Why Humanities and
Compassion Studies?

“ The case for the humanities is not hard to make, though it can be difficult … The humanities, done right, are the crucible in which our evolving notions of what it means to be fully human are put to the test; they teach us, incrementally, endlessly, not what to do, but how to be. Their method is confrontational, their domain unlimited, their "product" not truth but the reasoned search for truth...” Mark Slouka

“ If the clash of civilisation is...a clash within individual soul, as greed and narcissism content against respect and love, all modern societies are rapidly losing the battle, as they feel the forces that lead to violence and dehumanisation and fail to feed the forces that lead to cultures of equality and respect. If we do not insist on the crucial importance of the humanities and the arts, they will drop away, because they do not make money. They only do what is much more precious than that, make the a world that is worth living in, people who are able to see other human beings as full people, with thoughts and feelings of their own that deserve respect and empathy, and nations that are able to overcome fear and suspicion in favour of sympathetic and reasoned debate ” Martha Nussbaum (2010)