The humanities in the system of sciences
In the process of learning, the level of the intellectual development of students is increasing and developing both in the social and in the cultural and national environment. Thus, modern scientific knowledge is represented by two important categories: the humanities and social sciences. So, let’s focus on the category of the humanities.
The humanities are a collection of disciplines that study speech, actions, and products of people’s creative activity, which help them to create a meaningful world. These are social sciences exploring cultural phenomena in its various manifestations and forms.
In the humanities, the subject of research is not nature itself, but nature in its human dimension, where “man met himself.” This is primarily a focus on the knowledge of people, spirituality, culture, and values. Humanitarian knowledge today serves as a form of intermediary between the cultural achievements of the past, the present and the attempts of social designing of the future.
The humanities study the works of the human spirit. In German philosophical tradition an expression “science of spirit” was used for it. The creations of the human spirit include works of art, language, social institutions, etc. At the same time, social institutes are also studied by social sciences such as economics and sociology. Social sciences seek to identify objective laws that express the essential, general and necessary connections of the phenomenon while humanities consider the reality in the circle of goals, motives, and orientations of people. Understanding is one of the important peculiarities of humanitarian knowledge. Referring to the texts of letters and public speeches, diaries and program statements, works of art and critical reviews, philosophical works, and journalistic articles, the humanities help us to understand the content that the author has invested in it.
So, such knowledge, drawn to the inner world of a person, is able to influence her, to spiritualize, to transform her moral and ideological orientations, to promote the development of all human qualities.
Researchers say that the current society is focused on STEM-education. It emphasizes the importance of studying technologies that will make the future of our planet. So, do we need philosophy, music, literature, fine arts and other humanities in our lives and this superconductive world? We can confirm that the humanities are necessary for mankind if it devotes itself to the realization of the ideas of humanism. Because the main role of humanitarian knowledge is the development of flexible and creative thinking, as well as the upbringing of the individual when a person simply becomes better.
The role of humanities
In this world, everything is closely interconnected, including knowledge, science, and arts. The humanities are sometimes referred to art. Despite the fact that, art affects feelings while humanities turn to mind, they are guided by common ideas.
What associations do arise when you say that people create a meaningful world through speech, action, and art? Most likely, this is a musician with a violin in his hands, or an artist, or a person sitting in front of a pile of stones, intending to turn it into something structured; a politician giving an inspirational speech, or a person who talks about the creation of the world. All of them strive to translate their intentions into life in a form that will survive as long as possible. But what impact does it have on our mind?
Firstly, the humanities help students to get the skills of a dialogic, self-critical and flexible way of thinking. They perceive the habits of critical analysis and argumentation. They also help us to discover that the world around and all things in it are filled with meaning and that it is impossible to live a full and successful life today without knowing about the past. It teaches us to see not only the meaning of our lives but also the hidden meaning of the smallest things in this world.
Secondly, the humanities help us to understand art and culture. Everyone should be familiar with the most famous works of painters, sculptors, major scientists, and thinkers because it broadens our horizons and instills a good taste for beauty. Arts give us potential and forces that make us live, create, develop, make us write songs and poems, enjoy the sunrises and sunsets, see the beauty in the ordinary things.
Thirdly, sciences of the humanitarian cycle in educational institutions contribute to the upbringing of morality and the foundations of humanity, the development of intellectual and creative personality potential. They help to preserve the moral and spiritual state of man, its moral values and traditions of the nation, create all conditions for the disclosure, development and rational use of the essential forces of the person.
Consequently, the humanities play an important role in our lives. It gives us possibility to learn new ideas, facts, well-known figures we have never met earlier. The strength of the humanities is still relevant and is manifested in the ability to create and rethinking of reality, the formation of new experience based on what has already been passed. The goal of our future is the formation of a civilized society, and it is impossible without the humanities.
