Fundamentals of Humanities
Uploaded by biblegirl22 on Nov 13, 2005
In order to fully understand humanities, one must first start with the fundamentals. First, the reader must define humanities. During medieval times, the word humanities were ideas that humans believed pertaining to their Gods. Humanities included science, mathematics, the arts, and philosophy. However, today, humanities have a very different meaning. They are considered “broad areas of human creativity and study” that are distinct from the hard-core studies, like math science, because the strict scientific standards are not supported.
According to “Humanities Through the Arts,” the main difference between humanities and sciences is demonstrated though the different ways values are used. Values are the things we care about, something that matters. Science only gives us the information need to make confident decisions. Someone has to decide how to use that information. That is where humanist come into the picture. Humanists explore the reaches of human feelings in relation to their values. They not only study their own values, but also the values of others. The humanities bring us closer to ourselves and the world around us.
Among the numerous ways to approach humanities, “Humanities Through the Arts” chose to use the arts. Since art is solely based on values, we can get a better understanding of values. By studying humanities through the arts, we improve the qualities of our own lives. The subject matter of are, or what it is about, includes not only the bright, beautiful, and pleasant sides of life. We also view the ugly, painful, and tragic sides of life, allowing a better grip on our own dark sides of life.
Everyone has his or her own limitations as a perceiver of art. Sometimes they defend stretching their limitations by assuming that changing them is a bad form. According to “Humanities Through the Arts,” everyone can and should be educated about the arts, responding to as many varieties of the arts as possible. If we fail to understand the purpose of the arts, anyone who tries to change our preconceived assumptions about a piece of artwork, we naturally resist the persuasion.
For many of us, the study of the arts goes beyond facts that illustrate our values. We eventually begin to see the values display in the artwork. However, it is not the art that changes. It is we who change. We recognize the values in a work and understand how each of them is used. That is when we finally...