Humanities and Arts: Effective and Essential Agents in Engineering Education

Undoubtedly, life in the Technological and Information age, without a deep familiarization of the relation between engineering science and society issues such as human; social; artistic; economic; and management issues, and without considering the needs and capabilities can be breathtaking. In other words, and in general terms, technology developments can have a sweet taste to the society only when the humanistic needs and issues are to be considered. Since Iranian culture and traditions have deep historical roots, so much so that they have influenced the life of some of the world’s scientists, writers, and poets, we found it necessary, at first, to review the humanistic aspects of everyday life of some Iranian notables and scientists, in order to show the importance of the issue and to make our points clearly. It is interesting that, when we study the life of these Iranian notables and scientist, we will soon notice the fact that: in the past, most Iranian scientists, although they were experts in mathematical sciences, astronomy, and medicine, they have gained most of their respect and famed life by having a close contact with the society using the humanistic tools in the form of art, poetry, painting, philosophy, mysticism, etc. Finally, observing and believing the fact that humanities and arts are not a choice, but an essential part of today’s life, we shall discuss the importance of humanities and arts in education, development and optimum utilization of the present and future technologies. In addition, the role of technological and engineering universities in delivering the novel concepts and learning features of humanities and arts in engineering programs will be discussed.