Humanities and basic sciences are losing institutional support as universities prioritize technology and marketable skills. When entire domains of knowledge are dismissed as nonessential, the idea of the university is endangered. Sciences and humanities historically represented unified human inquiry, with many figures combining artistic and scientific practices. Psychology sits at the intersection of quantitative methods and subjective experience, using numbers, models, and brain scans alongside memories, choices, stories, and words. Current AI largely employs connectionist models that are powerful but limited relative to embodied and symbolic approaches. Cross-disciplinary movement enables fields to remain authentic while adapting to new challenges.
Both the humanities and the basic sciences are under attack. The humanities are told they are impractical, that literature, history, and philosophy have little value in a world of algorithms. But physics, chemistry, and even mathematics are facing a similar fate, as universities shift resources toward computer science and applied technology. When entire domains of knowledge are dismissed as nonessential, something more than individual departments is at stake. It is the very idea of the university.
Psychology, perhaps more than any other field, already lives at this crossroads. It is a science built on numbers, models, and brain scans, but it is also a discipline that asks deeply human questions: What does memory feel like from the inside? How does belonging shape the way we learn? How do identity and culture change the way we experience the world, or how we fit into different cultures at different times in our lives?
Humanities and basic sciences are losing ground as universities favor technology and marketable skills. Psychology bridges brain scans and models with memory, identity, and lived experience. Current AI relies on connectionist models, powerful but limited compared to embodied and symbolic approaches. Flowing across disciplines helps fields stay true to themselves while becoming more adaptive.
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