What do Humanities Majors Do?

I didn't want to write a long piece today. I’m in a the headspace to deliver something succinct. The question I have had to deal with in the past is “what do/did you do exactly in your classes?” I have decided to give you excerpts from one of the papers I wrote for a class that demonstrate how I am navigating my current head space.

Excerpt 1

“Man’s inability to rely upon himself or to have complete faith in himself (which is the same thing) is the price human beings pay for freedom… relying upon the future, is the price they pay for plurality and reality” (Arendt 244) — She wrote The Human Condition.

-as we navigate uncertainty, I have been forced to think about how much faith I have in my abilities and the possibility of being acknowledged for my gifts. This excerpt clearly states that if I do not have faith in my abilities then I will be a slave to other peoples’ perception of my abilities, fear, and worry. Instead of focusing on myself and what I can do, my tendency to anticipate the future puts me at the mercy of others reality. I can ascertain freedom if I act independently and focus on who I am and what I possess, which would help me navigate to and through situations I want to be in or find myself in.

Excerpt 2

“Crusoe’s nature of contradicting himself and repeating self-destructive actions result from his repeated contemplative thought. His thoughts iterate around the need to establish permanence and to live above mediocrity. This need is fueled by his selfsame destructive self. His thoughts meander around establishing an ipseity that would differentiate him from the other. In the beginning the other is his father and the boring life that he leads, then this morphs into his captor and then on the Island it is the cannibals; these are the oppositions to his ipseity. Since the autoimmune is the immune system working against that which it should protect, in some instances it can function the way it should. This is what causes Crusoe to escape from captivity and prevents him from killing Xury. His autoimmune nature fluctuates between enabling destruction and life itself. His pre-meditations and reason can suppress his nature which allows positive results when he relates with the world or the other.”

-I wrote this excerpt in reference to Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. The character, Crusoe, represents what Arendt has stated. However, using terminology by Jaques Derrrida like ipseity and autoimmune, I am made to realize that Crusoe like me, contradicts himself. He does not want to be influenced by some one else's reality but his method is destructive when he acts wholly independently to establish his future. He does not want to view himself the way his father wants him to and he wants to act as an individual with sovereign power, detached from others. Yet, he does not seem to have faith in himself or his ability. Thus, independence does not completely solve his problems because he is bound in seclusion and does not have complete faith in himself because he is still focused on the future and establishing himself as opposed to his abilities. Seclusion does not change your belief system about yourself. Ypu belief or selfperception is an inate practiced way of thinking about and evaluating yourself even in the midst of companions.

In essence, there is a balance that must be maintained between faith in one’s own abilities and reliance on the perspective of others.

There are gaps.. right? I have a seemingly incomplete analysis. More to say, more to explore… and that’s what we do. We evaluate the angles, concerns thoughts, and multiple revelations from theories, philosophies, characters, statements….

Incase you ever wondered what the Arts is about. This is it. We delve into statements, characters, and plots to determine who and what humanity is. The common mistakes we make, our perceptions of ourselves in contrast with others and so on. This helps us relate with ourselves better and with others too. Basically, we think on paper.

Thank you for reading this! if you have any thoughts, please share them! I hope you like this enough to clap and share!