Jared Ching! H4B !

Theory of Knowledge

July 14, 2012 Mr. Gan

What can we learn from art that we cannot learn from other areas of knowledge? Art is a special area of knowledge. The wide variety of forms art chooses to present itself can be used to deliver so much meaning and emotions. What we consider art, others might even see as something which is not worthy to be looked at. The knowledge issue I would like to raise is: To what extent is there certainty in art compared to the Natural sciences and human sciences? To learn about the different areas of knowledge, we must employ varying degrees of the different ways of knowing. Having certainty in an area of knowledge means that the point being raised by that area of knowledge is accepted by majority of people and that the reasoning behind the knowledge can be followed. It should be a truth everyone agrees to. The aim of this paper is to compare and contrast what art has to offer in knowledge compared to the natural sciences and human sciences The ability of art to express emotions stronger than any other area of knowing is unique to it. Through art, we learn to use language, sense perception, maybe even reason to learn and understand human emotion. Certainty in the arts can only come from two people, art experts and the artists themselves. Art experts know what separates good and bad art, they judge the art based on how well the art executes rules of composition while still being able to express emotion and a message. The artist uses art to portray what is important in life or emotion that he could not express in other ways. Art can define a culture. Because of this, art can be used to determine how people from a time period viewed different aspects of life. The emotional impact of an art piece shows the emotional value of it. The emotional value is the ability of the art to let its emotion known to the audience and how the audience feels it. There may be little certainty in how art is judged but knowledge can certainly come from it. If art is used to depict what people viewed as important in the past, that is knowledge on human behavior. A counter claim to this would be other reasons why people make art. If art is to be viewed as a representation of the past, why are there people who create art because they want to simply show emotion? This counter argument raises an important point, however different art forms should be viewed differently. There will be art where it is appropriate to subject it to subjectivity or objectivity. The art which are used to learn history should be seen using objectivity because subjectivity will allow it to be open to interpretation and no conclusion will be reached.

Jared Ching! H4B ! Theory of Knowledge

July 14, 2012 Mr. Gan

The natural sciences try to explain how the world works. We use sense perception to be able to observe what is happening around us. Reason allows us to follow the logic behind the natural sciences. The natural sciences is certain in a way that it allows us to have observable results and recurring results in experiments. Comparing the natural sciences and the arts, their certainty on a particular subject differs. The arts aim to give certainty to the amount of emotion a person feels. The expression of emotion in terms of literature gives a certainty to how emotions are felt even though we have not personally felt it. A counter claim that can arise form this is if the arts are certain in showing the degrees of emotion, why dont we use the natural sciences to explain the emotions we feel? The difference between the natural sciences and the arts in terms of experiencing emotion is the degree that we are able to communicate the emotion. What evoked the emotion can not be expressed through the sciences. Art can depict the violent situation which caused the feeling of sadness while natural sciences can show how our brain made us feel that way. The experience is unique to us which is what makes art have endless possibilities. There are art forms which represent real life and have an endless number of possibilities. The way our brains feel emotions can be explained by one explanation which is a mix of chemicals in our brains. The human sciences employ reason to show patterns in human behavior. Human sciences explore the patterns through surveys. Although the human sciences try to explain our behavior, there is no certainty in them. There will always be outliers to patterns in human behavior. Reasoning is used in human sciences more often that in the arts. The human sciences use cause and effect reasoning a lot. The reasoning used may be flawed making the certainty less certain than the natural sciences. The reasoning may be flawed in a sense that the causes can always be determined by other factors not taken into consideration by the experimenter. The difference between human sciences and art in trying to explain emotion is that the human sciences are looking for a pattern in human behavior however, with the arts, human emotion are free to take up any form or for us to use any medium to be able to show emotion. Arts ability to communicate ones own emotion is unique to its field. Art allows an artist to take a stance and own his emotions. The knowledge in natural sciences and human sciences are usually dictated by the authority behind these areas of knowledge. They are the driving force of the advances in these fields however, in art, the art itself is the driving force in the advancement of the field. Anyone can create a piece of art with patience and perseverance. Art may be viewed differently by different people but that is

Jared Ching! H4B ! Theory of Knowledge

July 14, 2012 Mr. Gan

why art is such an open area of knowledge. The endless possibilities of art and its mediums make it an area of knowledge which people drive, not just the authority behind it. A counter claim to this would be why there are art competitions which subject art into criticism by judges who are considered figures of authority on the field. They also promote the advancement of the area of knowledge but the wealth of art forms do not allow just a few judges to judge what is good art. Certainty in the arts can only be reached when the artist explains his reasons why he made that piece of art. This is where certainty comes from in the arts. Being able to relate to the emotions of the artist is where there is certainty, for example, in literature, a passage may be interpreted differently by different people but once the artists explains his side, everything will be clearer. The ability of art to portray different scenarios differently is what makes art different from the human and natural sciences. The human sciences and natural sciences breaks raw emotion into simple explanations and chemicals that their essence is lost and the feeling of actually feeling the emotions is not conveyed. In reality, a mixture of natural, human sciences and the arts should be taken into consideration when emotion is being explored. Without one or the other, emotion would not be possible. It is the personal experience and effect on us that allows us to feel and express emotions. Word Count: 1214