The Final Blog Post

Humanities Final Exam Spring 2015

In our Humanities class, we read many different readings, looked at many forms of art, and watched a lot of films.  These different sources contributed to our understanding of being human. As we went through the semester, our learning was divided into five different sections, the cognitive and affective ways of knowing using the right and left brain unit, the humans, nature, and sacred space unit, the love, beauty, and art unit, the law and ethics unit, and the inner journey and meaning of human reality unit. These units further expanded our knowledge on the human experience.  All of these topics incorporate the ideas of human reality. Within these subjects, we found what makes up our personal human realities.  

The introductory unit that was covered in class was mostly based on the right and left brain and how each side of the brain connects to metaphors, symbolism, writing and oral language, forms of storytelling, and experiences of time. The main purpose for this topic was to better understand the connections that humans have when they interact with each other. In Leonard Shlain’s article about the right and left brain functions, he explained the influence that each hemisphere had about interpreting different information.  In the film about the living style of Australia’s Aborigines, the idea of human experience would differ greatly from our current one because of the changing interpretation of the world. The Australian Aborigines used the right and left brain communication skills when telling stories which were usually verbal. When Karen Armstrong explained the mythology of the Paleolithic period, she emphasized the idea of the "Dreamtime."  In the year of 20000 to 80000 BCE, the concept of Dreamtime was very important to everyday survival because it taught humans the skills like hunting and gathering that were essential to their lives. Each skill connected to a right and/or left brain function.  This introductory unit later connected with some of the future topics that were explained in class.

The second main unit that we covered in class was about humans, nature, and sacred space. This topic explains the different ideas that people have formed depending on their different cultures and backgrounds. In Werner Herzog's documentary about Timothy Treadwell living with vicious wild animals, Herzog explained that his view was contradicting to Treadwell's opinion about saving wildlife. Treadwell believed that sacred space could be shared among different species and different cultures and wanted a better understanding with his friends, the grizzly bears. When we moved forward in the unit, we found that the poem, "Toward Climax" also represents sacred space ideas and the illusion that due to human nature, our world has surpassed its prime. In the first book of the Bible, human nature is explained by the impulsive decisions made by both Adam and Eve and how an outside influence can greatly change someone's perception of the world.  This topic soon lead into the next idea in our English class.

As the year progressed, we learned about love, beauty, and art, and the way humans display their subjective opinions about each word. Many would agree that each topic is very hard to explain specifically and humans can not come to a universal opinion. In the book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, an artist named Basil Hallward is infatuated by the beauty of the main character, Dorian Gray.  The thought of love and temporary outer beauty, consumed Gray’s mind leading him to act on foolish decisions throughout the book.  In “The Shape of Things,” the fake relationship between Evelyn and Adam, portrayed that art, beauty, and love can deceive another person. Emotions and connections are deeply rooted to these concepts because they involve personal experiences and interactions.  The concept of beauty is unique depending on the culture and the time of existence.  In class, we learned that the prehistoric human appeal was much different from the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Egyptians. Each culture had its own unique style of art and view on how humans were seen as beautiful.  This topic was also blended in with the concept of truth which was able to be connected with some later topics in the year.

When we started to expand our knowledge on the topic of law and ethics, it was apparent that morality played a big role in the experience of being human. In the book, The Stranger by Albert Camus, the notion of law and ethics was largely present when the main character, Meursault was confronted with many difficult decisions about his own morals.  Many times throughout the book, Meursault showed signs of having no empathy or remorse for his own actions which are key factors in the role of being human.  In certain religions, people have to abide by specific rules like the 10 Commandments or the Holiness Code in Judaism and Christianity.  These two lists of “rules” are very similar to the Buddhist ethics that we read in class involving the moral conduct and the five precepts which will result in major consequences if not followed.  These ethics can be apparent in certain philosophers that we discussed in great depth during class. When we learned about Bentham, we learned that he had a utilitarian approach to his ideas which meant that he wanted to maximize the amount of pleasure presented in the world.  Nel Noddings, an American feminist mainly focused on the importance of care and moral education in the world.  Friedrich Nietzsche often disagreed with the Christian religion and thought that the world was one connected unit. He made up the concept of “will to power” and liked the Apollonian and Dionysian ideas which integrated well with the introductory unit about the right and left brain.  

The final unit in our curriculum was inner journey and the meaning of human reality. This topic explained the importance of finding self enlightenment and understanding the inner meaning of life. Every person experiences a different inner journey and has his/her own unique opinion about human reality.  When we learned about Job in class, we learned that he went through a lot of pain and suffering and began to lose his faith in God. Through many melancholy and joyless events, Job continued to remain loyal to God and in the end was rewarded. The inner journey that Job experienced was a lesson learned to always keep his faith to God, even though he didn’t deserve the negativity that he received. In the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” Gilgamesh experiences the painful encounter with death when his best friend, Enkidu dies and seeks out where he can find eternal life, but learns that death is inevitable.  Death is one of the four sights that Siddhartha encounters on his quest to find enlightenment.  Siddhartha also experienced many times of suffering, but believed that every action and event gave him experience which lead to needed understanding which is important for the human experience.

As our year comes to an end, one could conclude that the roles of each topic are confusing and complex. The human brain is capable of thinking beyond what the senses are experiencing. We can make deep visionary illusions in our minds that help contribute to the human connections we make throughout the day. Our ability to rationalize, express deep emotion, and inspire creation is what makes human existence so incredible. While we leave school thinking, our emotions and connections are going to form our own personal opinions about human experience.