Download - Why the humanities matter
THE HUMANITIESare about what it is to be
human.
The Humanities are academic disciplines that seek to
appreciate and interpret the human experience, from
individuals to entire cultures, engaging in the discover,
preservation, and communication of the PAST and PRESENT record
to enable a deeper understanding of
contemporary society.
ANALYSISThe humanities teach us to deal critically and logically with subjective, complex, imperfect information.
MORALITYThe humanities reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual and intellectual sense of the world.
MULTIFACETEDThe humanities teach us to weigh evidence skeptically and consider more than one side of every question.
QUESTIONSThe value of the humanities is more often the questions posed, rather than the answers found. The humanistic study is not formulaic.
CREATIVITYThe humanities encourage us to think creatively. They teach us to reason about being human and to ask questions about our world.
CIVICSThe humanities develop informed and critical citizens. Without the humanities, democracy could not flourish.
SCIENCE
The renowned scientist E. O. Wilson recently
described the humanities as “the natural history of
culture, and our most private and precious
heritage”. The humanities are the study
of what makes us human, of what it means
to be human. As they penetrate every aspect of existence, they can,
and should, intersect with the natural and
social sciences.
INFORMATIONTerras, M., Priego, E., Rockwell, G. and Thomas, L. (2013). "The Humanities Matter!" www.4humanities.org
Sarah Churchwell: Why the humanities matter, November 13, 2014. https://www.timeshighereducation.com