Entry #5 - On the Humanities and Being Human
When I think of the humanities as a field, I think of art, because I view art as something that is distinctly human. My definition of art does not just include drawing and painting, but literature, sculptures, architecture, philosophy, media, fashion, and music as well, and as far as humankind knows, only humans are capable of producing these many examples of art. Sure, some animals can communicate by making music with their mating calls, but that comes solely from a desire to reproduce. Animals aren’t capable of thought in the way that humans are, and while they can be trained to do certain things, there is no possible way to train them to think as complexly as humans can. This is not to say that animals can’t experience emotions; of course they can. Animals - like my cat, Bugzy, for example - can feel agitated, bored, remorseful, curious, content, and excited, with or without the assistance of humans. Like humans, animals also have motivations of their own. Unlike humans, thoug...