THE CONCEPT OF THE HUMANITIES
From the Latin humanitas
(humans as a group)
Everything that has
to do with humans and everything humans have done and/or experienced.
The study of the
expression of the human experience.
* During the Middle Ages, humanities referred to
studies that pertained to (centered on) humans (e.g., math, science, art,
philosophy) in contrast (as opposed) to studies that pertained to God (e.g.,
theology).
* Today, humanities refer to the broad areas of
human creative expressions (e.g., art, literature, philosophy) in contrast to
the “hard” (empirical) sciences (e.g., math, biology, chemistry, physics, etc.).
Empirical sciences include:
Formal sciences - (math, logic) that study reasoning
(the process) and not the content of the knowledge
Natural Sciences - The study of nature, the processes
and phenomena that exist independently from humans. Use experimental processes
(scientific method) and observation to identify, describe and understand.
Social Sciences - humans as a social group:
interconnections, organizations, economy, administration, politics, law
(jurisprudence)
Human Sciences and Humanities - The study of the
development, the experiences and behavior
of human beings. Influenced by scientific methods and a
historical perspective: anthropology (archeology), ethnology, linguistics and
psychology
HUMANITIES - The
study of the expression of the human experience. Include:
History, Languages, Philosophy, Religion and the Arts (many, different
languages.)
Evolutionary psychologist Steven Pinke - Consilience [the pursuit of the unification of knowledge]
The humanities, ranging from philosophy and history to moral reasoning, comparative religion, and interpretation of the arts, will draw closer to the sciences and partly fuse with them. It may not be too much to say that sociology and the other social sciences, including the humanities, are the last branches of biology waiting to be included in the Modern Synthesis.
WHAT ARE THE HUMANITIES?
...the expression
of the human experience.
I. What is the human
experience?
Humans are alive and share, come in contact with (relate to)
Nature, with other humans and with themselves. Through their senses humans
perceive and/or directly experience (participatory) these relationships/contacts
in different ways.
Experiences can be: rational/analytical and/or
emotional/affective
External: with what's in our environment - nature
(animal, mineral or vegetable/plant), other humans other live creatures.
Internal: with ourselves, thoughts, emotions,
feelings, passions (intense fleeting mood change)
Fear/terror, tranquility/serenity, pleasure/suffering,
happiness/sadness, love/hate, envy/empathy, contemplation of beauty/disdain for
the disagreeable (ugliness)
There is not ONE experience;
the possibilities are rich, diverse and multiple. Even within one person we'll see variety and
diversity.
Individual: Each human perceives and experiences
nature and him/herself in accordance with their capacities (inborn and
developed), their skills and knowledge (education) and depending on age,
gender, social and economic position in the social organization will express it
through different mediums (languages)
