Humanities in Western civilization

Humanities in Western Civilization

The human condition is a complex field - one that in fact requires many different fields of knowledge. The different fields of knowledge that take for their object of study what it means to be human are collectively referred to as "the humanities." The humanities are nothing new - they form an integral part of civilization as it has developed in the western world. The humanities are distinguished from other, more scientific fields of knowledge, in that they do not make use of empirical means of investigation. Rather, they tend to employ methods that are analytical, speculative, and/or critical. In what follows, we will explore the many facets of the humanities and show how the humanities have been integral to western civilization from the outset.

The Humanities - Types

Some of the numerous disciplines that comprise the humanities include foreign languages, literature, philosophy, history, the visual and performing arts, religion, and more. There are also a myriad of fields that the humanities often take as their object of study; these include anthropology, cultural studies, communications, and area studies - although, it must be said, most of these fields are relegated normally to the social sciences.

While scholars working in the humanities are sometimes referred to as "humanists," this term is usually rejected in that it easily becomes confused with the term "humanism," which is a philosophical school of thought. There is such thing as an "antihumanist" position, as well - and this is a position that a number of scholars working in the humanities often adhere to.

At the cornerstone of humanistic thought lie the classics. The classics form the basis of all inquiry into the nature and evolution of what we now regard as western civilization. The classics take as their object of study the culture, language, and literature of classical antiquity - particularly that of Ancient Rome and Greece. Throughout the 20th century, the classics have been relegated to the background of the humanities, although they are still widely studied. In fact, the classics have had a tremendous impact on the literature and philosophy that continue to be produced today. It is thus vital for anyone working in these disciplines to have a thorough knowledge of the classics in order to draw conclusions that will have relevance for present day modes of inquiry. What is more, classical works of literature and philosophy serve as the foundation upon which more current modes of thought are built. Of course, the classics exist in other cultures outside the West, as well - in China, for instance, there are the writings of Lao-tse, Confucius, and Chuang-tzu, while in Egypt, the Egyptian Book of the Dead is considered to be highly relevant. In fact, all countries have their classics - but in the western tradition, it is the classics of Rome and Greece that form the backbone of our culture.

Another vital component of the humanities is the study of history. History can be thought of as a systematic means of collection information about the past. For this reason, history is often thought of as a social science - especially those instances when the information is collected and distributed in a chronological fashion. At the same time, in terms of subject matter, history takes as its object of study the evolution of humans and their civilizations over time. This lodges it firmly within the domain of the humanities. In order to use history to their advantage, scholars must have not merely a knowledge of history, but be able to think critically in historical terms. History is based largely on interpretation of events and facts - for this reason, history is a vital part of the humanities, where such modes of speculative thinking are highly valued.

Today, when most people hear the term "humanities," they automatically think that it refers to the study of ancient and modern languages, literatures, and cultures. To a certain extent, they are right. The humanities have always focused on writing. But occasionally the study of ancient languages and literatures falls into the domain of social science - particularly in the field of linguistics, which is the scientific study of language. The reason why language is so important to the evolution of the humanities is because minute changes in language over time can have profound effects on the way the humanities are conducted, researched, and conceived.

At the heart of humanities curriculums in the West today, one finds the study of literature. This can be the study of prose forms such as short stories, essays, and the novel, but also other literary forms, such as poetry and drama. When one studies foreign languages on the university level, then the study of literatures in that language is typically included on the curriculum. While a literature is typically a collection of prose, poems, and dramas that are centered on a particular topic, the literature need not necessarily have nationalistic implications. The Western Canon of literature consists of literature from many different nations. Today, the term "literature" has come to signify many different things, depending on the context in which it is employed and on who is using it at a given time. The term is often employed to refer to specific symbolic records of subjects, which may include everything from sculptures to letters. At the same time, the term literature is often employed to separate certain types of writing from others; for example, certain novels may be considered "literature," while genre fiction - for example, horror or romance novels - is not. For this reason, the term "literary fiction" is often employed. To simplify matters, people also talk in terms of a particular working possessing "literary merit," while another might not.

Another important part of contemporary humanities is law. The basic definition of law refers to rules that one can enforce through institutions (Robertson 2006, p. 90). By its very fluid nature, the study of law often blurs the boundaries between the humanities and the social sciences, being situated at a crossroads between the two. Other common definitions of law include "a system of rules," "an interpretive concept" that is employed for the attainment of justice, as an "authority" to mediate the interests of the people involved, and as "the command of a sovereign, backed by the threat of a sanction" (Hart; Dworkin; Raz; Austin). As a discipline in the humanities, law is unique in that it is simultaneously one of the most vital institutions that form the crux of our society. Nearly every aspect of the humanities and social sciences comes to the foray in the cementation of legal policies. At the same time, law extends to other fields - both within and without the humanities. For example, law is situated in the field of political science, as it is politicians who ultimately create and sign off on laws. Law is also a pertinent aspect of philosophy, since precepts rooted in morality and ethics ultimately shape the ideas behind laws. Law is also rooted in history, in that laws tend to build up over time in reaction to specific historical events. Law is also rooted in economics, as laws related to money can have lasting effects on the way that wealth is distributed in a given country.

The performing arts are a key component of the humanities. The term "performing arts" is meant to separate these art forms from the visual arts or the plastic arts, in that the performing arts require the use of the artist's body in some way. In this respect, the performing arts refers to theater, opera, film, music, marching, juggling, busking, dance, comedy, magic, opera, and beyond. The artists working in any of these mediums are referred to as performers. Performers may include singers, actors, comedians, dancers, and musicians. There are also a number of people who work "behind the scenes" in the performing arts, such as playwrights, songwriters, and stage workers. Performers often alter their physical appearance during their performances via the use of stage make-up, costumes, and lighting. The performing arts are often confused with "performance art," a field that describes visual artists who perform their work in front of a live audience. A lot of performance art, however, is more properly rooted in the plastic arts or the visual arts.

People in the humanities who study music typically wish to become either music performers or music teachers. In addition to learning how to play instruments, the discipline of music involves music theory, musicology, history music, and the composition of music. Listening and concentration skills can also be gleaned from the study of music, which is why it is often used in classrooms in the west.

Theater has been a popular means of acting out stories since the beginning of western civilization. Actors in theater use a diverse array of elements, include gesture, speech, music, spectacle, sound, and dance. There are a number of different forms of theater, including pantomime, ballet, opera, mime, and mummers' plays.

Dance is human movement when presented in the setting of a performance. In some cultures, however, dance is also used for spiritual purposes. The art of creating dances is known as choreography.

Outside of the performing arts, one of the most important features of the humanities is philosophy. Philosophy is derived from an ancient Greek term that means "the love of wisdom." Philosophy studies life, the nature of existence, and what it means to use one's reason. Philosophy is one of the oldest subjects of study that our civilization knows. In the sixteenth century, philosophy led to the study of physics, while in the nineteenth century, philosophy would branch out into the newly emergent field of psychology. According to Immanuel Kant, "Ancient Greek philosophy was divided into three sciences: physics, ethics, and logic." Today, philosophy in inclusive of many more branches of thought, including cognitive science, wherein scholars attempt to determine the nature of systems of intelligent and understand modes of thought, reasoning, and speech.

Another key component of the humanities is religion. It is believed that religious belief started back in the Neolithic Period. A lot of early religious worship involved the worship of the Sun and the Moon. There were also such figures as the Sky Father and the Mother Goddess that became the subject of religious worship during the earliest periods. Around the sixth century B.C., a number of different philosophies and religions began to emerge in the West - as well as in the East. Some of the earliest established faiths include Buddhism and Hinduism in India, and Zoroastrianism in Persia. In China, three schools of thought were to emerge - Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism - that would dominate Chinese thought and belief up to the present day. The predominant religion, Confucianism, abided by the power and example of tradition as establishing a means and method for political morality. In the west, the Greek philosophical tradition, as seen in the works of Plato and Aristotle, would come to have a major influence in the establishment of Western faiths.

Many of today's religions are in fact Abrahamic religions that can be traced back to a common Semitic tradition. The life of Abraham, an esteemed patriarch, is featured in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. Abraham also features as a prophet in the Quran. Many of the world's major religions - including Islam, Judaism, and Christianity - can all be traced back to the story of Abraham.

The tradition of visual art, and its evolution throughout the course of western civilization, has played a central role in the humanities. Most art traditions can be traced back to Greece and Rome, or, in the East, to India, China, Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, and Mesoamerica. Ancient Greek art saw a veneration of the human physical form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature, poise, beauty and anatomically correct proportions. Ancient Roman art depicted gods as idealized humans, shown with characteristic distinguishing features (i.e. Zeus' thunderbolt).

In the Middle Ages, Byzantine and Gothic art came to the forefront of visual expression. These forms of art were rooted in the church, which was all-powerful throughout this era, and thus demanded allegiance to Biblical truths, rather than everyday matters. It was in the Renaissance that artists were free to return to the material world. This change is reflected in the art that was produced during this period, which explore the beauty of the human body, as well as portraying the landscape in all its three dimensional splendor.

Art would undergo another change during the Enlightenment of the 19th century, when new forms of rationality and the physical world were depicted. Many of these new "discoveries" would later be shattered in the 20th century by the discoveries in physics by Albert Einstein as well as the discoveries in psychology by Sigmund Freud. At the same time, the technological development of the 20th century would leave its marks on the evolution of the art produced throughout that century. Particularly in the latter half of the 20th century, with an increase in global interaction, non-western cultures began to have a major impact on the development and production of art in the west.

One of the basic ways of creating an image is through drawing. Many different instruments can be used for drawing. Some of these include pen and ink, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoals, and markers. In today's technologically advanced era, digital tools that replicate the effects of traditional modes of drawing are often employed. Some of the primary techniques of drawing include hatching, line drawing, crosshatching, random hatching, scribbling, blending, and stippling. One who excels in drawing is often referred to as a draftsman.

Painting refers to the process of applying pigment that is suspended in a medium and a binding agent, such as a glue, to a surface, such as a canvas, piece of paper, or a wall. When used in art, painting combines with drawing, composition, and other aesthetic means in order to elicit an image. Painting may be employed as a means of expressing spiritual messages - we see this on everything from pottery to the Sistine Chapel, which was created by Michelangelo. The essence of painting is color. While color is subjective, it is widely known for having subtle psychological effects that differ from culture to culture. In the western tradition, for example, black is associated with mourning. In other cultures, however, white is associated with mourning. A number of writers and artists in the west have written their own theories of color. But the use of language is never more than a generalization for when it comes to describing a color and its effects.

Throughout the last century, painting and other forms of visual art have been significantly expanded to include a broader range of materials. Collage has prevailed in painting; many painters now use materials other than paints in their work to give their paintings texture; some of these materials include wood, straw, cement, and sand. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, contemporary art moved away from its concern with the pictorial in favor of concept. While this has led some to proclaim that painting, as an art form is dead, in fact it continues to be a focal point for a range of artists all over the world.