I think that subjects such as mathematics, the natural sciences, or the
social sciences require for a person to seek fact-based information
and come to a conclusion that is widely accepted. In the case of
studying the humanities, however, people are expected to come to
their own opinions about artifacts such as a musical piece or a
painting. In a subject like mathematics, there is usually only one right
answer. On the other hand, in regards to studying art, music, and
literature, there is no right or wrong answer most of the time. Which
emotion the artifact is playing at or how and why the artifact was
created is the discipline that is required for the humanities. The
biggest difference between the standard social sciences and the
humanities is the focus on expression. Humanities are all about how
humans express their emotions, whereas other social sciences are
primarily about the study of emotions, how they come to be, and
how they affect our actions. This means that there's a big focus on
the medium in humanities; more than any other social science there
seems to be a focus on the precise methods of human expression.
For example; why would an artist choose charcoal on paper over oil
on canvas, what does the color palette the artist chose say about the
emotions they were trying to convey, or does the artist choose to
blend colors together versus keeping them distinctly separate
amongst other questions.
