HUM 1020: Introduction to Humanities

Adventure Map
Professor Michael Jahosky
Fall 2019, St. Petersburg College, Gibbs Campus

Directions: ​Students, after downloading this document, please “Save As” to your personal
computer and type directly into the document as you get the answers to each question. ​Please do
not modify the document in any way. Most questions can be answered in a few sentences,
others will require a few paragraphs. I need to see evidence of critical thinking and the use
of relevant KEY TERMS, where appropriate. When asked to give your opinion, please give
it.
Please remember not to use my notes word for word; re-word your answers to the best of your
ability. All answers can be found during class lectures/PowerPoints.
The class is divided into 3 Units, with a checkpoint due at the end of every Unit. Each Unit is a
different length based on the type of information covered. Please see the schedule below.
Rubric: ​1. Has the student quoted the textbook/PowerPoints at least once in his/her response?
2. Has the student offered (when appropriate) his/her own opinion on the question?
3. Has the student stayed on topic in answering the question?
4. For critical thinking questions, has the student typed at least 1 paragraph? For defining
terms and shorter questions, I only require 1-2 sentences at most.

Unit 1: What is Wisdom? Checkpoint 1 Due date Sunday September 22, 2019 (end of
Week 5)
Unit 2: Learning to be Wise Checkpoint 2 Due date: Sunday October 27, 2019 (end of
Week 10)
Unit 3: Wisdom through the Arts Checkpoint 3 Due date: Sunday, November 24, 2019
(end of Week 14)

Worldviews at Work Presentations and Papers: Weeks 15-16: Weeks of November

25/December 2.

Unit 1: What is Wisdom? Weeks 1-5

1. What are the ​Humanities​? What is ​Humanism?
Humanities is a body of knowledge relating and combining more than one discipline - a
way of knowing about being human. Humanism is a philosophical outlook that
emphasizes logic and facts rather than superstition or spirituality.

2. What are the 7 characteristics of ​Humanism​, according to Stephen Law​?

Science, humanism, there is no afterlife, commitment to moral order, individually moral
autonomy, meaning can exist without it being bestowed by God and being committed to
secularism

3. Define the following terms: ​metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and aesthetics.

How do you use these terms in everyday life?
 metaphysics- before/beyond the physical; implies the existence of a more than physical
aspect of reality. It is the study of what is true, real and possible.
epistemology- the study of knowledge, the study of how we know what we know
ethics- the(philosophical) study of morality; it is a study of what are good and bad ends to
pursue in life and what is right and wrong to do in the conduct of life
aesthetics- the study of nature and the appreciation of beauty, especially in the arts

4. In the Humanities, we care very much about ​Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.
What ​disciplines ​do these concepts correspond to in the Humanities? What is the
nature of truth, goodness, and beauty?
Truth(science), Goodness(religion), Beauty(the arts). These are the transcendentals.

5. Define the following terms: ​Mythos, Logos, and Mythology.

mythos- the imaginative, intuitive, metaphorical and poetical way of thinking, talking and
acquiring knowledge about reality
logos- the logical, rational, and empirical way of thinking, talking and acquiring
knowledge about reality
mythology- a narrated worldview, worldviews are best expressed in story

6. What is a ​Worldview? ​What are the ​5 questions​ that every worldview must
answer​? ​What is the relationship between the terms mythology and worldview?
A worldview is a pattern of ideas, beliefs, convictions and habits that will help us make
sense of all reality. Comprised of what is true, what is right/wrong, what is beautiful and how
we know it.
The five questions: origin- where we come from, identity- who are we, meaning- what is
real/true, morality- how we should live and destiny- what happens next
from my understanding the relationship between a worldview and mythology is that
mythology is a worldview being told through a story.

7. (​At Home) ​What is ​Identity? ​What are the 2 things it consists of?
The qualities, beliefs, personality, and expressions that make up a person or group. It consists of
essential properties- things that do not change ever and your self worth.

8. What are the four characteristics of an adequate worldview, according to James

W. Sire?
James W. Sire states that a worldview should have inner intellectual coherence, be able to
comprehend the data of reality, be subjectively satisfactory and meet our sense of personal need,
but must be true.

9. ​(At Home) ​What is ​Wisdom? ​What is ​Foolishness?

Having wisdom is being able to think and act with insight, knowledge, experience, discipline,
and foresight. Someone who is foolish is arrogant, prideful, offensive, complacent, simple,
without wisdom, and obstinate.
10. What is the best understanding of ​faith? ​What is the relationship between ​faith
and ​reason?
Faith is trusting in something because of the evidence. The relationship is that you use reason to
decide whether or not to have faith in something.

11. Who were Socrates and Plato? What were their major contributions to philosophy
and psychology?
Socrates and Plato were ancient Greek philosophers. Plato’s writings contributed to the
basis of western philosophical tradition. Socrates contributed the Socratic method.

12. What is the nature of ​truth: subjective or objective ​and why​? ​What is the
correspondence theory of truth?
The nature of truth is objective. It is objective because there is no opinion when it comes to truth
because something that is true is facts which cannot be debated. “Saying of what is that it is and
what is not it is not” -Aristotle

13. What does the term ​literal ​really mean? Are truth and literalness the same thing
why or why not?
Literal means taking something for its usual meaning without allegory, the intended meaning of
a text or writing. Truth and literal are not the same thing. Truth is the undisputed fact of the
matter while something that’s literal may not be the truth. For example, an author could write
about unicorns being real. The truth is that unicorns do not exist but the statement is literal
because that’s what the author intended to convey.

14. Define ​dogmatism,​ ​skepticism, cynicism, and relativism.

Dogmatism is the tendency to present things as incontrovertibly true, without
consideration of evidence and the opinions of others
Skepticism is the knowledge of objective truth and that it is highly unlikely or
impossible
Cynicism is the belief that truth cannot be known even if there is sufficient
evidence; truth-claims are mere power grabs and motivated only by self-interest;
extreme skepticism
Relativism- there is no objective universal truth. Ideas are relative to perception.

15. Briefly describe the ​Modern ​philosophical stance toward ​truth​.

Truth is human’s reasoning and scientific method.

16. Who was Friedrich Nietzsche? List, define, and briefly explain at least 2 of his
famous ideas here. What is ​Postmodernism?
Nietzsche was a German philosopher, philologist, poet, composer, and classicist. “The will to
power” which means the will to will, live life to the fullest. “The Ubermensch” which is the
overman, someone who embodies the will to power. Modernism is the objective foundation for
truth, meaning, purpose, and value is found in man’s reasoning capabilities, nature, and scientific
method.
 17. Who was Albert Camus? What is ​Existentialism? ​Define Camus’ notion of ​The
Absurd.
Albert camus who lived from 1913-1960 was a writer and philosopher that argued
that life is ultimately absurd and the human tendency to want to discover meaning
and purpose in life useless. Since humans cannot truly discover objective truth
and meaning, it is absurd to continue trying to look for it. He thought to accept the
absurd but revolt against it and be content with meaning you find in the process-
we will never be sure that out created meaning is real or true.
Existentialism is a philosophy with either a religious or secular foundation that
maintains humanity is free to create its own essence

18. (​At Home) ​What does the term ​Post-Truth ​mean?

“Relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping
public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief”
19. (​At Home) ​Define the following religious terms: ​religion, monotheism,
henotheism, polytheism, pantheism, animism, transcendent, ​and​ immanent.
Religion is a system of beliefs and practices that directs a person toward
transcendence and thus provides meaning and coherences to a person's life.
Monotheism is the belief that there is only one God.
Heotheism is believing that only one God is truly worthy of worship and that all
other gods are inferior or imposters(most of the old testament)

20. What are the 5 features of the universe which may be evidence for the existence
of God? What kind of God makes the most sense? Is God and religion essential to
the Humanities?
The five features of the universe are
1- the universe had a beginning
2- the universe is finely tuned for life
3- the universe is regular
4- the universe is knowable
5- the universe is moral
Number 3 “the universe is regular” points to the existence of god. I think God is
just an illusion to keep people sane so they think they have something more that's
coming for them after they die and for that i don't think god is essential to
humanity but religion is to keep order.

Unit 2: Learning to be Wise, Weeks 6-10

21. Who was Immanuel Kant? What is the ​Sacred/Secular Split?

Immanuel Kant was a German/Prussian philosopher during the enlightenment. He
is one of the most influential philosophers of all western philosophy. The
sacred/secular divide is a distinction between things that are sacred (godly and
spiritual) and what is secular (wordly and not of God).
22. (​At Home) ​What are the ​3 Laws of Logic? ​What is a ​paradox?
Law of noncontradiction, law of excluded middle and law of identity
A paradox is an absurd​ or self-contradictory statement that after being looked into
may turn out to be true

23. (​At Home) ​What is an ​argument? Fallacy?

A fallacy is what is believed to be invalid or faulty reasoning. In logic and
philosophy, an argument is a series of statements (premisses) intended to
determine the truthfulness of another statement. A fallacious argument is an
argument that appears better than it is.

24. What are the 3 things that are required for a good discussion?
A good discussion topic or question, intentions to learn and find truth and
listening to what everyone has to say

25. List 3 things you learned about ​Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (3 each; total
of 9 bullet points).
Judaism - the torah, the temple and henotheism
Chrisianity - Jesus (womb - tomb), the good news (heaven came to earth) and
gentile inclusion/fulfillment call of abraham
Islam - the Qur’an, prophet muhammad and the 5 pillars and the islamic Jesus
(allah)

26. List 3 things you learned about ​Hinduism and Buddhism ​(3 each; total of 6
each).
Hinduism - samsara, hinduism is the most complex and diverse religion and
atman
Buddhism - the four noble truths, the noble eightfold path and nirvana

27. List 3 things you learned about ​Daoism.

Yin and Yang, Daoism is a pantheistic worldview and wu-wei

28. List 3 things you learned about ​Shinto​.

Indigenous worldview, the kami and worship

29. What is the difference between ​ethics ​and ​morality?

Ethics is the philosophical study of morality and morality is an individual or
societal perception of good/bad and right/wrong

30. Define ​teleology and deontology. ​Which theory of ethics is the most rationally
satisfying and why?
Teleology considers the outcomes of an action to determine if its a good action. In
deontology the outcomes don’t matter, it’s always about doing what’s right. The
teleological theory is the best one because sometimes telling the truth (such as if a
friend looks bad in a shirt she really likes telling her the truth may hurt her
feelings for no reason) so weighing the outcome of things before making a
decision is the best option “think before you speak”.
31. In C.S. Lewis’s book ​The Abolition of Man​, he uses the Chinese concept of the
Tao ​to make a case for ​objective morality. ​What is the ​Tao?​ Why can we not do
without it?​ ​What are the 3 things we ought to do if we want to live honestly,
consistently, and happily?
The Tao is the objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true and
others are false. We can’t live morally without the Tao. We must have a
commitment to an objective moral independent from what we think or feel, an
openness to moral development only within the Tao, and a willingness to follow
the Tao always even when it’s hard.

32. Philosophers and ethicists frequently talk about what is known as the ​Grounding
Problem. ​What is this? List and explain the best possible answers to this problem.
Which one do you think makes the most sense?
The grounding problem is that ethical convictions are not well grounded in
objective facts and rather in something being ​just right. When talking about things
being right or wrong you could give valid lawful arguments as to why something
is right or wrong such as it’s wrong to murder because everyone has the right to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and it isn’t up to you or I to take that
away from someone. Which technically someone could say that laws are made up
to which you could argue that laws or not it’s still not nice to take away
someone’s life for wronging you because life is bigger than an infraction which is
undeniably true. Some people could also say: an eye for an eye but that came
from the bible which isn’t fact either.

33. (​At Home) ​We discussed various ways to ​become wise​. List your top 3 here and
explain how you personally are going to implement these in your life.
Get experience - I enjoy educational YouTube videos and reading published
articles
Do not delay - I love to read books so that usually keeps my interest going
Be teachable - I eel i need to think more outside of the box and be more open to
things I don't understand or agree with

34. What is the difference between ​Cultural Tolerance ​and ​Traditional Tolerance?
Cultural tolerance means all religions are equal/valid and religious truth claims
are seen as real and true. Traditional tolerance however acknowledges other
religions but do not believe in or agree with their practices and morals.

35. What is the difference between ​Religious (Metaphysical) Pluralism ​and ​Social
Pluralism? ​Is Religious Pluralism as inclusive as it purports to be?
Religious pluralism states that all religions are true and equally valid ways to God
and social pluralism states that we must respect all religions but that doesn’t mean
they’re all true. If you truly believe religious pluralism then yes because it’s what
you accept to be true but realistically it’s not because if all religions are true then
honestly there wouldn’t be so many. I think people just want to believe that
they’re way of thinking is right and it’s a way for everyone to be validated
simultaneously.
 36. (​Fill in the Blank) ​According to Ken Samples, “Cultural tolerance demands that
we be tolerant toward people but traditional tolerance demands that we be
intolerant toward contradictory ideas or claims.”

Unit 3: Wisdom in the Arts, Weeks 11-14

37. What is ​“Art?”
Art is beauty, imitations or representations of abstract of concrete things, sub
creative.

38. What is ​Literature? ​How should we interpret literature—what are the six things
we should look for while reading?
Literature is any written work. Before writing existed stories were told orally.
Literature is more commonly thought of as an art rather than just intellectual
work. Although, I feel like the real goal of literature is to be enriching which I
think means any kind of writing or story can be considered literature. Literature
aims to narrate history and explain worldviews of the author.

39. Literature: ​Several examples of Ancient, Medieval, and Modern stories from all 
over the world were presented in class. Please ​choose your favorite ​story and 
write about it here. Why is it your favorite?  
​My favorite story is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. This book, narrated
by Death, is about a girl named Liesel living in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust and
her family hides a Jewish man named Max in their basement. Liesel befriends Max who
taught her to read and write. She begins stealing books that the Nazis burn and shares them
with Max and begins to write her own story. She also collects laundry from people for her
foster mother’s laundry business and befriends the mayor’s wife who brings her in the
house to read books in their library and allows Liesel to take them. This book is a very
sweet but powerful story about the importance of literature and shows the power that words
can have. I love this book because I love history (especially WWII) and it’s a more
personalized view of what life was like for a young girl during that time. When I first read
it I was Liesel’s age which really helped me relate to her especially because I also love to
read. This book was first published in 2005 so it’s only about 15 years old but I feel like the
older it gets it will turn into a classic. If you’ve never read it, you definitely should.

40. Define the following pictorial art terms: ​Medium, Composition, Line, Form,
Color, Focal Point, and Perspective.
Medium- the material in which the art is made
Composition - The artists arrangement of elements within the artwork
(asymmetrical and symmetrical)
Line - Basic Building block of a visual design; line is a linear form, an implication
of continued direction. However descriptive lines show detail that helps to
identify the object
 Form - The shape of an object
Color - Color is used in art to effect optical and psychological reactions; color can
also add a purely symbolic aspect to the art. Color isn’t arbitrary, it’s the artists
choice.
Focal Point - The center or most important part of a work of art, where the eye
lands first and usually lands last
Perspective - Linear perspective is used by artists, the relative size, shape and
position of objects are determined by drawn or imaginary lines converging at a
point on the horizon. Although atmospheric perspective refers to the technique of
creating an illusion of depth by depicting distant objects as smaller, paler and less
detailed

41. Define the following sculptural and architectural art terms: ​Full Round, Relief
(high and low), Found, Focal Point, Post-and-Lintel, Arch, Flying Buttress,
Arcade, Barrel Vault, and Pointed Vault/Groin Vault.
Full Round - A 3-D sculpture with no back, it can be seen from all sides
Relief - Low relief is shallow cuts that don’t project much from the base.
However High relief is deep cuts the project dramatically from the base. In design
when a molding, carving, or stamping stands out from it’s background. For
example, if a room has a chair rail in it, the chair rail stands out because it’s at a
higher relief than the wall itself.
Found - An object is taken from its natural environment or out of its original
function and used as a work of art
Focal Point - Areas of interest or emphasis that capture the viewer’s attention
Post and Lintel - Consists of horizontal beams (lintels) laid across the open spaces
between vertical supports (posts)
Arch - a curved symmetrical structure creating an opening and usually supporting
the weight of what’s above it
Flying Buttress - the transfer of stress from the center of an arch outward to its
legs dictates the need for a strong support to keep the legs from caving outward is
called a buttress; a flying buttress is “lighter” in appearance.
Arcade - A series of rounded arches
Barrel Vault - Arches placed back to back to enclose space
Pointed Vault/Groin Vault - Pointed Vault is protruding masonry indicating
diagonal juncture of arches in a tunnel vault. Groin vault is when two arches
intersect at all right angles

42. The Visual Arts (Paintings, Sculpture, and Architecture): ​Several examples 
of Ancient, Medieval, and Modern art from all over the world were presented in 
class. Please ​choose your favorite ​work of art and write about it here. Why is it 
your favorite? 
My favorite work of art is Day and Night by MC Escher. MC Escher did a lot of 
mathematical woodcut pieces and was a surrealist from the Netherlands. He was 
long neglected in the art world and that’s part of the reason why I like him. One of 
 his quotes is “he who wonders discovers that this in itself is a wonder” which I 
really like. But anyway, Day and Night is my favorite piece because it’s really 
chaotic but there’s a clear distinction between the “night” side and the “day” side. 
There are also birds depicted flying over the same little farm kingdom with white 
birds on the night side and black birds on the day side. There are lots of artistic 
elements in this piece even though it’s just black and white which I like. The use 
of line also makes a statement where the lines in the water that are horizontal 
which goes against the diagonal lines, representing peace. 

43. What was Gorgias’ definition of ​Tragedy?

Gorgias’ definition of tragedy is by means of legends and emotions, creates a
deception in which the deceiver is more honest than the non-deceiver, and the
deceived is wiser than the non-deceived

44. Define the following theater terms: ​Drama, Protagonist, Antagonist, Catharsis, 
Recognition Scene, Mimesis, Reversal (Peripeteia), Exposition, Krisis, and 
Denouement. 
Drama - Greek for action  
Protagonist - Leading character/actor 
Antagonist - Actor opposing the leading character  
Catharsis - Cleansing or purification of the emotions  
Recognition Scene - The moment of revelation or critical discovery  
Mimesis - Imitation - tragic drama is is an imitation of reality  
Peripeteia - Reversal of circumstances 
Exposition - Gives necessary background information by introducing the 
characters, their personalities and relationships (typically at the beginning of the 
play) 
Krisis - Geek for “decision” or “complication” 
Denouement - Final resolution of the plot  

45. Theater (Performing Arts): ​Several examples of Ancient, Medieval, and 

Modern plays from all over the world were presented in class. Please ​choose your 
favorite ​play and write about it here. Why is it your favorite? 
My favorite play is “All The Way” by Robert Shenkken. This play is about 
Lyndon B Johnson’s efforts to get Congress to enact and Martin Luther King jr. to 
support The Civil Rights Bill of 1964. It starts right after the assasination of JFK 
and continues through LBJ’s landslide reelection. I like this play because it talks 
about the racism and the politics of that time and it’s very interesting.  

Define the following musical terms: ​Pitch, tone, dynamics, accent, timbre, 
rhythm, beat, meter, syncopation, tempo, melody, word painting, harmony, 
chord, progression, consonance, dissonance, resolution, key, scale, 
monophonic, polyphonic, homophonic​. 
 Pitch - The relative highness or lowness of a sound 
Tone​ - ​A sound that has a definite pitch 
Dynamics - degrees of loudness or softness in music (forte “loud, piano, “soft”)  
Accent - Emphasis of a note by playing it more loudly, longer, or higher pitch  
Timbre - Aka tone color, the quality of sound that distinguishes one instrument or 
voice from another  
Rhythm - The ordered durations of sounds and silences  
Beat - a regular, recurrent pulsation that divides music into equal units of time  
Meter - the organization of beats into regular groups  
Syncopation - when an accented note comes where we don’t expect one  
Tempo - The speed of the beat, the basic pace of the music  
Melody - A series of single tones that add up to a recognizable whole (the part of 
the song we remember the most)  
Word painting - the musical representation of specific poetic images  
Harmony - two or more notes heard simultaneously; The way chords are 
constructed and how they follow each other  
Chord - usually three notes sounded together 
Progression - a specific series of chords  
Consonance/Dissonance - A tone combination that is stable/unstable  
Resolution - Progression from a dissonance to a consonance  
Key - Central note, scale, and chord within a piece  
Scale - The basic pitches of a piece of music arranged in order (highlow, lowhigh)  
Monophonic - Having one sound, consists of a single melodic line without 
accompanying chords or harmony  
Polyphonic - Having many sounds, two or more melodic lines; two or more 
singers or instrumentalists singing/playing independent melodic lines at the same 
time  
Homophonic - One main melody accompanied by chords  

46. List the major ​styles ​of Western Music here.  

The middle ages/medieval - Renaissance - Baroque - Classical - Romantic - 20th 
century to 1945 and 1945 to the present (modern)  
47. How does ​non-Western ​music differ from Western? 
The main difference between Western and non-Western music is tuning systems, 
scales, and the approach to melody and harmony. Non-Western music also can’t 
be written down the way Western music can because it’s more freely structured 
and exotic and not as structured. 

48. Music: ​Several examples of Ancient, Medieval, and Modern compositions from 
all over the world were presented in class. Please ​choose your favorite 
composition and write about it here. Why is it your favorite? 
Sakura sakura, a traditional Japanese folk song that is about the spring season and 
the coming of cherry blossoms is what caught my attention the most. Unlike a lot 
of music that is around today Sakura has no words and it is able to set the scene 
through the variations of tone and speed throughout the duration of the song. I 
like it because it allows me to clear my mind and use my imagination to come up 
with a visual of what is going on. I see it as a natural work of art because the 
instruments used are string(with the occasional bell or gong) and the talented 
musicians behind them. It’s peaceful, there’s not massive bass drop or autotune 
and because of that I really appreciate this piece, it has also opened a lot of doors 
for me to other music similar.