Here are five good, short definitions of the humanities.
These definitions are a sample from a variety of sources and more than one nation–something like a starter kit on the humanities (and their overlapping relation with what different countries also call “the liberal arts,” “the arts,” “humanities and arts,” and sometimes also the humanistically-oriented “social sciences.”
“The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study and interpretation of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.”
“The humanities—including the study of languages, literature, history, jurisprudence, philosophy, comparative religion, ethics, and the arts—are disciplines of memory and imagination, telling us where we have been and helping us envision where we are going.”
“What are the humanities? It is like the notion of ‘time’ in St. Augustine: if you don’t ask, we know, but if you ask, we are left empty handed. Since the nineteenth century the humanities have generally been defined as the disciplines that investigate the expressions of the human mind. Such expressions include language, music, art, literature, theatre, and poetry. Thus, philology, linguistics, musicology, art history, literary studies, and theatre studies all belong to the realm of the humanities.”
“Research stemming from a detailed understanding of human behaviour, economies, cultures and societies can dramatically redefine the crucial decisions we need to make. These decisions may involve the future direction of our economy, ways of broadening and strengthening education provision at all levels, or how we deal with the effects of climate or constitutional change… The humanities and social sciences teach us how people have created their world, and how they in turn are created by it.”
“The humanities are academic disciplines that study human culture. The humanities use methods that are primarily critical, or speculative, and have a significant historical element—as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences. The humanities include ancient and modern languages, literature, philosophy, religion, and visual and performing arts such as music and theatre. Areas that are sometimes regarded as social sciences and sometimes as humanities include history, archaeology, anthropology, area studies, communication studies, classical studies, law and linguistics…. The humanities and social sciences teach us how people have created their world, and how they in turn are created by it.”
I am currently a student in a Humanities class and these quotes are good perspective. I don’t say definition, because I feel that the truest defining element of Humanities is our internalization and expression of the arts, our creative self.
I share in your opinion David.
The views of how this page broke down Humanities will be helpful for me to gain the understanding of just what Humanities consist of.
Thanks
Lisa Lockett
Humanities are, The history’s theory’s of the modern and classical art;s I think David Wright was right about what he wrote, That it is up to us on how we interpret humanities.
I do believe we all interpret Humanities different, and i think that is ok. For me, i think of Humanities more along the lines of art and thinking. What makes us up as humans.
humanities is art and the history of humans and we all think of it different.
The study of humanities includes cultures and their academic disciplines all 5 definitions include the types of: ancient and modern languages, literature, philosophy, history, archaeology, religion
Here’s how I would combine all of these:
“The Humanities are a family of academic disciplines that study and interpret human society and culture, often from the perspective of history and heritage, in an effort to help us understand where we’ve come from and where we are headed. These disciplines include: language, literature, history, philosophy, ethics, religion, law, politics, anthropology. Some definitions also include the visual and performing arts, while others separate these off as a subset of the “Arts and Humanities”.
what is the definition of humsnities during industrial age?
The study of the collection of concepts that deal with human culture such history, music, art, literature and thinking. Basically, all things that define as humans.
Humanities is the history of all topics. It is what we have gone through throughout history in regards to the interpretation on language, literature, philosophy, archaeology, ethics, and social science.
Humanities is the means by which we study about ourselves , the past and our culture .
Humanities is the way we study ourselves , the past and our culture, we always critique the art .
Humanities is a broad term and the study of humanities is the study of people. Humanities disclose how humans were created, how humans passed their values to generations, and how humans developed their civilizations. The term unfolds a variety of aspects including language, history, literature, linguistics, jurisprudence, philosophy, archaeology, religions, ethics, art, social science. Humanities also demonstrate how human shapes culture and how culture shapes us.
It’s interesting how humanities has been around for ages, but in all shapes and forms. The language we use, we read about it and even watch it in front of our eyes unfold without even realizing it.
Humanities is how we connect with one another.
The study of humanities is the study of human society and culture. The study of ancient and modern languages, philosophy, archaeology, anthropology, law, religion and the arts.
The idea of Humanities I am understanding is the relation of humans progression by the world and vice versa.
The study of Humanities is the study of human culture, which studies the languages, literature, history, religion, ethics, arts, and etc.
Each definition of Humanities are mention studies of ancient and modern languages, literature, and philosophy.
After reading all five definitions from different organizations in differing areas of the world, I noticed they all commonly describe the humanities as the interpretation of ethics, history and language, in the hopes of foreseeing our future by understanding our past.
How collective and individual as debates relate to humanities as a field of study
I am a student in this humanities class that wants to learn more about culture and religion well mostly culture. Humanities is the history of topics that shows what people do everyday. We know different types of language, ethics, literature and philosophy and sometimes social sciences.
Iam interested inre is a thin line in differentiating humanities and humanity ethics-the concept
Humanities is the study of all of the components that make us human.
Humanities is the study of different ideas that deal with human culture like history, arts, religion ethics and human experiences. All definitions share the idea of each a person’s interpretation.
Humanities are humans’ societal expressions. Every category art, ethics, history, language, law, literature, philosophy, and religion are unique to humans. What is valued or important is learned by studying these identifiers in different eras of human evolution.
I have always thought of the term “humanities” having multiple definitions or meanings. It is very difficult to just place my finger on one definition that will be correct. However, if I had to choose one meaning that would fit the term most times it it used I will definitely choose the third option. I understand that we each may interpret humanities differently and that is perfectly fine. I believe that it has more to do with the humans mind and the art and rationality behind it.
The study of Humanities are academic studies of culture and human society. These studies include; ancient and modern language, literature, philosophy, history, ethics, human geography, politics, and religion.
Humanities is the study of human culture and society and the collection of ideas include: language, literature, philosophy, ethics, religion, history, and jurisprudence.
I like the breakdown of paragraphs explaining the study of Humanities. I’m looking forward to venturing into a more depth prospective of Humanities especially Philosophy.
I would defy humanity’s by the culture of how people lived. In different time periods and how they used art, language, architecture, ethics, and literature. To even how we are currently communicating through our phones which are a big part of our culture.
I also beilieve humanities are the history of all topics. We all have our own perspective and opinion on all the different types of humanities. Weather it be art, literature, philosophy, ethics, religion, or any other hummanity. Being able to distinguish or try to come up with a conclusion as to why they made their art the way they did or why they wrote in certain ways.
Humanities is the language, history, philosophy and their studies. They go into dept explaining them and how they were changed through out the years. The study of the poems, the art everything regarding history.
humanities is the way of life. It encompasses all aspects of our life.