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DO THE HUMANITIES CREATE KNOWLEDGE?
There is in certain circles a widely held belief that the only proper
kind of knowledge is scientific knowledge. This belief often runs
parallel to the notion that legitimate knowledge is obtained when a
scientist follows a rigorous investigative procedure called the Scientific
Method. Chris Haufe challenges this idea. He shows that what we
know about the Scientific Method rests fundamentally on the use of
finely tuned human judgments directed toward certain questions about
the natural world. He suggests that this dependence on judgment in
fact reveals deep affinities between scientific knowledge and another,
equally important, sort of comprehension: that of humanistic creative
endeavour. His wide-ranging and stimulating new book uncovers the
unexpected unity underlying all our efforts – whether scientific or
arts-based – to understand human experience. In so doing, it makes
a vital contribution to broader conversation about the value of the
humanities in an increasingly STEM-saturated educational culture.
CHR IS H AU FE
Case Western Reserve University
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781316512500
DOI: 10.1017/9781009067508
© Chris Haufe 2023
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions
of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take
place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
First published 2023
Printed in the United Kingdom by TJ Books Limited, Padstow Cornwall
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
names: Haufe, Chris, author.
title: Do the humanities create knowledge? / Chris Haufe,
Case Western Reserve University, Ohio.
description: Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge
University Press, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
identifiers: lccn 2023000035 | ISBN 9781316512500 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781009067508 (ebook)
subjects: lcsh: Humanities – Philosophy. | Knowledge, Theory of. |
Science – Philosophy.
classification: lcc az101 .h39 2023 | ddc 001.301–dc23/eng/20230123
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023000035
ISBN 978-1-316-51250-0 Hardback
Cambridge University Press & Assessment has no responsibility for the persistence
or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this
publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will
remain, accurate or appropriate.
Preface page ix
Acknowledgments xi
1 Introduction 1
2 What Would the Community Think? 17
3 Canon and Consensus 36
4 Knowing What Matters 71
5 In Defense of How Things Seem 107
6 Reading What Lies Within 137
7 Humanities Victorious? 161
8 Of Interest 178
9 The Hoax and the Humanities 205
10 Conclusion 233
References 237
Index 247
vii
I am writing this from inside a box. The walls of this box are adorned with
the most resplendent scenes, sprawling vistas that only become more entic-
ing the more carefully one studies them. The corners are neat and square,
like the gorgeous cellar dug by Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel, Mary
Anne, in Virginia Burton’s classic children’s book, Mike Mulligan and His
Steam Shovel (Mary Anne). Mike and Mary Anne never left that cellar. And
why would they? It contained all they would ever need: a roaring fire, hot
coffee, probably some flapjacks or something. Anything else would just be
frills – foam on the sea, possessed neither of stability nor of real substance.
A lot of people say that there is no safe harbor outside the box; only dark-
ness and confusion. It is either the box or anarchy. Sometimes, though,
and with enormous effort, I’m able to poke my head through some freshly
patched drywall to look at things as if from outside. To my astonishment,
the goings-on out there appear in many ways to be remarkably similar to
what happens inside the box. Moreover, the outer surface of the box looks
nothing like those beautifully ornamented walls with their corners neat
and square; it’s a bloody mess. Although it’s clearly very strong and stable
in certain places, it is jagged and disjointed. There are leaks and huge,
gaping holes. Some are being furiously plugged, while others just sit there
encircled by workmen who are not at all sure what to do. And by no means
does it go on forever. At most, there are half-formed plans to extend it. The
grounds are littered with the remains of what looks like old decor, which is
weird, because I don’t remember anyone saying anything about redecorat-
ing. I just assumed those resplendent scenes had always been there.
My box is the notion that the only kind of knowledge is scientific knowl-
edge, and this book is an attempt to rescue a sense of epistemological
order that exists outside the box. I’m not convinced I want to leave my
box. I think there are good reasons to stay tucked cozily in the sumptu-
ous epistemic triumphs of the last 350 years. I do not think that they are
ix
Of the many debts I have incurred through writing this book, the deepest
of them are owed to Philip Kitcher, Peter Vickers, and my wife, Maysan
Haydar. Each of them read the entire manuscript, offered precious feed-
back, and showed a disturbing convergence of opinion on what needed to
change. I hope that I am asked to return the favor. I hope that I am equal
to the task.
The early murmurings of my interest in writing a book about the epis-
temology of the humanities began at the University of Rochester’s Center
for the Humanities, where I was a fellow during the academic year 2018–
2019. My time there and my conversations with Will Miller, Chris Rovee,
and the Center’s director, Joanie Rubin expanded my view of the humani-
ties in ways that would otherwise not have been possible.
Case Western Reserve University has been a wonderful and supportive
research environment from the moment I arrived, as has our Baker-Nord
Center for the Humanities, which has hosted several talks on material
that follows and provided financial support for research materials and
for the book’s indexing. I have benefitted from many conversations on
the issues covered herein with my colleagues Michael Clune and Aviva
Rothman, both of whom seem to me to understand the humanities at
a very deep level. Many conversations with Cyrus Taylor enriched my
understanding of the cultural and practice of science immeasurably.
Jeremy Bendik-Keymer read the entire manuscript and pointed me to a
variety of connections with deeper social and moral issues.
Much of this book was conceived of and written during an extended
visit from the historian of science Omar W. Nasim to Case Western as
the Hildegarde and Elbert Baker Visiting Scholar in the Humanities. Prof.
Nasim was a crucial interlocutor and advisor on virtually every major issue
I address here. Many thanks go to Hilary Gaskin, the philosophy editor at
Cambridge University Press who brought this book into being and who
xi
Introduction
In the nearly perfect movie, Office Space, some business consultants are
brought in to a software company to trim a little fat. As part of that pro-
cess, employees are called to meet with the consultants, to more or less
interview for the job they already have. During one of these meetings, a
guy named Tom with a job that clearly did not need to exist becomes irate,
spluttering about this and that in a desperate plea for relevance before his
inevitable exposure as a superfluous, and thus expendable, accoutrement.
The world is full of Toms. We hope that we are not among them.
Sometimes this is because we do not want to lose our jobs. Tom’s protests
in Office Space were focused on preserving his livelihood. Often enough,
though, we simply lament the prospect that other people might not value
what we contribute … and that they might be right to do so. We lament
this prospect, not because we think we deserve their respect or recognition,
but because we don’t want to waste our time. Moment by moment, I feel
the crushing threat of wasted time bearing down on me. I hear the echoes
of Tom’s futile, self-serving outburst as I try to tell myself that what I do
is important.
The book you are reading is the result of an extended meditation on the
question of whether the humanities produce knowledge. And I do mean
extended. For half of my life, I have tried to work out for myself what it
is exactly I do with the time I spend reading, writing, and talking to aca-
demics across a wide range of disciplines. When I describe this pattern to
people outside of academia, they often burst out laughing; this frequently
happens during interactions with natural scientists as well. My own chil-
dren are pretty much convinced that I do nothing all day long. The way
in which I and most other humanists work simply does not comport with
their image of what knowledge production looks like. And the fact that
I’m literally wearing a tweed jacket as I write this probably doesn’t help,
either.
1
— Achtung!
*****
— Sitokaa hänet!
Melu häviää. Silloin tällöin kuuluu vain sadatus tai isku jalalla
lattiaan.
Epäröiden ottaa joku sen vastaan. Poika ei tiedä oikein miten hän
auttajaansa kiittäisi…
*****
Seisomme ulkona ja katselemme leirin aamupuuhia. Eräs
venäläinen tulee luoksemme. Hän puhuu suomea. Kertoo olevansa
hallikauppias Viipurista ja hän pyytää meiltä samaa palvelusta kuin
englantilainen. Postikortti vaimolleen Viipuriin. Minä otan sen
toimittaakseni perille…
— Kyllä oli hyvä, ettei enempää ollut. Olisi syönyt itsensä vielä
sairaaksi…
*****
*****
— Se ei muuta asiaa.
*****
*****
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