The Role of Humanities in Overcoming the Debate of Mind over Matter or Culture And Civilization
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The Role of Humanities in Overcoming the Debate of Mind over Matter or Culture And Civilization
Abstract: Based on the dichotomy of the two cultures – sciences and humanities – approached by CP Snow and, subsequently dealt with by Aldous Huxley who attempted to heal the division, as well as more recently elaborated on by Martha Nussbaum – renown contemporary intellectual and philosopher, my essay aims to provide a substantiated perspective to a highly topical matter nowadays, when the unprecedented development of technology, paradoxically generating a civilization of illiteracy, urgently needs, more than ever, and calls our attention to the vital importance of cultural empathy, cultural intelligence, hence the role of humanities – art, culture, literature – for the progress of societies and the advancement of humanity, as well as acting as a counterpart to the “civilization of the spectacle” or the “civilization of illiteracy”. The role of individual and collective memory as reflected in history and literature, essential for the survival of humankind, will also be part of the analysis endorsed by thorough documentation and endorsement of the main thesis.
Key words: culture – civilization, humanities – sciences, memory, art, literature, survival
Citation suggestion: Burdușel, Eva-Nicoleta. “The Role of Humanities in Overcoming the Debate of Mind over Matter or Culture And Civilization”. Transilvania, no. 12 (2025): 80-83.
https://doi.org/10.51391/trva.2025.12.11.
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