Humanities is a wide field of study that includes human philosophy, history, culture, behavior, literature, religion, art, anthropology, and law. Under these subjects, culture’s values are defined in various unique ways. Humanities allow people to perceive values and beliefs in different ways, following the experiences, contexts, and times they encounter. This essay describes how humanities have contributed to expressing culture’s values. Experiences people have through artistic works, lawmaking, poetry, religious traditions, classicism, and philosophy shape and demonstrate their cultural values.
Laws are one way that a culture’s values get conveyed. For instance, the Babylonians established human rights and beliefs under Hammurabi’s law. Values determining punishments, fines, and guidelines for commercial interactions for the people in Babylon got built on Hammurabi’s code (Fiero 67). The mode of governance in Babylon was through Monarchs, who made decisions that afflicted the rights of many individuals. Through these experiences, people determined that establishing Hammurabi’s law would safeguard their rights from the ruthless rule of the Monarch.
Poetry and religion, other subjects under humanities, have also influenced the expression of culture’s values. In ancient Mesopotamia, a great poem titled “The Epic of Mesopotamia” narrates a story about a character who faces great challenges before kings, monsters, and gods (Fiero 65). The poem depicts how man vainly chases glory, fame, and endless life, hence shaping their beliefs. Phoenicians, a type of ancient religion, were composed of people who had mastered the art of sea travel (Fiero 70). Having written the first alphabet in history, the Phoenicians impacted communication worldwide (Fiero 70). Due to their travel across seas, connections between overseas cultures got extended, hence the exchange of ideas that shaped our values today.
Furthermore, the teaching of good versus evil and classicism have made a basis for building on cultural values in almost all communities. The Persians established their culture of good and evil based on the lessons from the monotheistic religious tradition, guided by the prophet Zoroaster (Fiero 71). Another aspect of humanities is classism, which builds grounds for viewing things as unique or outstanding. Today, people determine the worth of something, say a film or car, depending on the classicism culture created ages ago (Fiero 33). However, people have extended this view by diversifying the foundations of determining the uniqueness of something.
Philosophy has been another essential part of shaping values in various cultures. One of the greatest philosophers in history is Plato. Plato came up with a treatise called the republic, which defined justice and described the appearance of a just society (Fiero 136). Plato provided a comparison between the level of satisfaction of the unjust and just people, getting people to think about the values they serve critically (Fiero 137). Also, Plato discusses the theory of forms, which states that an actual reality exists, and what people see or experience is only a shadow of the truth (Fiero 136). For instance, although people have different ways of showing justice and goodness, they hold a similar meaning of goodness and justice as standardized in the realm of forms.
In conclusion, shaping beliefs and values in society took various forces to achieve what people have today. Humanities have played a central role in presenting values. Culture’s values are a result of the combined efforts of people who viewed life from different points of view. Through poetry, philosophy, religion, explorers, musicians, historians, and artists have promoted the expression of cultural values, building the morals and beliefs people uphold.
Work Cited
Fiero, Gloria K. Landmarks in Humanities. McGraw Hill, 2021, pp. 30-140. Web.