Abstract

GUMBRECHT, Hans Ulrich. Why the Humanities and Arts should be reformed?. Hist. graf [online]. 2011, n.36, pp.183-208. ISSN 1405-0927.

A pledge for the Humanities and Arts to concentrate on "riskful thinking" (i.e. a style of thinking that cannot take place in institutionalized everyday contexts because it would produce too much complexity) as their distinctive intellectual possibility and social function. This proposal entails multiple consequences: it would make the Humanities and Arts less goal or solution-oriented, and liberate them from the obligation to occupy only certain politico-ideological positions; it would suggest replacing the concept of "research" (as a problematic import from the Natural Sciences) with that of "contemplation"; but it would also lower the (financial) cost of the Humanities and Arts, thus making their economic position more defensible.

Keywords : Humanities and Arts (Geisteswissenschaften); riskful thinking; social functions; research; contemplation; financial funding.

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