title: Do the Humanities Help Us Understand the World in Which We Live?
abstract: In this chapter, the author argues that humanities help individuals understand themselves and the world in which they live. The humanities contribute to the moral, historical, and political awareness; this occurs even if the events described in a literary text, a painting or sculpture, or an operatic or theatrical performance are more imaginative than factually accurate. The chapter then turns to a current event, namely, Russian President Vladimir Putin's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine. Readers 