Why can people live in spite of the fact that they are mortal? It is in a department of literature that people think the fundamental reason.

Eiko Oya

Though an unexpected expression, it is almost a perfect definition of the humanities. Thought, literature, art, music and religion are those that support individuals beyond the limited lives of individuals and values that people have created and conveyed as "human beings".  The humanities deal with the meaning of such creation, and further attempt to trace their historical succession. From the lecture that the critics once gave at the private university in Kansai.

December 12, 2015

from “Oriori no Kotoba” by Kiyokazu Washida, The Asahi Shimbun