Professor and Academic Director of the Long Room Hub Delivers Inaugural Lecture
Posted on: 16 April 2009
“History is one big experiment in human survival, and we lose sight of ourselves if we neglect it”, stated Professor Poul Holm at his inaugural lecture as Professor and Academic Director of TCD’s Long Room Hub.
In the lecture, entitled A Compass for a Rapidly Changing World, Professor Holm described how “Nobel Prize winner Douglass C. North was awarded in 1994 for his study of the role of institutions in economic growth; his study of several hundred years of European history might have been dismissed as a useless, ‘academic’ (in the pejorative sense of that word) study. North pointed out that institutions both harness economic growth and may be responsible for senseless repetitive errors – such as the ones perpetrated most recently by certain financial institutions. North demonstrated that we may indeed learn from history – unfortunately he did not discover a way to prevent the particular human folly which consists in resisting to learn from the past”.
“Another humanities scholar, the psychologist Abraham Maslow defined human existence as a hierarchy of needs. We need clothes, shelter and food, we reproduce – and we need joy, reflection and refinery. Unfortunately, sometimes this hierarchy is understood as if the top is luxury and can be dispensed with in times of crisis – such as now. But an existence at the bottom of Maslow’s hierarchy is an existence only of people in a state of absolute emergency. People held as hostages for years tell how they survived as sane human beings by telling each other stories, playing games, making art out of whatever material they had to hand. That is culture – or the power of civilization – and that is what makes us endure. When the struggle for the very survival is won, the brain will need to wonder and create. Art knocks on the door. Art and humanities are not a luxury – they are part of the definition of human existence”.
“Conventional wisdom is that technology and scientific discoveries are the main drivers of modern societies. Those working in the arts and humanities see things differently – we as humans are driven not by what we eat but what we want to eat. The thought, the intention is primary to human action. The arts and humanities deal with the most powerful driving force of all: motivation. We humans are driven by stories, by aspiration, by fear and hope. In rapidly changing times, our chances of survival depend on confidence and sense of direction. Our greatest moments are when we think outside the box”.
“For good and bad the 21st century will be characterized by design supplanting tradition. We question, redefine and reshape processes and products by choosing elements of disparate origin and context. This design thinking provides us with hitherto unknown freedom, room for creation and widening horizons. But the flipside is a constant fear that we ourselves and what we believe in may be made redundant and emptied of meaning and purpose. Globalised societies have experienced a backlash of resistance to change and immigration. These challenges provide a new role for the university both as an interpreter of change and a source of innovation. Arts and humanities are part of both sides of the coin – and the people who master all the elements of design – be it technology or arts and humanities – are the winners in the new knowledge and experience society. It will no longer suffice to be an economic and technological expert. We are indeed challenged at the very top of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs”.
“Pure research in past societies and cultures may not be a likely candidate to provide a compass for survival in today’s rapidly changing world but we need that mental compass now more than ever. The present debacle of trusted institutions and the disgrace of trusted individuals are evidence of the dangers to society if we allow a one-dimensional mindset to provide direction for society. Now more than ever we need highly-educated graduates who have been trained to continually question old orthodoxies and received wisdom”.
“Some of the most fundamental changes in modern society are the direct result of artists and humanists. Beckett and Burke, Joyce and Berkeley to name but a few have helped develop our mental compass”.
“The Arts & Humanities are not prescriptive. They are not mono-directional or monotheistic. They do not provide simple or simplistic answers. Yet, this is their strength, not their weakness, because we do not live in a society, an economy, or a world which requires simple or simplistic solutions. Those who know how to use the A&H compass will be best placed to find their bearings in this century of rapid and accelerating change”.
Extracts from the lecture by Professor Poul Holm, Professor and Academic Director of the Long Room Hub at Trinity College Dublin on the occasion of his inaugural lecture. Professor Holm is the lead author on a recent report to the EU Commission on emerging research trends in the humanities and social sciences.