Introduction to Humanities

• Everything is relative to individual experience, judgment, and interpretation.
• Man continues to evolve in knowledge and technology from the Stone Age to the present.

Why Study Humanities

• Humanities originates from the Latin word "humanus," signifying human, cultured, and refined.
• Being human involves demonstrating rationality, benevolence, and care.
• Being cultured and refined entails exhibiting good tastes and manners, indicative of proper education.
• Humanities encompasses records of humanity's quest for answers to fundamental questions about itself and the world.
• It records and interprets human thinking, feeling, regrets, aspirations, failures, and moral codes.

Fundamental Principles of Humanism

• Humanism stresses the importance of individual and specific needs.
• Human nature is inherently good.
• Individuals are free and capable of making choices.
• Human potential for growth and development is virtually unlimited.
• Self-concept plays an important role in growth and development.
• Reality is defined by each person.
• Individuals have a responsibility to both themselves and to others.

Nature of the Arts

• The word "art" comes from the Aryan root "ar," meaning 'to join' or 'put together'.
• The Latin terms "sars, artis," refer to everything artificially made or composed by man.
• Art encompasses sounds, colors, lines, movements, words, stone, and wood to express feelings, thoughts, imaginations, and dreams.
• Art is subjective, employing elements that cannot be directly measured, classified, or controlled.

Function of Art

• Art may be functional or non-functional
• Functional art refers to aesthetic objects serving utilitarian purposes, such as furniture, lighting, dishes, and books.
• Non-functional art encompasses paintings, sculptures, and fine art, serving aesthetic rather than practical purposes.

Art as viewed by Philosophy

• Philosophy attempts to explain almost all aspects of human existence.
• Aesthetics is the philosophical study of beauty and taste.
• Three famous philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, and Immanuel Kant

Plato

• He was an ancient Greek philosopher.
• Plato considered the arts as threatening.
• Two theories of art:
  • Art is imitation: a copy of a copy leading people away from the truth.
  • Art is dangerous as it stirs emotions.

Aristotle

• He was a famous philosopher of Ancient Greece.
• He believed in good and beauty
• The good always presents itself in some action, while beauty can exist in motionless objects.

Immanuel Kant

• He was a German Enlightenment Philosopher.
• Main interest was not in art itself but in beauty
• Kant thought that beauty does not rest on the properties of the objects but rather on the manner in which people percieve them
• Kant further explained that taste can both be subjective and universal
  • Subjective taste does not focus on the properties of the object itself but rather on the pleasure one experiences as he responds to it
  • Universal taste is non-aesthetic and the artwork is appreciated for what it is because of the mastery of the artist.
• Beauty is a question of form, not color.
• What is important in beauty is the design and the composition

Artists and Artisans

• An artist exhibits exceptional skills in the visual or performing arts.
• An artist's creation is a formal expression of the considered human experience.
• An artisan is in a skilled trade involving making things by hand.
  • Artisans make or create objects of great beauty using their hands.
  • Their creations may be functional or decorative, like furniture and glass figurines.
  • Examples include woodcarvers of Paete, Laguna, ceramic makers of Tiwi, Albay, basket weavers of Pangasinan, and piña weavers of Kalino.

Art Forms

• Artistic abilities can be inborn or developed through inspiration and training from an art master.
• The artist expresses their creativity through a chosen art form.
• Art forms include painting, sculpture, architecture, music, dance, literature, and theatre.
  • Painting is the application of pigment to a surface and is a two-dimensional art form.
  • Sculpture is a three-dimensional art form where the sculptor creates a solid form.
  • Architecture is the most functional art form, creating designs for buildings & infrastructure.
  • Music is the art of sound expressed through song, instruments, or a combination of both.
  • Dance is body movements attuned to a musical piece; in ancient times, it was a form of expression.
  • Literature involves using words to express thoughts, ideas, and feelings, like poetry, novels, short stories, essays, epics and legends.
  • Theatre consists of dramatic performances, with actors performing on stage in front of a live audience.

Appreciating the Arts

• Appreciating art is essential to understanding oneself.
• It acknowledges our psychic need for expression.
• Artworks of old still impact human societies and world cultures.