LESSON 1.

MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE HUMANITIES Meaning of the Humanities The term Humanities comes from a Latin word humanus, which means human, cultured and refined. Generally, human beings possess and show quality like rationality, kindness and tenderness. Such basic qualities of humans gain different connotations based on ones environment, values, beliefs and experiences. They are the contributing factors to the refinement of humans basic qualities. At present, we know of humanities as a l oosely defined group of academic subjects united by a commitment to studying aspects of the human condition and a qualitative approach that generally prevents a single paradigm from coming to define any discipline. Unlike other subjects, it is not a group of scientific or technical subjects. Humanities, however, should not be confused with the term humanism, which refers to a specific philosophical belief, nor with humanitarianism, which is the concern for charitable works and social reform. Academically, we refer to the humanities as the study of arts the visual arts such as architecture, painting and sculpture; music; dance; the theater or drama; and literature. They are the branches of learning concerned with the human thought, feelings and relations. The study of arts is the study of mankind. Humanities, being the study of arts, have always been concern with the importance of human being, his feelings, and how he expresses those feelings. However, it should be stressed that the humanities emphasize analysis and exchange of ideas rather than the creative expression of the arts or the quantitative explanation of the sciences. Significance of the Humanities Art is very important in our lives. It constitutes one of the oldest form and most important means of expression developed by man. It is a language, which is charged with feelings and significance that has sprung up among men living together. Art is concerned with the communication of certain ideas and feelings by means of a sensuous medium color, sound, bronze, marble, words and film. This medium is fashioned through a symbolic language marked by beauty of design and coherence of form. It appeals to our minds, arouses our emotions, kindles our imagination, and enchants our senses (Machlis, 1963). Thus, each artwork reflects the ideals, hopes and fears of the times in which an individual live. The humanities are the stories, the ideas, and the words that help us make sense of our lives and our world. The humanities introduce us to people we have never met, places we have never visited, and ideas that may have never crossed our minds. By showing how others have lived and thought about life, the humanities help us decide what is important in our own lives and what we can do to make them better. By connecting us with other people, they point the way to answers about what is right or wrong, or what is true to our heritage and our history. The humanities help us address the challenges we face together in our families, our communities, and as a nation.

Why should we study the Humanities? The different subject areas are studied not for their own sake but i n t h e l i g h t o f h o w t h e y r e l a t e a n d s p e a k t o contemporary man. More importantly, the course is expected to help the students grow up to be better human beings than they were before they enrolled in the course. The teaching of the humanities is intended to make the students realize that the mere possession of knowledge is useless unless put to useful ends. Moreover, they would become aware that knowledge alone is meaningless unless it is accompanied by values, sentiments, priorities, insights, inter -relationships and other transcendent realities not subject to empirical proofs also form part of the persons education. In the humanities, the students are exposed t o these, thus, the development of the whole person, which is the goal of present day education.