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OPINION

By Dr Davis Malowa Ndanyi

Scholars have argued that the co-existence and collaboration of humanities and sciences as professions is a very critical and awesome stance which, if well integrated, leads to a holistic approach to answering complex world challenges.

It is true that both fields contribute uniquely, however, there is always an intersection where both fields offer innovative, creative and dynamic solutions to the understanding of the various worlds, seemingly where science ends humanities propel the debate until behavioural solutions are arrived at.

It, therefore, goes without saying that remunerating both professionals at comparable levels surmounts all impediments to performance since both professions need each other in all ways.

Comparable pay for those in sciences and humanities promotes a robust collaborative and interdisciplinary problem-solving approach.

The following arguments explain why there is need to pay those in sciences, humanities in comparable terms since both must co-exist.

Innovativeness and creativity: Innovativeness happens when you tap expertise from all fields. Science and humanities have overly unique approaches to intervening in societal needs. The uniqueness of each of this profession brings on board analytical thinking from diverse fields and if well synchronised innovativeness and creativity is cultivated within the society.

Cultural and social context: Scientific and technological advancement does not happen in space, but they are anchored in a societal and cultural context and, therefore, the need to utilise the expertise of humanities to unravel the historical and cultural explanation of scientific development in any development space.

Interdisciplinary caucus/collaboration: In real-life situations, there are a host of contemporary challenges like public health crises, climate change, poverty, unemployment, housing, malnutrition, etc. To resolve these crises, there is need to borrow expertise from both science and humanities shot of this the crisis may never be resolved.

Ethical consideration: In studying many scientific discoveries, a lot of ethical considerations take place, humanities on the other hand have the expertise to explore the questions related to ethical use of technological advancement and also unravelling the effect of technology on society.

Effective communication: Communication is a critical medium of exchange of information. Effective communication bridges the gap between scientists and the general public. Those in the humanities have the expertise to communicate effectively on the available scientific innovations by facilitating easy understanding of these efforts to the general public.

Problem solving: Comprehensive problem solving is very critical and should involve both scientific and humanistic approaches, scientists and those in the humanities bring to the fore different skills, knowledge and perspectives to address social, cultural and political concerns.

Adaptability and change management: For organisations to grow, it calls for change management. Professionals in the humanities foster long term creativity and innovativeness. They have expertise in analysing how individuals and groups respond to change, and therefore responding to smoother transitions.

Customer and stakeholder relations: Both science and humanities need customer and stakeholder engagement. Those in the humanities have the expertise to comprehend customer and stakeholder contexts by undertaking analyses to understand various perspectives, hence the need for co-existence of the two fields.

Strategic decision making: Making long lasting and tangible decisions is core for both science and humanities, a mix of both expertise brings out clear and rational strategic decision making on the either hand a scientific discovery or a behavioural act and yet those in the humanities have the expertise to mainstream decision making at all levels.

Comprehending human nature: In all spheres of life one needs to understand human nature because he/she is pivotal in the manipulation of all the other factors of production. Humanities have the expertise to understand human behaviour borrowing from all her disciplines such as psychology, philosophy, economics, sociology, political science etc.

It is clear that science must co-exist with humanities and remuneration for scientists should not be so far apart.

The writer is an academic and a human resource management practitioner