Realization of the Interdisciplinary Culture - Jahred Sullivan

Following my existentialist breakdowns as a teenager, I came into college wanting to study the human belief system, so it seemed that the most logical route was to major in psychology and minor in religious studies. However, over the past year I have felt that I should have picked a different minor, specifically computer science or brain and behavioral health, which would allow me exposure to the neurotechnologies and healthcare routines that supposedly mark the peak of human civilization. Although I continue to read up on metaphysics and self-transcendence in my own time, I have deeply wished that I allowed the word "applicable" to guide my choice of curricula instead of "interesting". (Besides, dropping religious studies for a more science-y department would provide escape from the lackluster, outdated humanities buildings [1] and give me access to the state-of-the-art life sciences buildings[2]!)

[1] The humanities buildings tend to be farther away from campus, older, and even pose more threats to safety likely due to outdated technology. This image intentionally illustrates how myself and other students find the humanities' buildings, like Public Affairs, to be unappealing.

[2] The STEM buildings appear to be receiving the majority of attention in current construction. In our "WALK" assignment, it became apparent to me that the science buildings are pushing further into downtown Westwood, a hub of social and economic life, and they closely resembe modern-LA architecture.

This week's material only reinforced my generalization that technology and applied science are the only mediums of progress and self-sufficiency. I had never before spent much time in considering the difficulty faced by artists until reading C.P. Snow's 1959 Rede lecture: the culture, job positions, and wages of those in the humanities have been steadily dissipating, and Kevin Kelly specifically noted the increasing ease afforded to young technologists in seeking employment [3] and honor. In his observations of industrialization, Snow elevates science as a very communicable art that might hold the solutions to the existential concerns of humanity. Did I, by assigning myself to an ever-receding sub-topic of culture— religion—become less useful?

[3] The highest demanding jobs at present and in the near future appear to be those in engineering, technology, medicine, and other areas of STEM.

As a social psychologist myself, I am comforted by Steven Pinker's suggestion [4] that psychology and the study of network dynamics is necessary to understanding how cultural evolution (like the diversity in beliefs) is produced. Indeed, research demonstrating a universal lack of agreement between science and religion makes me realize that culture is a subjectively perceived phenomenon, therefore I have the individual license to merge these seemingly diametrically opposed cultures into a coherent superculture of my own. 

[3] From about 2:30 to 5:00 Pinker explores the advantage of the sciences in explaining how some human faculties emerge, concluding, however, that there will always remain authority within the artists to best explain some areas of human knowledge in ways that scientists are not qualified. Ultimately, Pinker establishes that the "Two Culture" problem is an unfortunate occurrence, but that the two have the potential to positively influence one another over time. 

In conclusion, my outside readings encourage me that interdisciplinary— neither science/technology nor humanities/art —may be the third culture. In this way we supercede the secondary concerns of money and occupation and step into the greatest of human pursuits, boundless passion. For me, this remains to be the study of belief.

Malafronte, Katie. “Dozens of UCLA, UC Berkeley Buildings Deemed 'Seismically Deficient'.” Campus Safety Magazine, Campus Safety, 3 Sept. 2019, https://www.campussafetymagazine.com/university/ucla-uc-berkeley-buildings-unsafe-earthquake/.

Newsroom, UCLA. “14 Recent and Ongoing Construction Projects at UCLA.” UCLA, UCLA, 21 Jan. 2016, https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/14-recent-construction-projects-at-ucla.

Snow, C. P. The Two Cultures ; and the Scientific Revolution. University Press, 1959.

Kelly, Kevin. "The Third Culture." The Third Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. Feb. 1998

Inc., MTR at CareerPlanner.com. “Future Job Demand - up through Year 2026.” Future Job Demand - Which Jobs Have Been Growing, Shrinking, https://www.careerplanner.com/Career-Articles/2026-Job-Demand-1.cfm.

Beautyandtruth09, director. Two Cultures . YouTube, 18 May 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BUbVc7qVpg. Accessed 1 Apr. 2022.

Thigpen, Cary Lynne, et al. “On the Intersection of Science and Religion.” Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project, Pew Research Center, 1 Apr. 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2020/08/26/on-the-intersection-of-science-and-religion/.

Gruenwald, Oskar. “The Third Culture: An Integral Vision of the Human Condition - Volume 17, Issue 1/2, 2005.” Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Science and Religion, 15 Jan. 2021, https://www.pdcnet.org/jis/content/jis_2005_0017_0001_0139_0160.