Definition Essay – Attempting to Define Art
Considering that last semester I took both History of Western Art and, in the philosophy department, Aesthetics, I would have thought that I am now in a better position than I was a year ago to answer the question, “What is art?” Going into the philosophy course I had the idea that art worked as a means of taking abstract values and placing them into concrete form. However, it soon became clear that there were many other praiseworthy things that could be said about art: it can be sublime, making us feel both the overwhelming force of nature and the overcoming strength of our free will (Kant); it bridges the natural and the ideal, allowing man to achieve political freedom (Schiller); it makes life bearable through tragedy, allowing civilized man to experience the Dionysian (Nietzsche). Whatever art is, it seems the experience of it is ineffable to a degree that philosophers can reasonably ascribe to it so many grand and diverse effects.
Even the idea that art represents our values comes into doubt. Hegel saw it as one of three ways of knowing, the other two being religion and philosophy. But as art’s power of representation failed to keep pace with progress in the other two, he announced that “art is, and remains for us, on the side of its highest destiny, a thing of the past.” He obviously did not anticipate the rise of modernity and non-representational art. Whether or not these works can compare to the great productions of the past is debatable, but they do exist in a thriving critical culture.
Finally, drawing a distinction between art and non-art is no easy task. The rapid increase in wealth created by capitalism in the past two centuri...
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...at means) use of a medium.
Another possible problem with these general characteristics of art is that they do not exclude the productions of animals. The music of songbirds is not generally considered art to us, but to birds it may be. This is not a minor point: while human art exists in a more complicated social context, our capacity for it is something we evolved. Our complex and varied aesthetics may be the outgrowth of biological urges to produce and receive art, just as the bird’s singing comes from an innate impulse. Philosophers have tended to look to proximate causes of why we produce art (i. e. because we find it beautiful) as opposed to ultimate causes (i. e. we find it beautiful because humans evolved in such a way that…). I do not know what insights biology and evolution can offer into art, but I think they promise to illuminate why humans produce it.
If I were to ask you what is art, and how can one find it? What would you say? Well if it were me being asked those question, I would simply say that art to me is a form of a picture; a visual painting or model of some design and it could be found all among us. You may define it differently only because art could be defined in many ways. I could simply say that art to me is a form of a picture; a visual painting or model of some design. Well according to an article written by Shelley Esaak, an art history expert she mentioned that art has a way of stimulating different parts of our brains to make us laugh or incite us to riot, with a whole gamut of emotions in between. She also mentioned that art gives us a way to be creative and express ourselves. [1]
American football is full of exciting competition, but do we realize the danger! Helmet safety in football remains an immense problem as the sport accounts for the highest incidence of concussions. Since leather football helmets, the technology for safer helmets has improved drastically and continue to improve. The development of newly designed helmets and technology has lowered the risk of head injuries for players. Furthermore, improvements in helmet testing methods have led to better understanding head injuries and the protectiveness of the helmet. In respect, football helmet safety still remains a challenge, such as a necessity of a proper categorization system to rank helmets and regulations to improve helmet safety. Regardless, standards and regulations attempt to address helmet safety through government intervention and a proper measuring system for football helmets. Despite the cultural perception of football, measures are taken to ensure safety, such as the reforms and education with regards to playing safer football. I intend to address the technological advances and regulation of football towards the discussion of helmet safety. Therefore the aggresivity in football’s culture should embrace stronger helmet standards and regulation that are promoted through improved testing methods and innovations because of the need to prevent further dangerous head injuries, especially concussions.
According to the Oxford dictionary, Art is an expression or application of human creative skill and imagination producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. (oxforddictionaries.com). In the area of the Arts, it seems that knowledge is attained through a holistic lens, where its approach towards knowledge emphasizes the whole of an artwork rather than their constituent parts (simplyphyschology.com). Art can be accessible since the audience is able to experience it directly, with the help of our senses. As viewer we enjoy aesthetic pleasure, which involves an appreciation of the contents in relation to vehicles or supports. (Levinson, 1996) In fact, according to Jerrold Levinson’s ‘The Pleasures of Aesthetics’
Powell, K. Kalina, C. (2009). Cognitive and Social Constructivism: Developing Tools for an Effective Classroom. Education, 130(2), 241-250. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1937522441&Fmt=7&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD. (Document ID: 1937522441).
The definition of art has always been a wondering question throughout the centuries. Even our discussions in class lead back to the meaning of art and the individual viewer. The author Cynthia Freeland in But Is It Art? reviews and examines the diversity of both art theory and art. Most of the theories she examined from the different eras and cultures fell short. None of the theories were successful in defining the definition of art. Cynthia states, “Art enhances our awareness of both ourselves and our world. Unlike scientific theories, a theory of art does not predict what artists are going to do next. Art theory as I have described in this book is still an explanatory enterprise. Art is something special (Freeland 208). Cynthia Freeland realizes she cannot categorize art, but believes that art will always be diverse!
Socrates was the first of the three great philosophers. Before devoting his life to his teachings and philosophies, he was a stonemason and also served as a soldier of some distinction during the Peloponnesian war. He never wrote any of his teachings down, and he preferred to speak about his beliefs and philosophies. He also involved himself with the political workings of Athens. He spent most of his life in discussion with young aristocratic men, unrelentingly questioning their blind confidence in popular opinion, but he never offered them any outlined abstract teaching. He merely conversed and questioned their beliefs. Also, unlike other Sophists of the time, he refused to accept pay for his teachings.
Socrates focuses his philosophy on life entirely on the discovery of knowledge and wisdom, ethics, and the soul. He was obsessed with seeking of knowledge and wisdom: he believed that they are the key to a good life. He went on to state that, “an unexamined life, is a life not worth living.” According to him, knowledge and wisdom correlate to ethical actions, ultimately resulting in a life of happiness, by
Although the rate of teenage pregnancy in the United States has declined greatly within the past few years, it is still an enormous problem that needs to be addressed. These rates are still higher in the 1990's than they were only a decade ago. The United State's teenage birthrate exceeds that of most other industrialized nations, even though American teenagers are no more sexually active than teenagers are in Canada or Europe.
Art has been around for as long as humanity has existed, and it is much more than just drawings or paintings. Art is what every a person makes of it. Art can be drawings, paintings, writings, or even dancing, but never is it contained to just one of those things. As we explore just two aspect of art it is important to realize that there is no right or wrong way to look at the art. Art comes in many different forms, in which they are all interpreted a little differently by different people. For me, when I read a poem I do not instantly know what the poet is trying to say and I don’t find it as interesting, but when I look at a painting so many more thoughts comes and I can’t help by imagine what that artist was thinking while he was painting.
Approximately one million teens get pregnant and give birth every year in the United States. Eighty percent of those births are to unmarried teens (ProQuest). There are serious consequences for teen pregnancy for the child as well as for the mother. The opportunity to a bright future dwindles down with such a high responsibility; a child. Many teens who end up pregnant do not finish high school and are less likely even consider going to college. Another effect of teen pregnancy is that both mother and child become apt to health issues. Infants are more likely to suffer from low birth weight and other health problems. Most teens do not have health insurance therefore it becomes harder to provide adequate healthcare for themselves and their babies. Not only are children of teen parents more likely to be unhealthy physically but sometimes emotionally as well. A teen cannot provide the fostering environment that a baby needs to develop. Although teen pregnancy rates declined throughout the 1990s, a 3 percent jump in births to teen mothers between 2005 and 2006 raised alarm that sex education programs and campaigns to reduce teen motherhood were failing (ProQuest). Various methods of contraceptives and the righteous yet difficult choice of abstinence are among possible solutions Preventing teen pregnancy is an issue in the United States of utmost importance and society as a whole must convince teens in a more innovative , extreme way and they must push forward now.
There are few questions quite as esoteric or as futilely subjective as the philosopher's "What is…?" Yet posing and answering this question in reference to the identity of art is critical to further discussions of our subject matter in this course. There is no way for us to discuss art until we have a working definition of what art is; we can't adequately use the term until we've defined it. To this end, I would like to submit this as a working definition: "Art is anything created for the purpose of communicating the sensations of emotional response to, or creating emotional response in, those who experience it."
What is art? It is an expression of human emotions and creativity. This can be through varies forms such as writings, sculptures, and paintings. Although, not everything is considered art. There is a defining line between what is art and what is not. For it to be art, it must go through three steps. They are: thought process of the artist, artists process of construction, self-evaluation, and critical reception. Which, are all art forms within themselves.
Art has had its roots, one may argue, when civilization was born. With each respective civilization and time periods from the past, humans have formed a diverse and unique society, a group of people with their own individual characteristics, cultures, as well as philosophies within which all kinds of differing ideas, thoughts and opinions are always brought upon for challenge and evaluation. These distinct aspects of a culture and/or time period may be recorded by people in varying forms of expression we all know as art. Directly from where culture had originated, events and/or emotions from that time period have been reflected or directly recorded in the arrangement of pictures i.e. paintings from the past which inform us about the people’s experiences and events in the past historical periods. Ultimately, History is the record of the development and how we have evolved as humans together in a society. History can be expressed and reflected in different kinds of music, sculptures, as well as paintings. There are several different periods of Art, each has contributed and reflected to how a society was. Art has been usually used by historians as one of the vehicles of history to illustrate and illuminate it as they are able to recognize that some types of art may be able to help them identify and explain the nature of societies and periods in history. Art and society have counteracted with each different type bringing forth new arts and new societies for many generations to come. Ideas have caused responses by citizens and therefore bring forth several different types of influences on a period’s background, heredity, and environments. These influences are then translated into new a idea, which then triggers the circle to repeat it...
According to U.S. Health and Human Services, 1 in 3 girls will get pregnant before she turns twenty. Almost 1 million teens get pregnant every year. Most of these pregnancies are unplanned, and cause turmoil for the teen mother, the baby's father, and their families. (surviving an unplanned pregnancy). As that may come as a shock, those statistics are realistic and accurate. In 2012 alone there were 29.4 live births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19. (hhs.gov). U.S. teen birth rate is slightly higher than any over developed country. U.S.A is holding the top rank in adolescent pregnancies. Of about 82% of pregnancy are found to be in teenagers having an age group between 15-20. (Teenage pregnancy: causes and facts). Childbearing at a young age impacts the adolescent parents both momentarily and in the forthcoming future. How can a child care for a child? They simply can't. “I’m still just as young as I was” she insists, “I haven’t grown up any faster.” (Wallis). Spoken by a young girl whom gave her perspective on giving birth at a young age. In society today, the uprising issue of adolescents having children, teen pregnancy, is becoming a lifetime impediment.
For the longest time, philosophers have shaped culture and beliefs into what is known as society today. Socrates was a Greek philosopher who inspired many (still inspiring the youth today) despite the controversial ideas he presented about 2,000 years ago. Philosophies and teaching of Socrates evolved the way of thinking and points of interests during the time period in which Socrates lived. This Greek philosopher’s teachings were unlike those of the social norms during 300 BC, which plays a significant role in the importance of Socrates today. Socrates was an innovating philosopher whose teachings made him one of the most influential figures in history.