For I have learned
To look on nature, not as in the hour
Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes
The still sad music of humanity,
Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power
To chasten and subdue.—And I have felt
A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts
– William Wordsworth from Tintern Abbey
Recently I reconnected with one of my English Literature professors, and through sharing our comings and goings and current interests and such, he asked if I could write a letter to him of my professional journey and pathway as an English Literature major and business owner. Apparently, due to an increased interest among students today in science, math, and engineering degrees, there is a keen desire from the humanities faculty to attract more talent and students into their departments. Below you can find my letter and response.
Although we may not be attending any universities nor deciding on our majors anymore, it is clear to me that these issues loom tall before all of us today in America, the larger West, and with our civilization writ large. The phrase “Alma Mater” is Latin and means something like soothing mother or nourishing mother – I hope that my Alma Mater is as soothed and nourished by this meager letter just as she cultivated and raised me those years ago. As always our future approaches us now by people we do not know and have yet to meet.
My Alma Mater Letter to Professor West, the University of Pittsburgh, and all concerned and potential students.
In the chapter Reading from Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau states the following:
When the illiterate and perhaps scornful trader has earned by enterprise and industry his coveted leisure and independence, and is admitted to the circles of wealth and fashion, he turns inevitably at last to those still higher but yet inaccessible circles of intellect and genius, and is sensible only of the imperfection of his culture and the vanity and insufficiency of all his riches, and further proves his good sense by the pains which he takes to secure for his children that intellectual culture whose want he so keenly feels
Considering the cost of universities today it is no wonder or surprise that many students are applying hard economic calculations to their course load choices each semester let alone their major and ultimate profession. Far be it from me to persuade them otherwise! However in these times, although such a decision is both understandable and even responsible of students, it is likewise just as vital that students consider those “still higher” domains which only art, literature, and music approach. Of course there are the numerous and noteworthy reasons to study in these fields for their own sake – to understand the multitude of ways humans communicate their deepest and most profound experiences, how to structure and organize thoughts and ideas, to trace the patterns through the ages of human thought, passion, and drive, to peer into the substance and form of poetry, language, image, and sound. I am hard pressed to conceive of any other field of study more valuable to mankind’s highest potential and achievement than these. Not only are they intrinsically the most valuable of engagements, they are also some of the most dynamic, transferable, and universal of studies which can, and indeed must, be applied and integrated into all that we do lest all of humanity sacrifices itself upon a meager altar to balance its checkbook. Such a transaction would be most dire and confess perhaps the most impoverished of business acumen Western civilization has yet witnessed. What good are our stockpiles if we cannot speak let alone comprehend brilliance?
When I studied at the University of Pittsburgh over twenty years ago now, I never once considered the calculus of a profession, a job, a salary, or a paycheck against the classes and major I took. Instead I simply barreled headlong into all the various studies which thrilled me the most. This ultimately led me to literature primarily but also to languages and creative writing among others. Upon graduation, however bright and gifted I may or may not have been, I must confess that I was rudely and quickly awakened to the fact that I had very meager and slim job prospects and practical advances available to me. I would of course, to repeat myself again, not suggest to any young student, particularly these days, to find themselves in such a predicament. You must take care of yourself and your most practical livelihoods. However, as I’ve also said, there is a higher and greater burden still placed upon each of you, upon all of us living in any civilization; it is the burden of a higher life, a grander art, a greater meaning and being. We cannot let our artistic advances and accomplishments slip past us into a long forgotten or even burned past. We must imbibe it and live it now and carry it forward for our children and our future, and frankly for ourselves. No one only wants a good-paying-job and a nice house – of course these are nice and fine and good to have no question – but we all desire and crave and need far, far greater and more profound truths which literature and art, more than most other fields, can and do deliver. I will not lie to you and say the task is easy these days, for it is not and indeed appears to only be getting more difficult. But it does not matter, in fact it proves the point that much more, that we must carry forward the arts, the language, and the literature even more so now than ever before. Challenging times certainly call for challenging solutions. This is why I strongly and emphatically encourage and call upon a multi-faceted approach to your studies. In particular it seems to me that double majors are not an option for the gifted and ambitious student or professional, but in fact a requirement. And those majors must not be overlapping – one should be professional, the other artistic.
The type of thinking science demands is vital, for it rigorously demands provable, evidence based calculations that produce measurable and repeatable results. For example in science and math questions are often binary, demanding a true or false answer to a given hypothesis, equation, or formula. Art however approaches the world differently and as such demands other ways of thinking and analyzing data. For one, art often removes binary restrictions and allows disparate concepts to be juxtaposed, compared, contrasted, and integrated. By lifting the burden to prove and measure all outcomes, at least temporarily, art and the humanities opens new possibilities, relations, and patterns to be considered, challenged, and unified. The humanities focus on understanding and articulating the nature of the human condition, making it the foundation point for all ethics. A science without the humanities then is a science without human ethics, and such a science can rapidly metastasize into a truly horrific dystopian nightmare the likes of which Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein can only begin to illustrate. When it is entirely different modes and methods of thinking which the arts and sciences provide, the range and potential of intellectual blind spots, missed opportunities, and untapped innovations can be quite gargantuan indeed and therefore have very significant and widespread ramifications to either advance or cripple a given civilization.
Of course it is true that both the arts and the sciences are quite comprehensive and exhaustive in their intellectual rigors. But it is also just as true that both fields of study have a more dominant style of thinking and approach to data sets, and therefore both fields can benefit from each other. Those who can harness scientific as well as artistic methods of thought often become leaders in their fields and pioneer whole new applications and industries previously unfathomable. Aristotle, one of the greatest philosophers and thinkers, is also the father of biology and taxonomy. His influence lasted at least a thousand years throughout the Middle Ages and in Scholasticism. Leonardo Da Vinci an astounding artist was also a genius inventor and mathematician who, along with Luca Pacioli, is credited with creating double-entry accounting, a revolutionary method of bookkeeping adopted by the Medici and the Italian banks of the Renaissance. This new accounting method allowed for more comprehensive tracking of monies and debt which allowed for more complicated investments into art, architecture, science, and industry as well as the expansion of trade. These very same methods of bookkeeping are still used today the world over. More recently someone like Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, had keen instincts for computers, aesthetics, and human market psychology – a triple talent stack that reaped him massive amounts of wealth and influence in breakthrough technologies, advertising design, and global consumer economics. Jobs actually tells a story of how a random college class he took on Calligraphy ended up being a pivotal inspiration for the fonts he created which are now on all computers and were a signature Apple design. The fact is art and science are deeply interconnected and should never be polarized or divided against each other as if the two were mutually exclusive because in fact they feed, inspire, and further each other.
The past two hundred years has witnessed the most intense bifurcation of the sciences and philosophy the West has possibly ever seen. This is an unjust demarcation which has likely caused fundamental decay in both fields of study. Today it is often intellectually disappointing to listen to hard scientists attempt to ruminate upon the deeper philosophical and even theological implications of their findings and work. Likewise it is often just as unsatisfying and anti-climactic to read many of the explications and conclusions made by philosophers today. Both fields and experts are in desperate need of each other if we wish to make further gains while standing upon the shoulders of giants before us. Bacon, Descartes, and Leibniz for example all had one foot deeply planted in the maths and sciences while the other deeply in philosophy, letters, and even theology. And all of them were masters in their fields precisely because of it. Who will be the next to follow in their footsteps? And if STEM and the humanities continue to remain so disparate, irreconcilable, and mutually exclusive how can anyone at all carry the heavy mantle that has been passed down to us? In short the larger the sphere of your studies, knowledge, and modes of thinking, the larger the sphere of your influence, uniqueness, and competitive advantage in whatever marketplace or industry you pursue today.
To continue my own humble story, I consciously chose not to pursue a graduate degree in English after considering the saturated and improbable prospects of landing a tenured faculty position down the road. And so for many years I worked in various industries with my English Literature degree – paralegal work, after-school education, non-profit fundraising, the list goes on and on – until finally I decided to return to college and follow the very advice I am giving you – to gain a second, professional degree. I earned through an online university my Bachelors in Accounting in record speed since my degree in English literature already covered many of the general perquisites. From there I was hired as an IT company’s in-house accountant, which I did for a few years until I left and branched out with my own bookkeeping business. Through the years of owning and operating my own business and supporting and advising countless business owners, I can most definitely tell you and bear witness to you that absolutely my degree and studies in English Literature were a definite reason and huge contributing factor to my success. I work with business owners in a wide variety of fields and industries, and I can tell you now that all business reduces down to human relations. And what better way to truly understand human relations than through studying English Literature! I cannot make guarantees per say to you, but I can certainly tell you that having a real understanding of culture, literature, and art completely raises your prospects and pedigree with every single business owner you will meet and come in contact with. Thoreau was not lying in the quote above about the greatness of art and how businessmen value it and even yearn for it. We do not want these arts to remain as Thoreau says, ”inaccessible.” Culture, class, wisdom, and being well-read are some of the most coveted and noblest qualities even the wealthiest of men strive for and often fail in attaining. And you can have it right here, right now. Consider what it would mean in a job interview for you to be able to weave into your discussions relevant quotes or ideas from the British Romantics or the American Transcendentalists or Shakespeare or Homer or the Modernists – and have a life and passion about it! Do you think someone interviewing a mass of people would easily forget such an unexpected discussion and enthusiasm from you? I can assure you they will not forget it, they will be intrigued and interested by it, and that you will absolutely stand out among your peers. Couple that with competency in the practical degree you have whether it be engineering or accounting or medicine, and I can almost guarantee that you will succeed in your endeavors so long as you persevere. This is of course only one example – there are countless other applications and advancements available to those people truly able to understand and effectively reply to business emails, to read between the lines and perceive corporate sub-narratives, speak and market to customers with a deeper comprehension of the real human drives and passions they feel and how to express those drives poetically. Being able to think differently and in creative ways allows for new ideas, fresh perspectives, and innovative solutions to emerge. How many new ideas or ways to solve problems are simply waiting to be perceived and acted upon? Often simply being a smarter, more thoughtful, articulate, and happy person naturally and instinctively inspires and motivates people to refer you more business or promote you, because it looks good on them as well as just feels good and right. Association and reputation is quite a significant factor in most all businesses, and being well-read and cultured immediately elevates anyone in these regards. The list, opportunities, and advantages of possessing and mastering the skills and values an English literature major provides are truly astronomical.
I am not the wealthiest man in the world, but nor am I the poorest. I have achieved a level and degree of success and independence that allows me to read and write regularly, to enjoy nature, and to even collect first edition books and letters of the very authors I have loved, read, and studied for decades now. It is a thrill and joy like no other. Not only this, but I have good relations with my clients that extend far and away beyond what a “typical” bookkeeper would or even could provide with just a degree in accounting. My degree, knowledge, and passion for literature and art radiates and elevates all my business relations to a sphere that becomes hard to compete with for there are so few competitors that can provide the type of full-service and range that I can. Do you think that’s because of my accounting degree? Certainly not, that degree provides the professional trade, craft, and skill everyone in the field has. What sets me apart is my English Literature degree and the different modes of thought and understanding such a degree provides. What makes me unique and valuable and more competitive are those qualities and skills that transcend the everyday work and craft of accounting. My English literature degree places me a step above and beyond, and that advance and differentiation is extremely worthwhile both personally as well as professionally.
To quote Throeau again from Walden Pond:
Little is to be expected of that day, if it can be called a day, to which we are not awakened by our Genius, but by the mechanical nudgings of some servitor, are not awakened by our own newly-acquired force and aspirations from within, accompanied by the undulations of celestial music, instead of factory bells, and a fragrance filling the air—to a higher life than we fell asleep from; and thus the darkness bear its fruit, and prove itself to be good, no less than the light. That man who does not believe that each day contains an earlier, more sacred, and auroral hour than he has yet profaned, has despaired of life, and is pursuing a descending and darkening way.
I can heartily assure you that any man who lives each day in this manner, “awakened by our Genius,” will surely be successful in his life and business. I can also assure you that if we do not continue to read the greatest of these our literatures, in short order we will no longer to be able to read or understand them let alone allow them to inspire and quicken us to new ideas and yet unheard revelations. As my late literature Professor Richard Tobias would often say in the various classes I took from him, “you must feel the lines deep in your blood and bones.” Obviously he was right – I knew it then, and even more I know it now.
If we lose our heritage of arts, letters, and literature we may as well forget our sciences and technologies too for we will already need to re-create the most basic and fundamental wheels of our civilization all over again. What is mankind without art and higher nature, profound and meaningful expression, and the ability to both think and articulate those thoughts brilliantly? Every successful business owner knows, and indeed often spends significant sums of money to find out, that all business is about something greater than his product or service or practical function. The same is true for science and technology. There are more vital human needs than pills, machines, and conveniences. Such great and wonderful things may extend our comforts and even keep us alive, but what about our very life itself? Who is specializing there? Each of us is far greater than the labor and trade we engage in, and we all live to be reminded and inspired of that greatness. The best businessmen and innovators find the Genius, art, and poetry in all that they do and sell and serve. What would happen if our civilization could no longer do this? Could no longer hear, sense, or even consider poetry? Feel the cadence of a brilliant line of writing? Or simply listen to and understand one another and all our complexities? Certainly business profits would drop, scientific and technological innovations would decline, social morale and animal spirits would slump. No matter the season or age we find ourselves, opportunities like no other present themselves to those willing and able to provide what we all truly hunger for and want – real humanity, true art, and greatness!
None of us know precisely what our futures will hold, nor where we will be or end up in the twilight of our lives. The possibilities are vast and exciting. Equipped with an understanding and ability to think both scientifically as well as artistically is certain to extend, expand, and nourish all of our success and fulfillment no matter what paths and decisions we choose. I hope and pray that these humble words of mine help to guide even just one student further along their University courses, larger career decisions, and ever greater human endeavors. I cannot think of a more vital and valuable time for cultivating true human understanding and poetic passion than today. I can assure you the returns compound exponentially and the dividends carry a very high yield indeed. Thank you all and God bless.