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To learn the rules of nature is to inevitably believe in nature; to learn the rules of society is to inevitably believe in society. In primitive societies, social rules are largely influenced by rulers, so many people regard rulers as masters. However, social rules study society, which includes all the dead, the living, and those yet to come... —《Mountains Shift, Waters Still》

I believe everyone knows about the Dyson Sphere Program; I have also played with the Dyson Sphere. In the Dyson Sphere, to produce a certain complex material, you need a complete industrial system. At this point, there often arises a situation where there is either too much product or not enough raw materials. Pull one thread and the whole body moves; the entire system may come to a standstill. Moreover, synthesizing a certain advanced product requires various raw materials. At this time, we find that missing any one product is a significant issue.

Different Circumstances of Humanities and Sciences#

The Uselessness of Humanities#

Currently, I cannot say exactly what is lacking; I can only think from the perspective of the humanities. There are many people nominally studying human society, giving a sense of being large yet useless or entirely useless. Therefore, downsizing is a good principle. For example, among the numerous Marx researchers, none have produced a Marx figure.

Natural Sciences as Adaptors of Social Division of Labor#

At the beginning of humanity, there was no distinction between natural sciences and social sciences. This distinction came later. Many natural scientists have discovered numerous truths, which have been confirmed. For instance, Einstein's gravitational waves were only proven this century. Many inventions like light bulbs, telephones, and cars were also created... These inventors and scientists are often individuals or teams, and their results are immediate. These are all adaptors of the social division of labor.

But there are also maladaptive elements in the social division of labor—this group of people studying human society. They either study language and writing, history and politics, law and religion, etc.

Characteristics of Humanities#

Inter-subjectivity in Humanities Research: Self-Study#

Firstly, they are merely one member of humanity, and it is difficult to assert that their theories have been proven. Their research objects are not nature but society; nature is generally just an object, a human object. In your research on it, no one will accuse you of rape, as there is no natural ethics to adhere to. Nature just lies there, waiting for you to pick it. Whether you can be virtuous depends on your ability. However, human society does not work that way; you are just a subject of society, and there are billions of other subjects like you. Ideology goes without saying. Studying society is a paradox of raising one's own head. According to the rules of natural science, such a researcher could be considered a god.

The Unity of Research Objects and Action Objects in Humanities: Self-Action#

Furthermore, from the perspective of whether the impact on society is significant, the results of natural sciences are more pronounced and easier to quantify and accept because they are merely objects, a type of product. Researching nature, no matter how extensive, is still just a team effort. It merely varies in number. This model that conforms to division of labor can be clearly perceived by society. In contrast, the research objects of the humanities not only possess inter-subjectivity but also have research teams that are large and action teams that are indeed focused on the entire group. It does not conform to the modern division of labor model. Even if there are some specialized researchers, that is merely a facade. It is akin to ancient shamans; we consider them to be those who communicate the changes of ancient and modern times and connect the divine and the mortal—are they really? Of course, experts are experts, and history experts are also experts, but this layer of unrealistic expectations we have, thinking this is their job, is a misunderstanding of the humanities' division of labor.

The Uniqueness of History#

History is real, unique, and has definite answers. This is the most valuable aspect of history. However, recording history, commenting on history, and summarizing historical laws are not necessarily in accordance with those laws. Therefore, as long as one can explore a sufficient number of true histories, mastering the laws becomes easy, allowing for various speculations.

Other humanities disciplines are similar; they all have objective research objects and commentary on those objects. The research objects of the humanities unfold in a commentary manner. For history, regardless of how society changes, history is fixed, meaning there is a unique truth. However, other humanities disciplines differ. Their research objects mainly exist in contemporary times. For example, if you believe in social contract theory, it will greatly promote social change.

These are the two main characteristics of the humanities: self-study and self-action.

However, history does not count as self-study; it studies past events, and this object is determined. Therefore, researching true history can clearly transcend the inherent shortcomings of general humanities. Thus, every discipline has its own XX history.

The Reason Humanities Cannot Be Divided#

Therefore, the current predicament is not that there are too many humanities but that there are too few; there are too few people studying the rules of human society. This type of research cannot be divided, and this type of action cannot be quantified. Of course, if someone can quantify it, I would naturally be happy, but the characteristics of humanities research—inter-subjectivity—are a difficult chasm to cross.

Escaping the Sadness of Humanities#

The Sadness of Humanities as a Public Good#

Of course, are these aspects of humanities important? It is akin to asking oneself whether understanding the laws of one's body is important. Precisely because it is so important, it becomes unimportant. The metaphor of air is very apt for describing the humanities; without air, one would die, and everyone knows how to breathe air, and no one buys or sells air, except when someone farts and pollutes the air, or when the air has a special fragrance from someone, creating some strange value.

Moreover, when Qin destroyed the six states, later generations lamented it without learning from it; the rise and fall of the world caused suffering for the common people; all men are born equal; class struggle is the guiding principle... Behind this are countless piles of bones, but unfortunately, the dead cannot speak.

The Way to Salvation#

This platform has always analyzed problems from an appearance-oriented perspective, grasping the humanities from the surface. The current state of the humanities ultimately stems from the fact that they are a public good, an embryo in evolution. I think of the apostles in EVA and the so-called human completion plan; humanity has developed collective civilization rather than individual civilization, attributed to the complementarity of individuals and groups, but the downside is that before human society evolves into a higher legal system, such a public resource as the humanities is bound to be abused. The way to salvation lies not in the group but in the individual.

2023-12-30