PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY AS FIELDS OF STUDY

The humanities are a group of academic subjects united by studying aspects of the human life. Through the humanities we reflect on the fundamental question: What does it mean to be human? The humanities offer clues but never a complete answer. They reveal how people have tried to make moral, spiritual, and intellectual world. The world, in which irrationality, despair, loneliness, and death are together with birth, friendship, hope, and reason. Scholars working in the humanities are sometimes described as humanists, but this can be inaccurate, as it also describes a philosophical position (humanism). In educational institutions, the humanities are generally considered to be, along with the social sciences and the natural sciences, one of three major components of education. The humanities include philosophy, history, literature, etc.

Philosophy is a combination of the Greek words “philos” and “sophia”, which maybe translated as “love of wisdom”. A philosopher is a person who studies, has much knowledge of the subject, and usually teaches philosophy. Philosophers are curious about the world, humanity, existence, values, understanding, and the nature of things. We know a lot of ancient philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, etc. We are also interested in the teaching of modern philosophers.

Philosophers are trying to answer specific questions, such as: What is truth? Is knowledge possible? Is there a difference between morally right and wrong actions (or values, or institutions)? If so, what is that difference? Which actions are right, and which wrong? Are values absolute, or relative? What is reality? What is the nature of space and time? What is the nature of thought and thinking? What is it to be beautiful? How do beautiful things differ from the everyday? What is Art? Does free will exist, or our life is determined through a destiny planned long before we were even born?

Philosophy can be distinguished from other disciplines by its methods of inquiry. Philosophers often put their questions as problems or puzzles, in order to give clear examples of their doubts about a subject they find interesting, wonderful or confusing. Philosophers typically solve problems in a logical manner, and then work towards a solution based on critical reading and reasoning. Like Socrates, they search for answers through discussion, responding to the arguments of others, or careful personal contemplation.

History is a term for information about the past. History in the wider sense is all that has happened, not only all the phenomena of human life, but also of the natural world as well. It includes everything that undergoes change. And as modern science has shown that there is nothing absolutely static, therefore the whole Universe, and every part of it, has its history. When used as the name of a field of study, history refers to the study of human societies. The term “history” comes from the Greek “historia” (an account of one’s inquiries), and shares the etymology with the English word “story”. Historians use many sources, including written or printed records, interviews, and archaeology.

 

EXERCISE 10. Read and give a summary of the text.