play a role when it comes to funding. How can humanities improve their relationship with both society and sciences?

3. Gibbon saw the (History of) the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as largely due to Christianity. Max Weber saw the Protestant ethic strongly connected to the spirit of capitalism. Blumenberg, in his debate with Löwith, saw modernity (and secularization) as the rift with traditional (Christian) religion. What is the role of religion when it comes to humanities? Have humanities benefitted from secularization or can they only survive when, according to Charles Taylor, they retain a relationship with religion?