「無路用」人文學科的未來

The Future of ＂Useless＂ Liberal Arts

林麗珊(Lishan LIN)

人文學 ； 博雅教育 ； 博雅陶冶 ； 專業主義 ； 全人教育 ； Humanities ； Liberal Arts ； General Culture ； Professionalism ； Holistic Education

哲學與文化

47卷2期（2020 / 02 / 01）

93 - 109

繁體中文

大學就讀人文學科的學生經常被嘲笑為缺乏一技之長，畢業後非專業人士，所以是低度就業的「無路用」學科。但是文科畢業的Stanford University中國現代史博士Randall Stross，在2017年出版的《實用的博雅教育：何以文科生能在職場上表現不凡》（A Practical Education: Why Liberal Arts Majors Make Great Employees.）中卻表示：企業主若是能給予文科生初次機會，他們就會展現出令人驚豔的多元能力。本文即是嘗試說明：人文學（Humanities, Liberal Arts）是「以人為本」的學問，正如哲學家Immanuel Kant（1724-1804）所說的：「人即目的，而非工具」（Humanity is the purpose instead of a tool.），人文學不是為了達到外在目地而誕生的工具學問，而是為了讓人生活更加優雅、品格更為高尚的終身學習，而且更是當代企業勝出的重要關鍵學科之一。

University students that major in liberal arts are often mocked due to their lack of marketable skills. When liberal arts students graduate, they are not considered professionals. Thus, liberal arts took on the reputation of being non-competitive and ＂useless＂. However, Randall Stross, who holds a doctorate degree on Chinese Contemporary History from Stanford University, disagrees with labeling liberal arts as being ＂useless＂. Stross published a book in 2017 titled, A Practical Education: Why Liberal Arts Majors Make Great Employees. Stross claims in his work that if employers are willing to give liberal arts students a chance, the students will demonstrate eye-opening, multifaceted abilities. This thesis aims to explain that humanities and liberal arts are subjects that focus on humans and our society. True to what the philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) states, ＂Humanity is the purpose instead of a tool＂. The goal of studying liberal arts and humanities is not to achieve external accomplishments by using the knowledge as a tool. Instead, a liberal arts education engages people on a life-long learning experience that helps one live a more elegant life and develop a noble character. Most importantly, liberal arts are one of the most important subjects that one can study in order to stand out among competitors in the modern industrial society.

1. Anders, George(2017).You Can Do Anything: The Surprising Power of A “Useless” Liberal Arts Education.NY:Little, Brown and Company.
2. Bok, Derek C.(2003).Universities in the Marketplace: The Commercialization of Higher Education.NJ:Princeton University Press.
3. Farnham, Nicholas H.(ed.),Yarmolinsky, Adam(ed.)(1996).Rethinking Liberal Education.Oxford:Oxford University Press.
4. Gasset, José Ortega y,Nostrand, Howard Lee(Ed. and Trans.)(1992).Mission of the University.EUSA:Transaction Publishers.
5. Kimball, Bruce A.(1995).Orators & Philosophers—A History of the Idea of Liberal Education.NY:College Board.
6. Nussbaum, Martha C.(1997).Cultivating Humanity: A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education.MA:Harvard University Press.
7. Stross, Randall(2017).A Practical Education: Why Liberal Arts Majors Make Great Employees.California:Stanford University Press.
8. 牟起龍,鄒宜姮（譯）,謝麗玲（譯）(2017).人文學,翻轉企業未來！.臺北:本事出版社.

1. (2024)。華德福教育中身體活動及其全人教育之實踐：以三所形態之華德福學校為例。體育學報，57(3)，303-324。
2. (2024)。由莊子「無用之用」談生命教育的意義。應用倫理評論，76，31-43。