What are the Humanities?

“The humanities are patterns of human behavior,” as stated by Miguel Jimenez, a nineteen year old college student. I asked three people about their ideas of the humanities; overall, I received a common response. As Jimenez continued, he stated that, “the humanities are, in some terms, vague. It is the study of humans. They are interchangeable with the social sciences and deals with societies and groups of people.” Mijan Ramharrack, an eighteen year old freshman from Palm Bay, Florida, explained that the humanities are, “the study of the nature of humans through the pasts, presents, and consistencies.” Finally, Carl Morelli, an eighteen year old freshman studying business administration described the humanities as, “art, reading, writing, and history. It is studied to get a greater understanding of the world around us.” The consistency within these interviews is the use of the terminology, history. All three subjects explained that the humanities uses history to correspond to today’s problems. In comparison to the New Hampshire Humanities Council video, the constant mentioning of history is apparent. The people from the Humanities Council video stated that the humanities, “enrich communities and lives”, “understand people and the world”, and, “has to do with humans and history.”

Overall, the people I interviewed and the people in the New Hampshire video all have a vague image of the humanities. Everyone can seem to have a rough estimate of the definition but no one can clearly define the humanities’ entity. The Minnesota Humanities Council states the formal definition of the humanities as, “Branches of knowledge concerned with human thought and culture.” My personal definition is loosely similar to the Minnesota Humanities Council definition: the study of human culture, ideology, and history, and these in turn influence our current lives. The humanities explores questions that pertain to everyday life and the application of life. The humanities gives the human race a skill, “a way of acquiring the most essential tools for understanding the world in which we act and move.” (What Words Are Worth, Bloch)

Why is it that the humanities have decimated over the past half century? I believe the answer lies in the fable of what is today’s ideologies: aspirations. Students nationwide are told that in order to be successful, one must have a PhD, Masters, and/or Bachelors; however, what defines success? I believe the humanities teaches us- the futures of the world- what success most formally is. The humanities, “helps you find yourself.” (In Defense of Humanities, Landy). The humanities dwells on the past, present, and future, and applies time to our current state. The humanities asks us students to question authority and to overall, question everything. “The humanities are more about questions than answers” (Why Study Humanities?, Horgan) This subject has been withered in the folds of history because of the prominence of other subjects- science, math, and medicine has risen. There is absolutely no problem with the rise of other subjects, however, one must note that as long as civilization persists, one of the most important questions will be “What does being human mean?” (What Does it Mean to be Human?, Behling), a metaphysical inquiry. The subject of being human will always be one of importance.

#art