The Conclusion of Humanities

During the Humanities English course this semester, we have discussed and explored many of the unanswerable questions that have motivated the most brilliant minds in the history of human culture. Through our exploration, we have been able to understand how the abstract concepts of love, nature, sacred space, law, ethics, human frailty, inner journey, and human reality have influenced and shaped the human experience. By studying a variety of different cultures throughout history, we have been able to observe how these different concepts have affected their literature, art, and religion. Although, it has also become clear that there are many questions about the human experience that can never be answered, which is both frustrating and enticing. Our Humanities English Course has only just grazed the surface of discovering what it means to be human because it is such a complicated and abstract topic. Nonetheless, we have left the class more enlightened about the different aspects of the human experience, and how they have influenced humanity throughout history.

To begin, our introductory unit at the beginning of the semester was about cognitive and affect ways of knowing, as it has played such a significant role in the experience of being human. In the selected reading, “Right Brain / Left Brain” from the novel, The Alphabet versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between World and Image, author Leonard Shlain explains the differences between the left hemisphere of the brain and the right hemisphere. The left hemisphere is responsible for cognitive thought, a linear sense of time, and understanding “the world through its unique form of symbolization- speech” (Shlain 20). The right brain, on the other hand, is in charge of abstract thought, a cyclical sense of time, and “comprehends the language of cries, gestures, grimaces, cuddling, suckling, touching, and body stance” (Shlain 18). The human evolution of cognitive thought in the left side of the brain has significantly influenced the human experience. Logic and reason have helped humans to become more efficient, skillful and adept. It has allowed for the advancement of agriculture, science, and engineering, which have all increased human survival. Cognitive thought has also given human beings the ability to ponder and explore such difficult questions about the meaning of being human, and has separated humans all other life forms on Earth. Abstract thought has aided in the spiritual development of human beings, and has allowed for alternative ways of viewing the world. In the excerpts from The Spell of the Sensuous, by David Abram, we learned about the Aborigines of Australia, and their concept of “Dreamtime”. Dreamtime is the Aboriginal understanding of the world, its creation, and the meaning of all life. Spell of the Sensuous examined the different parts of Dreamtime, and how it affected the human experience. The Aborigines experienced a cyclical sense of time, and were always connected to their ancestors and the realm of Dreamtime. Their understanding of the world was heavily influenced by the right side of the brain, and its ability to interpret the world in a transcendental way. I recognized this same understanding in the Ted talk we watched by Jill Bolte Taylor called “My Stroke of Insight”. Taylor discussed the experience she had when one day she woke up and had a sudden stroke in the left hemisphere of her brain- the side responsible for cognitive thought. Due to this, she was unable to understand or form words, but instead experienced a sense of being “huge” and felt continuous energy around her. She saw the world in the same way that the Aboriginals do, and in the same way that many people describe “nirvana” as, which is the final stage in one’s spiritual development. The different ways of knowing and comprehension has had a significant impact on the human experience, from technology and science, to spirituality and connectivity, and this is all due to the different roles that both the left and right hemisphere of the brain play.

The second unit in our Humanities English Course was about humans, nature, and sacred space. As I mentioned in the last paragraph, human beings have been able to develop and advance technology throughout history, which has had a considerable impact on the relationship between human beings and the natural world. I first came to this conclusion while watching, National Geographic's Australia’s Aborigines, a documentary about the life, culture, and religion of the Aboriginal people. In this documentary, I learned that the Aborigines have a spiritual, physical, social and cultural connection the Earth. They believe that they are the protectors of the Earth, so land management and care are vital for Aboriginal health and spirituality. We can also see this connection through Aboriginal artwork, as is is based on traditional stories of how the Earth was created and shows the importance of animals and the other life forms found in Nature. It was very interesting to connect the Aboriginal creation stories to the Christian Biblical story of Genesis, and explore how these stories influenced each culture’s relation to the physical world. In the Aboriginal stories, the Earth’s surface was once nothing but a vast, nondescript expanse of mud. But that lifeless landscape changed when ancestral spirits assumed the forms of animals, plants, and humans and journeyed across the Earth. Their footprints shaped the hills, rivers, and terrain of the physical world. The spirits also gave birth to all living things—including humans. This creation story established the basis of the Aboriginal connection to the physical world, which significantly influenced their experience of being human: everything on Earth has an important and powerful role that relates to the spiritual realm of Dreamtime. In the story of Genesis, on the other hand, there is one all-powerful God, who created Earth in seven days. He created light, the sky, water, vegetation, animals, and then finally formed “man in [his] image, after [his] likeness. [He made them] rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the earth, and all the creeping things that creep on Earth” (Genesis 1.20). From this quote, it is evident that the story of Genesis influenced the human connection to the physical world in a negative way. Men were shown to be the rulers of Earth, so in turn, it was perceived that the land was not as powerful or as important as human beings- especially men. This mentally has had a notable influence on the human experience, as they are not as connected to the environment as the Aboriginal people are. In the reading, How Art Made the World: “Second Nature,” by Nigel Spivey, I also learned that the Christian religion has adopted the idea of paradise “as the destination of souls eternally blessed” (Spivey 137), which relates to the concept of sacred space. In the text I discovered that for many cultures, paradise could be found on Earth as well as out of Earth (e.g. heaven). The Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the full-scale imperial landscaping practices by the Han dynasty in China show that paradise and sacred space could be found and created on Earth. Sacred space has been an integral part of the human experience throughout history, as it has allowed for a sanctuary and appreciation of the physical world. Although, some sacred spaces are completely man-made- like the Cathedrals found in Europe and the Temples in China and India. These buildings have allowed for human beings to connect to a higher, more divine power, and experience a deeper spirituality. Throughout history, it is evident that sacred spaces have impacted the human experience and human being’s connection to nature in a meaningful and intense way.

The third unit we covered in Humanities was titled, “Love, Beauty. And Art”. In this unit, we discussed how these three subjects relate to, and influence each other. The novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde, made a strong connection between the physical aspect of beauty and how this affects art and love. Dorian Gray, the protagonist of the story, is considered to be the epitome of male beauty: young, fair, and perfect. He captures the attention of all those around him, especially artist, Basil Hallward. Basil is captivated and and enchanted by Dorian’s beauty, and his artwork is inspired by his fairness. He created a portrait of Dorian and considers it to be his finest piece of work. It is evident that Basil has fallen in love with Dorian, which encourages the idea that beauty and love are consistently connected. I saw this same relationship between love, beauty, and art in the Ancient Egyptian love poetry that we read in class. In the first poem, the lines, “Diving and swimming with you here / Gives me the chance I’ve been waiting for: / To show my looks / Before an appreciative eye”(1-4), and “To have seen her approaching / Such beauty is / Joy in my heart forever” (30-32) reveals that the author’s love was influenced by her beloved’s beauty, which in turn inspired her highly emotional poetry. Egyptian love poetry is a perfect example of how love and art are usually influenced by beauty; either by what the art is based after, or the beauty of the artwork itself. Art has obviously been remarkably important to the human experience, as it has been an integral part of almost every civilization known to man. I observed the distinct link between art and beauty in the documentary, How Art Made the world: “More Human than Human”. This is the first episode of the series, and it begins with investigating the Venus of Willendorf, an 11 centimeter high clay sculpture of a female figure, estimated to have been created between 24, 000 and 22,000 BCE. The figure is not an accurate portrayal of the female body: it has an exceptionally large abdomen and breasts, as well as a lack of face or arms. During the time period that the Venus of Willendorf was created, ideal beauty was influenced by the fact that fertility and health were considered the most desirable traits found in men and women. Due to this, the art of that time was designed with this optimal form of beauty in mind. This unit undoubtedly taught me about how love, beauty, and art are fundamental parts of the human experience, and have all influenced the way human beings interact with the world. I discovered that ideal forms of beauty are different in every culture and have all affected the various sculptures and artwork made throughout history.

The next unit that we explored was, “Law, Ethics, and Human Frailty”, where we studied the different morals found in cultures throughout the world, and how this affected their experience of being human. To start, the reading, “Basic Teachings of Buddhist Ethics” by Charles Goodman taught me about the fundamental aspects of Buddhism, and that the main goal of Buddhist practice “is to reach freedom from suffering by coming to see the world as it actually is and abandoning the distorted projections that our thoughts and emotions create” (Goodman 1). In the packet, I learned about the Ten Good Paths of Action, also known as The Non-Virtues. The Ten Non -Virtues are listed in order as: Taking life, Stealing, Sexual Misconduct, Lying, Divisive Speech, Idle chitchat, Covetousness, Malice, and Wrong view. When comparing the Buddhist teaches to the “Ten Commandments” of the Christian religion, I noticed some similarities that enlightened me about the way law and ethics relate to the human experience. Many of the rules in “Ten Commandments” correspond with the Ten Non-Virtues, such as murder, stealing, lying, and adultery/sexual misconduct. This reveals that there are a number of universal truths that many cultures follow, and believe help one to live a virtuous life.  But, the differences I found in the two teachings also exposed how some rules and laws are set in place for societal control, not because it’s a universal truth. For instance, the “Ten Commandments” has rules such as, “thou shalt not take God’s names in vain,” and “keep the sabbath day holy”. These commandments are an example of how some religions have stricter guidelines, which could influence the experience of being human in either a negative or positive way. It is evident, though, that ethics and morals have helped to deter societies from becoming too chaotic, and ensure that there is a sense of community within a civilization. This sense of community is a very important aspect of the human experience because human beings are innately social creatures, so it is crucial for everyone to behave in a way that will benefit the entire society. Although, it is obvious that many people break some of the universal truths, and commit crimes that hurt themselves and the people around them. I saw an example of this in the infamous novel, Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. The novel focuses on the story of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov,  the terrible crime he has committed, and how the crime affects his sanity. Raskolnikov murders an unscrupulous pawnbroker and her sister: the only justification being that he wanted to see if he could overstep the limits of evil itself and exert ultimate power over another person. As the novel progresses, Raskolnikov becomes tortured by his conscious and his overpowering sense of right and wrong. He knows what he did was unethical and cold-blooded, and because of that he suffers through immense turmoil. The plot of Crime and Punishment and the characterization of Rodion Raskolnikov revealed to me that people usually have an instinctive and deep-seated sense of right wrong, which is why there are many universal truths found in various cultures throughout history. Ethics and laws have had a profound influence on the human experience, creating a better sense of community and helping people to the live more virtuous and happy lives.

Finally, our final unit of the semester was about, “The Inner Journey and the Meaning of Human Reality.” In this unit we explored topics such as the role of suffering in the human life and how the reality of physical death affects one’s life. There were three pieces of literature I read for this unit that helped me answer some of these questions, but still proved to leave me mystified by the inner journey and the meaning of human reality. Over the summer, I read the play, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, which divulged in the concept of pre-determined fate, and how trying to escape one’s destiny results in suffering. The protagonist, Oedipus the King, was informed by an oracle that his destiny was to kill his father and marry his mother, and although he does everything he can, he is unsuccessful in changing his fate. Oedipus Rex is a tragic play in which Oedipus’ mother/wife hangs herself out of guilt and Oedipus blinds himself because he cannot bear the sight of what he has done. This play showed me that suffering is unavoidable and a fundamental aspect of the human experience. The second play I read for this unit was, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, which shed light on the role of death and how this relates to human suffering. Death, like suffering, is inevitable, and Hamlet reveals how both experiences affect the human life. The main character, Hamlet, struggles to accept his father’s death, and spends the entire play trying to avenge him. Hamlet suffers through immense grief and finds it very difficult to obtain justice for his father. This play also delve into the concept of human reality, and what lies beyond the physical world. Hamlet struggles with the idea of life after death, and consistently conveys his religious doubt, as he contemplates the idea of suicide and how he believes it could be considered more noble to kill oneself than suffer in life. This play supported the idea that death and suffering are always inevitable, and can affect one’s experience of being human in a negative way. Finally, the last book I read was, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, which focused on the inner journey and spiritual development. The main character is Siddhartha, who deeply desires to find enlightenment, and journeys down many different paths to reach nirvana. Siddhartha is unsuccessful in finding enlightenment because he is fueled by longing, which is considered the main reason for suffering in the Buddhist religion. It isn’t until the very end when Siddhartha learns to release all desire that he is able to find true enlightenment. He relinquishes the concept of time, and learns from the river that the past, present, and future are all the intricately connected. This novel taught me about the importance of an inner journey, and how experience and new perspectives can help one to achieve enlightenment and wisdom. It also revealed the role of desire in the human experience, and how it can lead to immense suffering and unhappiness. Through these works of literature I learned that death, suffering, and desire are all fundamental pieces in the experience of being human- which can either lead one to live a more virtuous life like Siddhartha, or drive one to their ultimate demise like Oedipus and Hamlet.

The Humanities Honors English course forced me to think about topics and ideas that I had never questioned before. But, because of that, I now have a better understanding of other civilizations and their cultures, languages, history, and art. I was encouraged to think creatively about different aspects of humanity, and come to the conclusion that there are many aspects of the human experience that are universal and unique to the human race. Humanities English allowed me to gain new insights into everything from poetry and paintings to ethics and the inner journey. I was amazed at the fact that every topic we studied connected to each other, and each had an overarching influence on the others. All the readings we explored in class revealed to me that people have been studying the same unanswerable questions that we explored in class for centuries, which I think is immensely fascinating. And, it is safe to say that the only concrete conclusion that I came to in this class is that human beings are the most mystified by the things we should understand the most: ourselves and our experience of the world.