Pondering the past, present, and future of the humanities and the classics in higher education.
by Sherri Miles for Arts & Sciences magazine, University of Miami
Two and a half millennia ago, Socrates taught that the essence of true civilization is the examined life, inviting each of us to ponder the question: “What does it mean to be human?” The area of study known as “the humanities” focuses on this overarching question, exploring the human condition through languages, philosophy, religion, literature, and the arts. Study in the humanities has long been considered a way to hone one’s critical thinking; to gain personal knowledge for the sheer joy of it and for its value to others; and to probe, in the pursuit of justice and decency, the nature of ethical inquiry.
