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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 a primitive society, social rules are largely influenced by the rulers, so many people regard the rulers as their 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 it. In the Dyson Sphere, producing a certain complex material requires a complete industrial system. At this point, there often arises a situation of excess products or insufficient raw materials. Pulling one thread can unravel the whole system, and the entire system may come to a standstill. Moreover, synthesizing a certain advanced product requires various raw materials. At this time, we find that lacking any one product is a significant issue.

Different Circumstances of Humanities and Sciences#

The Futility of Humanities#

Currently, I cannot say exactly what is lacking; I can only reflect from the perspective of the humanities. There are many people nominally studying human society, giving a sense of being large yet useless or completely useless. Therefore, downsizing is a good principle. For example, among the numerous Marx researchers, none have emerged as 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 created... These inventors and scientists are often individuals or teams whose results are immediately visible. 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 of Humanities Research: Self-Study#

Firstly, they are merely members of humanity, and it is difficult to assert that their theories are 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 are no natural ethics to abide by. 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 within society, which has countless 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.

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

Furthermore, in terms of the significance of their impact on society, the results of natural sciences are more significant and easier to quantify and accept because they are merely objects, a type of product. Researching nature does not usually involve more than a team. It is merely a change in numbers. This model, which conforms to the 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 impactful, indeed targeting entire groups. 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 the past and the divine, but are they really? Of course, experts are experts, and history experts are also experts, but this layer of unrealistic expectations we have, believing this is their job, is a misperception of the humanities.

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 the same; 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 primarily 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 certain. Therefore, researching true history can clearly transcend the inherent shortcomings of general humanities. Thus, every discipline has its own history.

Reasons Humanities Cannot Be Divided#

Therefore, the current predicament is not that there are too many humanities but that there are too few, that there are too few people studying the rules of human society. This type of research cannot be divided, and its impact 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 Public Goods#

Are these aspects of the humanities important? This is akin to asking oneself whether understanding the laws of one's own bodily functions is important. Precisely because it is so important, it becomes unimportant. The metaphor of air is quite apt for describing the humanities; without air, one would die, and everyone knows how to breathe air, yet no one buys or sells air, unless someone pollutes it with flatulence or air has some special fragrance, creating some strange value.

Moreover, when Qin destroyed the six states, later generations lamented but did not learn from it; the rise and fall of the world caused suffering for the common people; all men are born equal; with class struggle as the guiding principle... Behind this are the countless bones of the dead, but unfortunately, the dead cannot speak.

The Way to Salvation#

This platform has always analyzed problems from an appearance-based perspective, grasping the humanities from the surface. The current state of the humanities ultimately stems from the fact that they are public goods, 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 order, 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