# Celebrate the Crisis in the Humanities by making it Bigger | Nick Agar | TEDxUniversity of Waikato

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8X9xGANOKE
Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/c8X9xGANOKE
Generated: 2026-01-23T16:39:02.495+00:00

---
## Quick Overview

Nick Agar, a professor of philosophy, argues that the perceived crisis in the humanities is actually an opportunity to make the field bigger by demonstrating its relevance, especially in dealing with complex issues like climate change and artificial intelligence, by engaging with and improving upon AI-generated summaries of classic texts.

**Key Points:**
- The speaker contends that the perceived crisis in humanities subjects like Classics, English, and Philosophy is not due to lack of funding or student interest, but is something that the humanities themselves should celebrate and magnify.
- He notes that while humanities professors often write academic articles that few read, the current challenges—like the climate crisis and inequality—are precisely the types of problems humanities are equipped to address.
- Agar cites philosopher Martin Heidegger's idea that to be human is to be 'on the way' toward death, suggesting that existential awareness is central to the humanities.
- He challenges the audience by asking if they would prefer a time machine built by a philosopher (who understands the meaning of ancient texts) or by a cheap, un-imaginative AI like ChatGPT (08:10).
- The speaker points out that the current crises (climate, inequality) are fundamentally human problems that machines cannot solve, as machines lack imagination.
- He encourages humanities professors to engage with AI by critically reviewing and improving its summaries of complex texts like Plato's theory of forms, rather than ignoring the technology.

![Screenshot at 00:04: Nick Agar, a philosophy professor, begins his TEDx talk on stage at the University of Waikato, dressed casually in a blazer over a tropical print shirt, setting the tone for a discussion on the relevance of the humanities amidst modern crises.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c8X9xGANOKE/00-00-04.jpg)

**Context:** The talk, delivered by Nick Agar, a professor of philosophy at TEDx University of Waikato, addresses the ongoing debate regarding the decline or 'crisis' of the humanities in modern academia. Agar frames this crisis not as a failure, but as a critical moment for the humanities to prove their unique value in tackling contemporary, complex global issues where technical or purely quantitative approaches fall short.

## Detailed Analysis

Nick Agar, a philosophy professor, opens by acknowledging that people perceive a crisis in the humanities (Classics, English, Philosophy), citing empty lecture theaters and unpopular academic articles. He argues that instead of lamenting this, they should celebrate the crisis as an opportunity to make the humanities bigger by focusing on what they do best: addressing inherently human problems that technology like AI cannot solve. He emphasizes that the climate crisis, inequality, and existential questions are precisely where humanities expertise is crucial, as they deal with meaning, value, and being-in-the-world, concepts Heidegger explored. Agar uses the example of AI (like ChatGPT) being able to generate summaries of complex texts (like Plato's Forms) but lacking the imagination to truly understand or solve human-centric crises. He recounts a personal anecdote where he was asked if he would prefer a time machine built by a philosopher or by an AI, concluding that the philosopher's understanding of human existence (being 'on the way' to death) is more valuable than the machine's computational ability. He challenges his colleagues to stop being lazy, stop ignoring AI, and instead use their skills to critique and improve AI-generated content, thereby demonstrating the irreplaceable value of humanistic inquiry.

### The Humanities Crisis

- People state there is a problem with humanities subjects like Classics, English, and Philosophy
- Professors write academic articles nobody reads
- Empty lecture theatres are common.

### The Opportunity

- The crisis should be celebrated and made bigger by focusing on what humanities do well
- Humanities address crises like climate change and inequality, which are fundamentally human problems.

### The Role of Imagination

- AI lacks imagination and cannot solve existential crises like humanity being 'on the way' to death, as described by Heidegger
- AI is good at summarizing, but not at understanding meaning.

### Practical Application

- Agar challenges professors to engage with AI by analyzing its summaries of texts like Plato's Forms
- He suggests that if professors do not teach critical engagement with these complex ideas, they are essentially telling students that the problems will solve themselves.

### Conclusion

- If humanities professors do not actively teach the critical thinking required to navigate these existential issues, they risk being replaced by cheaper, less imaginative machines.

![Screenshot at 00:00: Title slide for Nick Agar's TEDx talk at the University of Waikato: "Celebrate the Crisis in the Humanities by making it Bigger".](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c8X9xGANOKE/00-00-00.jpg)
![Screenshot at 00:21: Full stage view showing the speaker, Nick Agar, standing in front of large illuminated letters spelling out TEDx UoW Waikato.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c8X9xGANOKE/00-00-21.jpg)
![Screenshot at 01:39: Close-up on the speaker while he humorously questions the value of unread academic articles, gesturing widely to the audience.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c8X9xGANOKE/00-01-39.jpg)
![Screenshot at 03:53: The speaker uses hand gestures to emphasize his point about the public paying for his work, contrasting it with unread academic papers.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c8X9xGANOKE/00-03-53.jpg)
![Screenshot at 07:23: The speaker discusses the difference between human imagination and AI capability, using hand gestures to illustrate his point.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/c8X9xGANOKE/00-07-23.jpg)