人文學與人文教育：兼談人文學與臺灣高教的關係

The Humanities and Their Educational Role: With Remarks on the Relationship between the Humanities and Higher Education in Taiwan

本文的主題是人文學與人文教育，要先說明人文學科的性質和意義，然後藉此探討人文學與高等教育的關聯。我將選擇我認為特別有助於了解這些問題的角度開展討論。

人文學是在非常長的時間中形成的，內部的異質性高，個別學科往往有獨特的傳統，不同的社會也有相異的實踐方式，因此人文學的界定充滿困難，有關的論述很少。人文學性質的探尋雖然有很多障礙，但這項工作有助於深入認識人文學的價值和內部困難，並尋求發揚與改善之道。人文學的地位雖然長久處於低沉的狀態，但在現實上，人文學科又有其重要性，在教育中特別明顯。在高等教育，除了專業人文教育，人文學在一般教育（即通識教育）也有重要的角色。本文探討人文教育，將著重在人文學科和通識教育的關係，除了一般性的關係，也設法檢討臺灣人文通識教育的面貌與前景。

This essay has a dual theme: the humanities and their educational role. It attempts first to explain the essential characteristics of the humanities, and then, on the basis of this account, examine the relationship between the humanities and higher education.

The humanities have deep roots in premodern civilizations, and were formed during a very long span of time. As all major disciplines in the humanities have their distinctive traditions, they are a heterogeneous cluster of studies. It is therefore highly difficult to give coherent accounts of the humanities, and not many efforts exist in this regard. Yet such a task can yield a refreshed understanding of the values and internal difficulties of the humanities, and thus help us to improve and promote them. Although the humanities have suffered neglect in the academia in the face of the dominance of science, they retain importance in real life, particularly in the sphere of education as a central part of general education known as liberal arts education. In discussing the educational role of the humanities, this essay focuses on their relationship with general education. It will also examine the prospects of this aspect of higher education in Taiwan.