Contemplative solidarity

The term ‘civic’ refers to activities or events that involve people working for the betterment of their community. Following on from the concept of solidarity (‘asabiyya’) as first identified by Ibn Khaldun, the 14th-century jurist and sociologist, this article explores how the Arts and Humanities promote such involvement. In the 20th century, anthropologist Jacques Maquet identified the significance of the contemplative impulse in the ideational level of human society’s structure. Scholars have since recognised the significance of aesthetic appreciation and contemplative pauses in drawing a community together in contemplative solidarity. It is without question that the Arts and Humanities play an important role in enhancing, encouraging, and promoting civic society solidarity. (This article is published in the thematic collection ‘The arts and humanities: rethinking value for today—views from Fellows of the British Academy’, edited by Isobel Armstrong.)