The Study of Humankind

 Early on in my study of psychology, I was sharing with my dad the difficulty I was having in understanding a particular topic related to the mind. He reminded me, "Don't forget we're studying the most complex thing in the universe, the human being." 

After thinking about it for a while, I came to the conclusion that he was absolutely right. What is there in the universe that is as complex, mystifying, or beautiful as a human being? From my own Christian perspective, the universe itself was constructed so that human beings, God's children could inhabit it. 

I recently sat down and wrote out which academic topics were most interesting to me. On my list was the following: Psychology, Philosophy, Religious Studies, History, Art, Music, Literature, and Culture. I realized that my preferred topics of study could basically be summarized as the study of humankind. In other words, what most interests me from an academic standpoint is the human being, all of its intricacies, interactions, and artistic productions. 

My realm of study, then is almost entirely focused on the humanities. Although it has been debated whether psychology falls into the humanities or the sciences (the sciences are winning), I believe psychology stands apart as a human science as opposed to a natural science. This means, there is something about human beings that makes them different in a significant way from the natural world. My argument would be that it is our soul, or the fact that we are children of God endowed with the potential to become like Him. 

My undergraduate degree was in psychology, and I intend to continue my studies in counseling. That is currently my most important academic undertaking. However, I am so interested in these other topics that I cannot help but study and write on them. Not to mention the fact that psychology, the study of the human mind, is intimately intertwined with these other topics.

As far as my study of psychology goes, I basically have two big questions I am trying to understand. They are:

1. How can we better understand human beings as they really are?

2. How can we best help them in a therapeutic setting?

I do not believe I can answer these questions if I do not examine the intersection of psychology with the various other subjects within the humanities. That being said, much of this blog will be devoted to the topics of psychology, religion, philosophy, art, music, literature, history, and culture. These are the topics that most interest me and that I have identified as being most important in my quest to both understand what it means to be human and how best we can help our fellow human beings.