The inevitable marriage

Lynn Poole asks Dr. George Boas, Johns Hopkins professor emeritus of philosophy, a series of questions about the concern that in 1959 scientific problems seem more important than humanistic problems. Dr. Boas responds that there are four reasons for problems becoming obsolete, and he gives examples of each: they are insoluble; peoples' interests change; they arise from assumptions no longer held; and the problems themselves go out of style. When Mr. Poole asks if there are any humanistic problems whose solution would affect the lives of many people, Dr. Boas lists standardized textbooks in education, the trend towards authoritarianism, and the elimination of provincialism. He notes that there is no one right answer in the humanities; every person is his own interpreter. He illustrates this with a passage from the play "Hamlet," Piero della Francesca's painting "Resurrection," and the music of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion."