Analytical Essay
In his book, Jerome Kagan says, “The modern world desperately needs a Swift, Kant, Goya, Shaw, Beckett, or Eliot to provoke a passive population, adrift in a ship without a confident direction… to choose a moral position that demands a deeper empathetic concern with the social and natural settings into which each generation is born and to communicate it to a desperate public” (p. 243). Evaluate this proposal through your critical examination of the state of the three cultures (science, social science, and the humanities) as presented in Kagan’s book. Explain what such a person would or should say and/or do, based on your evaluation. Describe what you envision today’s Kant or Eliot to be. This can be an actual or a hypothetical person. Your Poet/Philosopher of Our Age must be able to respond to the failures of the three cultures while defending and promoting them. You need to explain how this person’s thought and/or action would contribute to an authentic transformation of society
Research: Include at least 6 sources, and journal articles in the disciplines of the social sciences, the sciences, and the humanities. You can choose to find research in all three, or just two of the cultures. Analyze: Your research should help you in your analysis by supporting your explanation of how the three cultures (the social sciences, the sciences, and the humanities) would contribute, in your proposed scenario, to such a transformation.
Module 7: Analytical Essay
Introduction:
All “three cultures”, Natural Science, Social Science, and Humanities are equally important for understanding any phenomenon. When something happens in society, there are various analytical reasons behind it. The happening also has social consequences. Not to mention, it has consequences in the discipline of Humanities.
Evaluation:
The quote of Jerome Kagan given in the question is highly relevant because the modern era has become too robotic to cater to sensitivity. There was a time when philosophers, political thinkers, and literary scholars could make a whole generation think hard about the wrong circumstances. However, now the times have changed. In the modern world, one should mention that the post-war world saw a pathetic change. The three cultures’ significance changed. Natural sciences became most significant, and Social Sciences came second to that, but the Humanities lost their significance rapidly. It was as if a scream into the void. Sciences have given them a better quality of life for sure, but on the other hand, that quality is still being degraded because social conditions have eroded. Humanities have yet to be able to get out of the puddle. Disciplines like Philosophy, Literature, etc., have lost their significance incredibly. Thus, in this modern, it is pertinent to have influential thinkers like Kant, Shaw, Eliot, Swift, etc. (Kegan, 2009). This also should be mentioned that most thinkers believed in socialism. The modern world runs on capitalism. The fact is that, due to the increasing rate of capitalism, people have grown more robotic. Only technology and no humanity this has become a reality. Therefore, the three cultures have been presented with all other pragmatic proofs and analyses in the prescribed book.
Explanation:
In a hypothetical assumption, Avery Callen is a university graduate. He is also a poet. He is not a renowned and successful poet; however, he has yet to give up. He understands that his blank verses need to be rhythmic enough for the public to be interested. Even though his blank verses are filled with political and philosophical annotations, the poem is not something the public readily wants. The highly mechanic modern time has no time to spare for indulging in thought-provoking verses. Society is replete with discrimination, and the general public might not be ready to face their sins through poetry. Times are such that poems have changed from being flowery to being a bunch of spikey thorns. However, Avery understands that Science is a part of life, like breathing. Previously at an early age, Science perhaps had no significance, for it was not discovered yet. Now, it has become intrinsic to surviving. Everything today is now laced with technology. The development of Medicines saves many lives. Space and other research in the discipline of Science have become vital for human existence. Social Sciences have become prevalent more than ever; it is true that the disciplines of Social Sciences have become a mirror of society. Thus, it not only records but also shows the errors boldly for the world to notice.
Literature, as understood by Avery, needs to be jostled up. Those times have passed when clubs would rave about a new creation. Today, something new is being created in the discipline of literature every hour, every minute, and every second. How can, then, Avery’s work be highlighted? Of course, it cannot be expected of society to be “polite” enough to encourage him. Instead, Avery has been promoting the discipline of humanities through his poems in every public gathering, being part of theatres, and publishing his works using his savings. He works this had because he wants to get his ideas through to the world.
Avery Calon is considered to be this era’s T. S. Eliot because he is, first and foremost, an ordinary man who uniquely does not give up on his dreams. In the post-war world, Eliot showed how a fragmented world still held the hope of a new world through “The Waste Land .”Here, Avery Being a product of the “wasteland,” quite literally, has become the epitome of hope. His poetry reflects hope, where socialism is promoted, and capitalism is condemned. Hope is present in his perseverance, and resilience speaks volumes. Hope is present in his unrelenting voice, speaking of a new world that can exist without being discriminating and unethical.
Research:
The six research sources are taken into consideration in this essay. “The Performative Movement in Social Science” by Kenneth J. Gergen and Mary Gergen and “Southern Green Criminology: A science to End Ecological Discrimination” by David Rodriguez Goyes are very educative papers. The Enchantments of Mammon: How Capitalism Became the Religion of Modernity by Eugene McCarraher is a book that details the grossing of capitalism. “Capitalism and democracy in the twenty-first century: does it still take two to tango?” by Matteo Marenco, “Capitalism in Early American Literature: Texts and Contexts,” and “Gender Discrimination in Indonesian Literature Works: A Case Study of Translation” by Nunun Tri Widarwati are also taken into consideration.
Analysis:
Taking Social sciences into consideration for research, social sciences also include performative sectors. Once performances, including poetry, theatrics, and expression, are involved with social sciences, this particular discipline takes a better form. People always understand a phenomenon better when it is somehow related to culture. Amalgamating two disciplines gives that proposition a chance (Gergen, 2019).
Taking Humanities into consideration for research, it is noticed that capitalism has become a problem in the modern era. Capitalism undoubtedly enriches a distinct half of society, but the other half rots. Literature has always been recorded in stories, poems, and essays about the world’s circumstances. America’s dark side of capitalism has also been recorded. Capitalism is something that is a two-edged sword. It will injure the one who holds it. Humanities being intrinsically seeped into art and literature, records the ruthlessness of capitalism.
Conclusion:
The “Three Cultures” of Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities are pertinent for understanding any world phenomenon. Noteworthy is the fact that experts in these disciplines also keep in mind how these disciplines can be relevant in the modern world. As far as can be predicted, sciences would never lose their significance, not even Social Sciences. However, the Humanities need to hold their ground even more strongly.
References:
Kagan, J. (2009). Three Cultures: Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, and the Humanities in the 21st Century.
McCarraher, E. (2019). The Enchantments of Mammon: How Capitalism Became the Religion of Modernity. In Google Books. Harvard University Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=a5uzDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT8&dq=capitalism+science+&ots=b5DQKOueaJ&sig=FrINBdLabaYiyUpJJtrCoM9M-gE#v=onepage&q=capitalism%20science&f=false
Leavy, P. (2017). Handbook of Arts-Based Research. In Google Books. Guilford Publications. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=fRYuDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA54&dq=social+science+poets&ots=OcMXjxGLvo&sig=_OMikR6W7G1-j4YK2Wih-oPkXwE#v=onepage&q=social%20science%20poets&f=false
Widarwati, N. T., Nababan, M. R., Santosa, R., & Tarjana, S. S. (2021). The Gender Discrimination in Indonesian Literature Works: A Case Study of Translation. Script Journal: Journal of Linguistics and English Teaching, 6(2), 123–141. https://doi.org/10.24903/sj.v6i2.740
Goes, D. R. (2019). Southern Green Criminology: A Science to End Ecological Discrimination. In Google Books. Emerald Group Publishing. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=9vCyDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=+science+behind+discrimination&ots=QSt0mK6cg9&sig=WxDl2S7RRYMrJDz5YnZW9BL-PPA#v=onepage&q=science%20behind%20discrimination&f=false
