#WomenInPHLEGM
I’m not entirely sure why, but in one of my friendship groups, we’ve really adopted the phrase “women in STEM” as a response to anything that women do. This is met with nods of the head, and an echoing “women in STEM” in return. Regardless of how good or bad the action is, or how related to Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Maths it is, for us, this has taken the place of “girl boss”. It’s a grown-up, more sophisticated, academic version. However, I rarely am a woman in STEM and whilst I support it deeply, I’d like to see the same representation and value given to other subjects.
I think this particularly struck me when I heard that my previous university was in the process of getting rid of my degree and potentially the department it’s a part of. Although I do have questions about why Philosophy was in the School of European Culture and Languages, I was nonetheless disappointed to see its value overlooked again, in favour of more STEM. This isn’t necessarily STEM’s fault – the solution isn’t to cut back on STEM either, but rather I think you need both to live in an informed and good society. This is reflected on a larger scale too, with the government placing the emphasis on schools teaching more students maths and sciences, taking away student choices and not offering the same level of funding and support for other subjects.
This is where we’re introduced to PHLEGM. It’s a comedic acronym I’m crediting to a tweet from @eleanordotcomm last year. Based on STEM’s model, instead, this covers the other overlooked subjects (mainly humanities) of Philosophy, History, Languages, English, Geography and Music. Perhaps on first appearance, these subjects don’t do much to move human technology forward or expand the objective knowledge we have of the world to the same extent as STEM. However, I’d argue they’re no less important to the human psyche and a society lacking understanding in these areas quickly becomes less worthwhile living in. Worthwhileness is a subjective measure for sure, yet I think each of these subjects offers something intrinsic, required for human flourishing. You know what, why not make the bold claim that eudaimonia hangs on these just as much as discovering new cures and reducing human labour?
PHLEGM subjects teach us about the mistakes and lessons of the past and how we understand and interpret the present. Largely, I’d put history and geography in the foremost category, with languages, English and Music falling into the latter and (if I may be so bold to suggest) philosophy straddling the two categories. Without an understanding of the past and perspectives of the present, our learnings from STEM subjects are limited in their applications to everyday life and their impact on the world.
Let’s start with the subjects of the past – History and Geography. Geography is the easiest to meld alongside the STEM subjects as it is a science-y humanity already. But both subjects look at the world in previous periods, History focusing on human actions and how these have shaped and destroyed civilisations. Geography also can look at social movements and impacts but generally, this is within the frame of how this either affects the environment, or the environment affects the people. On more of the science side of geography, we see how the earth has been changing beneath our feet for millennia, giving us an indication of patterns we may see repeating in future. With this historical knowledge and analysis, humans can stop repeating the same actions and can notice signs more easily that indicate particular outcomes. This should inform how we use STEM subjects – what tools and areas of research we’re investing in to help humanity make better choices than in the past and build our security of future survival. Otherwise, there’s no motivation to stop building atomic bombs or producing tonnes of non-sustainable waste – as long as it furthers human knowledge, it can be justified without our H and G of PHLEGM.
In our second category of shaping our perspective of the present, we have Languages, English and Music. Without these, we can’t make sense of the world we live in or communicate these ideas to one another. Starting with Languages, on a fundamental level, we literally wouldn’t be able to communicate or share ideas without them. Whether this is referring to sign languages or spoken languages, they bring people together and are the foundations of community. The more languages a person can speak, the more cultures and people they can access and share with.
This leads to the language side of English, focusing on linguistics and etymology, understanding the roots of words to then utilise them effectively and continue building more words and symbols to represent meaning. To be clear, where I’m listing English in PHLEGM, I primarily mean literature, so in other cultures and countries, this would be replaced with their own cultural texts and written words. Again, this allows for communication, not just of things known to everyone, but concepts and ideas that aren’t yet established. This is essential to STEM subjects, as in discovering something new, we need new ways to describe and share what is happening. Trends and styles in literature allow us to describe in non-literal terms, to evoke an image where there wasn’t one before.
Music does a similar thing on an even more conceptual and abstract level. Again, it communicates, particularly great for emotional states and shaping them through cadences, keys and melodies. Less so is this used to aid STEM, but it is a key part of sharing the human experience with one another, often acting as a key part of distinguishing cultures in sharing important cultural moments. If you took a general survey of the population, I wouldn’t be surprised if a large proportion report that music lifts their mood, or helps them to get through hardships they experience in life. This reaches out to the aim of eudaimonia and flourishing – to enjoy the life we have in the present, whilst the discoveries of the future are still out of reach.
Of course, as a lay-philosopher, whilst I do feel some of the other areas of PHLEGM can somewhat bridge the gap between past and present (namely languages, English and Geography), I think philosophy’s role in human flourishing relies on this far more than the others. Unlike the other subjects, there’s rarely a tangible output from philosophical thought, analysis and debate as often it deals with the non-tangible. Yet I feel it’s important to remember that it was philosophy that gave way to STEM in the first place – the pre-Socratics had their concepts of what the world was made up of and Aristotle decided that it was time to put that to the test to gain objective answers. I know a lot less about Eastern origins of philosophy (School of European Culture and Languages, after all), but they also pursued questions regarding human physiology and how the elements interact with us. In grappling with these fundamental questions of life, people have been spurred into action to find answers and create STEM subjects in the first place. But philosophy goes beyond a historic motivation to dive into sciences – it also prompts us to seek meaning in the present. Sure, we can conduct experiments and make discoveries, but what is the point of discovering? What aim do we have? What are worthwhile endeavours for the human race? It also brings up ethical questions regarding how we treat one another in society, affecting the STEM we look into to create a better world, not making it worse for the sake of discovery. Without these questions, regardless of whether they have answers, we’ve no motivation to move forward and no direction of where to go.
So I get that PHLEGM is a less catchy acronym. I get that those subjects don’t have a direct route into a career (until the day of Philosopher Kings). I get that it’s not always clear what you ‘do’ in them or what their tangible output is. But they’re no less important and can still lead to profound discoveries that transform our communities and cultures. Without them, our STEM subjects would all seem a little less relevant to overall human flourishing and would perhaps be more lawless or less considerate. So maybe, we do need philosophers in our societies, to help them function. Maybe we need the Historians and Geographers to warn us of the future the past has told us is likely to come. Maybe we need our Linguists and Literature students, and our Musicians, to mark the moments we’re currently in and bring people eye to eye more often. Maybe we need women in STEM and women in PHLEGM too.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also be interested in some of my philosophical learnings or other rants against the universe.
Rebekah's Ramblings 
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