ARTS AND HUMANITIES

issues or phenomena.

This will perhaps overcome the lack of reading, writing, thinking and discussion skills evident among Malaysian students today, a perceived discrepancy that casts doubt on the ways in which they absorb knowledge. Knowledge of the humanities will equip us to become more critical of received opinion or commonly-held belief.

An example of a culture of knowledge is the ancient Greek thinkers like Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates. Aristotle’s acclaimed theory of “poetics” remains influential even in the new millennium. It has been utilised to introduce concepts such as logic, epistemology and rhetoric.

In effect, its practice has witnessed the structuring of ideas through debate and rational systems of thought and argument. This system of thinking, argument and the art of rhetoric has long underpinned the research methods pursued in the spheres of arts and the humanities.

During the golden age of Islam (the era of the Abbasiyyah Empire), ancient Greek works were translated into Arabic by Muslim scholars who trained at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, Iraq. The work of these scholars enabled the West to gain access to Greek philosophical works. Their translations constituted a major contribution to Islamic civilisation.

Traditional Persian artistry, especially in architecture and literature, made an immense contribution to world civilisation. The Persian literary world could claim several noted poets and thinkers — Omar Khayyam, Jalaluddin Rumi, Saadi Shirazi and Hafiz Shirazi, among others. Their poetic works influenced, inspired and shaped other artistic genres, including music, the visual arts, fine arts, drama (theatre) and cinema (film). The late film director Abbas Kiarostami, for example, drew upon works of prominent Persian poets from Khayyam to Forough Farrokhzad. In addition, he used cinema to pose questions vis-à-vis metaphysical reality.

Those who pursue the arts and humanities must ensure that their minds, hearts and souls imbibe the knowledge they gain, and that it becomes part of their lives. From Rumi, Rabindranath Tagore, Yasujiro Ozu, Pramoedya Ananta Toer and Usman Awang, we can learn “big questions” — that deep understanding extends beyond knowing.

We must accept that there is more to music than MTV, reality shows and karaoke. We must nurture our awareness that films are much more than a manifestation of cheap laughs and thrills. And, most important of all, we must recognise that the arts and humanities will facilitate not only a world in black and white, but also in variegated shades of grey.