LESSON 2: ASSUMPTIONS AND FUNCTIONS OF ART

LESSON 1: What Is Art: INTRODUCTION AND

ASSUMPTIONS

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Characterize the assumptions of arts;
2. Break down the different functions of art;
3. Explain the philosophical perspectives on art;
4. Identify and defend chosen philosophical perspectives on art; and
5. Engage better with personal experience of and in art.

ASSUMPTIONS OF ART

Art is universal
Literature has provided key works of art. Among the most popular ones being
taught in school are the two Greek epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. The Sanskrit
pieces Mahabharata and Ramayana are also staples in this field. These works,
purportedly written before the beginning of recorded history, are believed to be
man’s attempt at recording stories and tales that have been passed on, known, and
sung throughout the years. Art has always been timeless and universal, spanning
generations and continents through and through.
In every country and in every generation, there is always art. Oftentimes,
people feel that what is considered artistic are only those which have been made
long time ago. This is a misconception. Age is not a factor in determining art. An “…
art is not good because it is old, but old because it is good” (Dudley et al, 1960). In
the Philippines, the works of Jose Rizal and Francisco Baltazar (Balagtas)are not
being read because they are old. Otherwise, works of other Filipinos who have long
died would have been required in junior high school too. The pieces mentioned are
read in school and have remained to be with us because they are good. They are
liked and adored because they meet our needs and desires. Florante at Laura never
fails to teach high school students the beauty of love, one that is universal and pure.
Ibong Adarna, another Filipino masterpiece, has always captured the imagination of
the young with its timeless lessons. When we recite the Psalms, we feel in
communion with King David as we feel one with him in his conversation with God.
When we listen to a kundiman or perform folk dances, we still enjoy the way our
Filipino ancestors whiled away their time in the past. We do not necessarily like a
kundiman for its original meaning. We just like it.
A great piece of work will never be obsolete. Some people say that art is art for
its intrinsic worth. In John Stuart Mill’s Utilitarianism (1879), enjoyment in the arts
belongs to a higher good, one that lies at the opposite end of base pleasures. Art will
always be present because human beings will always express themselves and
delight in these expressions. Men will continue to use art while art persists and never
gets depleted.
Art is not nature
In the Philippines, it is not entirely novel to hear some consumers of local
movies remark that these movies produced locally are unrealistic. They contend that
local movies work around certain formula to the detriment of substance and
faithfulness to reality of the movies. These critical minds argue that a good movie
must reflect reality as closely as possible.
One important characteristic of art is that it is not nature. Art is man’s
expression of his reception of nature. Art is man’s way of interpreting nature. Art is
not nature. Art is made by man, whereas nature is given around us. It is in this
juncture that they can be considered opposites. What we find in nature should not be
expected to be present in art too. Movies are not meant to be direct representation of
reality. They may, according to the moviemaker’s perception of reality, be a
reinterpretation or even distortion of nature.
This distinction assumes that all of us see nature, perceive its elements in
myriad, different, yet ultimately valid ways. One can only imagine the story of the five
blind men who one day argue against each other on what an elephant looks like.
Each of the five blind men was holding a different part of the elephant. The first was
touching the body and thus, thought the elephant was like a wall. Another was
touching the beast’s ear and was convinced that the elephant was like a fan. The
rest was touching other different parts of the elephant and concluded differently
based on their perceptions. Art is like each of these
men’s view of the elephant. It is based on an
individual’s subjective experience of nature. It is not
meant, after all, to accurately define what the
elephant is really like in nature. Artists are not
expected to duplicate nature just as even scientists
with their elaborate laboratories cannot make
nature.
Art involves experience
 For most people, art does not require a full definition. Art is just experience.
By experience, we mean the “actual doing of something” (Dudley et al., 1960). When
one says that he has an experience of something, he often means that he knows
what that something is about. Knowing a thing is different from hearing from others
what the said thing is. Art is always an experience. A painter cannot claim to know
how to paint if he has not tried holding a brush. A sculptor cannot produce a work of
art if a chisel is foreign to him. Dudley et al. (1960) affirmed that
“art depends on experience, and if one is to know art, he must
know it not as fact or information but as experience.”

A work of art then cannot be abstracted from actual doing.

In order to know what an artwork is, we have to sense it, see or
hear it, and see and hear it. In matters of art, the subject’s
perception is of primacy. One can read hundreds of reviews about
a particular movie, but at the end of the day, until he sees the
movie himself, he will be in no position to actually talk about the movie. He does not
know the movie until he experiences it. An important aspect of experiencing art is its
being highly personal, individual, and subjective. In philosophical terms, perception
of art is always a value judgment. It depends on who the perceiver is, his tastes, his
biases, and what he has inside him. Degustibus non disputandum est (Matters of
taste are not matters of dispute). One cannot argue with another person’s evaluation
of art because one’s experience can never be known by another.
Finally, one should also underscore that every experience with art is
accompanied by some emotion. One likes or dislikes, agrees or disagrees that a
work of art is beautiful. A stage play or motion picture is particularly one of those art
forms that evoke strong emotions from its audience. With experience comes
emotions and feelings, after all. Feelings and emotions are concrete proofs that the
artwork has been experienced.
TASK: Describe the picture.

Why study the functions of art?

 Art reflects a society’s cultural ideas, values, and concerns, either collective or
individual.
 Cross-cultural studies of art shows that it represents different worldviews,
religious beliefs, political ideas, social values, kinship structures, economic
relations, and historical memory.
Let’s Discuss…

What Are the Functions of Art?

First, proceed with this caution: No piece of art can be "assigned" a function
(or functions), either in essay or in casual conversation, if it isn't first considered
within the proper context. Trying to classify function depends on context.
Ideally, one can and know (approximately) where it came from and when. The
best-case scenario includes identifying the artist, as well, because s/he is part of the
contextual equation (i.e.: What was the artist thinking at the time s/he created this?),
are the other half (i.e.: What does this piece of art mean to you, living right now?).
These are all factors that should be considered before trying to assign functions.
Besides, taking anything out of context can lead to misunderstanding, which is never
a happy place to visit.
The functions of art normally fall into three categories. These are personal,
social or physical functions. These categories can, and (often) do, overlap in any
given piece of art.

The Physical Functions of Art

The physical functions of art are often the most easy to understand. Works of
art that are created to perform some service have physical functions.
If you see a Fijian war club, you may assume that, however wonderful the
craftsmanship may be, it was created to perform the physical function of smashing
skulls.
A Japanese raku bowl is art that performs a physical function in the tea
ceremony.
Architecture, any of the crafts, and industrial design are all types of art that
have physical functions.

The Social Functions of Art

Art has a social function when it addresses aspects of (collective) life, as
opposed to one person's point of view or experience.For example, public art in 1930s
Germany had an overwhelming symbolic theme. Did this art exert influence on the
German population? Decidedly so. As did political and patriotic posters in Allied
countries during the same time.
Political art always carries a social function. The fur-covered Dada teacup,
useless for holding tea, carried a social function in that it protested World War I (and
nearly everything else in life).
Art that depicts social conditions performs social functions. The Realists
figured this out early in the 19th century. Dorothea Lange (and, indeed,  many
otherphotographers) often photographed people in conditions we'd rather not think
about.
Additionally, satire performs social functions. Francisco Goya and William
Hogarth both went this route, with varying degrees of success at enacting social
change.Sometimes having specific pieces of art in a community can perform the
social function of elevating that community's status. A Calder stabile, for example,
can be a community treasure and point of pride.

The Personal Functions of Art

 The personal functions of art are often the most difficult to explain. There are
many types of personal function, and they are subjective and will, therefore, vary
from person to person.
An artist may create out of a need for self-expression, or gratification. S/he
might have wanted to communicate a thought or point to the viewer. Perhaps the
artist was trying to provide an aesthetic experience, both for self and viewers. A
piece might have been meant to "merely" entertain others. Sometimes a piece isn't
meant to have any meaning at all.
Art has been used to attempt to exert magical control over time, or the
seasons or even the acquisition of food. Art is used to bring order to a messy and
disorderly world. Conversely, art can be used to create chaos when an artist feels life
is too staid and ordinary. Art can also be therapeutic - for both the artist and the
viewer.
Yet another personal function of art is that of religious service (lots of
examples for this, aren't there?). Finally, sometimes art is used to assist us in
maintaining ourselves as a species. Biological functions would obviously include
fertility symbols (in any culture), but I would also invite scrutiny of the ways we
adorn ourselves in order to be attractive enough to, well, mate.
You, the viewer, are half of the equation in assigning a function to art. These
personal functions apply to you, as well as the artist. It all adds up to innumerable
variables when trying to figure out the personal functions of art.

Philosophical Perspectives on Art

Art as an Imitation
In Plato’s metaphysics or view of reality, the things in this world are only
copies of the original, the eternal, and the true entities that can only be found in the
World of Forms. Human beings endeavor to reach the Forms all throughout this life,
starting with formal education in school. From looking at “shadows in the cave,” men
slowly crawl outside to behold the real entities in the world. For example, the chair
that one sits on is not a real chair. It is an imperfect copy of the perfect “chair” in the
World of Forms. Much is true for “beauty” in this world. When one ascribes beauty to
another person, he refers to an imperfect beauty that participates only in the form of
beauty in the World of Forms. Plato was convinced that artists merely reinforce the
belief in copies and discourage men to reach for the real entities in the World of
Forms.
Plato was deeply suspicious of arts and artists for two reasons: they appeal to
the emotion rather than to the rational faculty of men and they imitate rather than
lead one to reality. Poetry and painting, the art forms that Plato was particularly
concerned with, do not have any place in the ideal state that Socrates (as the
protagonist) in Plato’s dialogue envisions. First, Plato is critical of the effects of art,
specifically, poetry to the people of the ideal state. Poetry rouses emotions and
feelings and thus, clouds the rationality of people. Poetry has a capacity to sway
minds without taking into consideration the use of proper reason. As such, it leads
one further away from the cultivation of the intellect that Plato campaigned for.
Likewise, Socrates is worried that art objects represent only the things in this world,
copies themselves of reality. As such, in the dialogue, Socrates claimed that art is
just an imitation of imitation. A painting is just an imitation of nature, which is also just
an imitation of reality in the World of Forms.
Art as a Representation
Aristotle, Plato’s most important student in philosophy, agreed with his
teacher that art is a form of imitation. However, in contrast to the disgust that his
master holds for art, Aristotle considered art as an aid to philosophy in revealing
truth. The kind of imitation that art does is not antithetical to the reaching of
fundamental truths in the world. Talking about tragedies, for example, Aristotle
(1902) in the Poetics claimed that poetry is a literary representation in general. Akin
to other art forms, poetry only admits of an attempt to represent what things might
be. For Aristotle, all kinds of art, including poetry, music, dance, painting, and
sculpture, do not aim to represent reality as it is. What art endeavors to do is to
provide a vision of what might be or the myriad possibilities in reality. Unlike Plato
who thought that art is an imitation of another imitation, Aristotle conceived of art as
representing possible versions of reality.
In the Aristotelian worldview, art serves two particular purposes. First, art
allows for the experience of pleasure. Experiences that are otherwise repugnant can
become entertaining in art. For example, a horrible experience can be made an
object of humor in a comedy. Secondly, art also has an ability to be instructive and
teach its audience things about life; thus, it is cognitive as well. Greek plays are
usually of this nature.
Art as a Disinterested Judgment
In the third critique that Immanuel Kant wrote, the “Critique of Judgement,”
Kant considered the judgment of beauty, the cornerstone of art, as something that
can be universal despite its subjectivity. Kant mentioned that judgment of beauty,
and therefore, art, is innately autonomous from specific interests. It is the form of art
that is adjudged by one who perceives art to be beautiful or more so, sublime.
Therefore, even aesthetic judgment for Kant is a cognitive activity.
Kant recognized that judgment of beauty is subjective. However, Kant
advanced the proposition that even subjective judgments are based on some
universal criterion for the said judgment. In the process, Kant responded to the age-
old question of how and in what sense can a judgment of beauty, which ordinarily is
considered to be a subjective feeling, be considered objective or universal. For Kant,
when one judges a particular painting as beautiful, one in effect is saying that the
said painting has induced a particular feeling of satisfaction from him and that he
expects the painting to rouse the same feeling from anyone. There is something in
the work of art that makes it capable of inciting the same feeling of pleasure and
satisfaction from any perceiver, regardless of his condition. For Kant, every human
being, after perception and the free play of his faculties, should recognize the beauty
that is inherent in a work of art. This is the kind of universality that a judgment of
beauty is assumed by Kant to have. So when the same person says that something
is beautiful, he does not just believe that the thing is beautiful for him, but in a sense,
expects that the same thing should put everyone in awe.
Art as a Communication of Emotion
The author of War and Peace and Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy, provided
another perspective on what art is. In his book, What is Art (2016), Tolstoy defended
the production of the sometimes truly extravagant art, like operas, despite extreme
poverty in the world. For him, art plays a huge role in communication to its
audience’s emotions that the artist previously experienced. Art then serves as a
language, a communication device that articulates feelings and emotions that are
otherwise unavailable to the audience. In the same way that language
communicates information to other people, art communicates emotions. In listening
to music, in watching an opera, and in reading poems, the audience is at the
receiving end of the artist communicating his feelings and emotions.
Tolstoy is fighting for the social dimension of art. As a purveyor of man’s
innermost feelings thoughts, art is given a unique opportunity to serve as a
mechanism for social unity. Art is central to man’s existence because it makes
accessible feelings and emotions of people from the past and present, from one
continent to another. In making these possibly latent feelings and emotions
accessible to anyone in varied time and location, art serves as a mechanism of
cohesion for everyone. Thus, even at present, one can commune with early
Cambodians and their struggles by visiting the Angkor Wat or can definitely feel for
the early royalties of different Korean dynasties by watching Korean dramas. Art is
what allows for these possibilities.
Let’s Wrap It Up
These assumptions on art are its universality; it’s not being nature, and its
need for experience. Art is present in every part of the globe and in every period
time. This is what is meant by its universality. Art not being nature, not even
attempting to simply mirror nature, is the second assumption about art. Art is
always a creation of the artist, not nature. Finally, without experience, there is no
art. The artist has to be foremost, a perceiver who is directly in touch with art.
Art has remained relevant in our daily lives because most of it has played
some form of function for man. Since the dawn of the civilization, art has been at
the forefront of giving color to man’s existence. The different functions of art may
be classified as personal, social, or physical. An art’s function is personal if it
depends on the artist herself or sometimes still, the audience of the art. There is a
social function in art if and when it has a particular social function, when it
addresses a collective need of a group of people. Physical function, finally, has
something to do with direct, tangible uses of art. Not all products of art have
function. This should not disqualify them as art though. As mentioned and
elucidated by some of the most important thinkers in history, art may serve either
as imitation, representation, a disinterested judgment, or simply a communication
of emotion.
Other perspectives:

Art forms us by meeting our needs. Not our most basic needs for food or
shelter, but deeper and more subtle ones that define us as people and as members
of a society. These needs vary with time and cultural setting. In a culture in which
religion is very important, for example, a great deal of art answers that need. In our
own society, which emphasizes individual achievement, much of our art is devoted to
self-expression. Note that here we are considering public purposes and functions of
art, not the personal goals or needs of artists themselves. Thus, we consider art in its
social and cultural context, as it relates to six functions, with several diverse
examples of each: delight, commentary, worship, commemoration, persuasion, and
self-expression.

Art for Delight

Many of us probably think of delight as the principal goal of art. Why create
art, after all, if not for someone’s pleasure or
enjoyment? We need delight, enjoyment, pleasure,
decoration, amusement, and embellishment in our
lives to “lift us above the stream of life,” as a noted
art critic wrote. Absorbed in contemplating a work,
we forget where we are for a moment. Visual
delight in a work of art can take many forms,
including an appreciation of beauty or decoration,
or delight in an element of surprise. Aesthetics
refers to an awareness of beauty or to that quality
in a work of art or other manmade or natural form
which evokes a sense of elevated awareness in the
viewer. Most cultures that have a definition of “beautiful” define it as something
pleasing to the eye, and often approximating to an ideal of some sort. In the Western
tradition works from classical Greece or the Renaissance are most frequently
described as beautiful. However, what is pleasing to the eye (and hence to the sense
of beauty) varies considerably across cultures. Most definitions of beauty in painting
include a pleasant or inspiring subject, thoughtful execution, and a harmonious
balance of colors in a pleasing arrangement. The nineteenth-century artist James
Abbott McNeill Whistler attempted to create a beautiful work when he painted
Nocturne: Blue and Gold— Old Battersea Bridge (Fig. 2.1).

Art as Commentary

Art has often been used to answer to our need for information. Before the
advent of photography in the nineteenth century, artists and illustrators were our only
source of information about the visual appearance of
anything. By providing a visual account of an event or a
person, or by expressing an opinion, artists have shaped
not only the way people understand their own world but
also how their culture is viewed by others. Artists who fulfill
our need for commentary often speak in a language easy
to understand; they view art’s primary goal as
communication between artist and viewer by means of
subject matter. Nineteenth-century painter Gustave
Courbet spoke for this function of art when he wrote, “To
record the manners, ideas, and aspect of the age as I
myself saw them—to be a man as well as a painter, in
short to create a living art—that has been my aim.” One of
the classic instances of commentary in Western art is
Francisco Goya’s print series The Disasters of War. Goya made 82 prints dealing
with various episodes in Spain’s 1808–14 war of resistance against domination by
Napoleon. I Saw This (fig. 2.6), for example, shows a stream of refugees fleeing their
homes in advance of invading troops. The mother and child in the foreground draw
an unbelieving stare from another refugee at the left. Goya
both witnessed and recorded many scenes in that conflict,
some of them rather gruesome; the title of this work
indicates his presence at the scene. His commentaries in
The Disasters of War form a strong protest against the
brutality and violence of conflict. In order to improve their
distribution, he created them as prints, or works that exist
in multiple copies.
Capturing what they had seen was also one of the
more important goals of the Impressionist artists of the
nineteenth century.Artists’ commentaries often include
personal judgments on conditions, facts, or politics.

Art in Worship and Ritual

Another function of art has been to enhance religious contemplation, and
most of the world’s religions have found ways to incorporate artists’ creativity into
their sacred rituals, places, and ceremonies. One of the most important Roman
Catholic theologians, Thomas Aquinas, wrote in the thirteenth century of the function
of art as an aid to religious teaching: “It is befitting Holy Scripture to put forward
divine and spiritual truths by means of comparisons with material things. For God
provides for everything according to the capacity of its nature.” He wrote, “It is
natural for man to be pleased with representations,” meaning that we humans enjoy
looking at pictures of things. Thus an artwork, if attractively presented, “raises
[viewers] to the knowledge of intelligible truths.” This belief about art dominated
visual creativity during the period in which Aquinas lived, the Middle Ages. In the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries in Europe, towering cathedrals were drenched in
light, a symbol of God’s presence, through windows that illustrated Bible stories and
divine truths.
The Tree of Jesse (fig. 2.9), in Chartres Cathedral in France, illustrates the
genealogy of Christ, starting with the Jewish patriarch Jesse in red at the base of the
tree. The spreading branches above show four kings in successive layers, then
Mary, the mother of Jesus; Christ himself sits at the top. The composition leads the
eye upward toward Christ, a metaphor for elevating the mind beyond the physical
world toward the spiritual. For worshippers the window thus reveals Christ’s
humanity—as evidenced through this ancestry—but also provides a vehicle for
religious transcendence. Avenues to the spiritual realm are as varied as cultures
themselves.

Art for Commemoration

 As the word itself suggests, commemoration
is something done as an aid to memory. We all
have a profound need to remember and show
respect for those who have gone before us. Some
commemoration is personal, as we each hold
memories of people important in our lives.But
commemoration is more often a more public act,
perhaps celebrating a significant person or event, or
honoring patriotic actions. Commemoration of any
kind connects us with the chain of humanity that
stretches back for millennia, making human life
seem more significant and valuable. Visual imagery
has played a decisive role in most types of
commemoration. One of the world’s best-known
monuments, the Taj Mahal in India (fig. 2.13), is an
example of personal commemoration. Erected in
the seventeenth century on the banks of a river between a guest house and a small
mosque, the Taj Mahal (which means “Crown of the Palace”) was a tomb for the
Mughal ruler Shah Jahan’s favorite wife, who died in childbirth. It sits at one end of a
four-part paradise garden that recalls the description of Paradise in the Qur’an. The
surface of the white marble exterior seems to change color by catching sunlight at
various angles. The proportions of the bulb-shaped dome make the building look
light, as if it barely touches the ground. The Taj
Mahal’s testament to romantic love and devotion,
and its combination of otherworldliness and beauty,
draws visitors from across the world.

Art for Persuasion

Many art forms have a persuasive function.
Splendid government buildings, public monuments,
television commercials, and music videos all
harness the power of art to influence action and
opinion. They invite and urge us to do or think
things that we may not have otherwise thought of.
We do not know which ancient Roman artist or
artists created the Augustus of Prima Porta (fig.
2.16), but we do know that they created one of the
most beautiful pieces of persuasive art. The
emperor Augustus wears a military uniform as he
stands, one arm extended, gesturing as if to
address his troops. He wears the body armor of the
day, a breastplate with relief sculptures that tell of a military victory, amid depictions
of various Roman gods. We know from contemporary coins and other statues that
the head is indeed a portrait. The face is calm, and the body seems to stride
serenely, with assurance. This is a leader in deliberate action.But the statue implies
that the emperor may be more than a man. The shoeless feet follow the Roman
manner of representing gods, and along his right calf, the Cupid riding the dolphin is
a subtle reminder that Augustus’s family claimed descent from the goddess Venus
(the mother of Cupid). Augustus seems to have tolerated such rumors of divine
parentage, which likely brought him political benefits. This statue was found in a
private home, but it resembles others that the Romans routinely set up in public
places, requiring citizens to bow toward them or salute as they passed. The Romans
knew that societies run more efficiently if the people believe their rulers to be strong
and wise, and this statue boldly encourages that belief.

Art as Self-Expression
For most of human history, self-
expression has not been a primary reason for
creating art. Other social and cultural needs,
such as the five we have already considered,
more fully engaged the talents of artists. In
more recent times, however, particularly
when a great deal of art is sold as a private
possession, self-expression has increasingly
become one of art’s most common functions.
Art fulfils an expressive function when an
artist conveys information about his or her
personality or feelings or worldview, aside
from a social cause, market demand,
commissioning ruler, or aesthetic urge. Such
art becomes a meeting site between artist and viewer, the viewer feeling empathy
and gaining an understanding of the creator’s personality. We all derive comfort from
the fact that others in the world are similar to ourselves, and artists’ various modes of
self-expression reach out to us in hopes of establishing a bond. Self-portraiture has
traditionally been an important vehicle by which artists reach out to us. Felix
Nussbaum’s Self-Portrait with Jewish Identity Card (fig. 2.22) is one of the more
compelling works of this type. The artist furtively turns back his collar to reveal the
yellow star that the Nazi regime required all Jews to wear. In his other hand he holds
the card with his ethnicity prominently displayed in red block letters. The high wall
behind, and his sidelong glance, tell of an existence haunted by fear and oppression.
The artist invites us to share his personal and political anxiety. Nussbaum’s life
played out tragically: In the year after he painted this
work, he was arrested and sent to a concentration
camp, where he joined the millions of other victims of
the Holocaust.
Kandinsky often named his works after
musical forms, because he wanted them to
communicate as music does: “Color directly
influences the soul,” he wrote; “Color is the
keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the
piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that
plays, touching one key or another purposefully, to
cause vibrations in the soul.” He hoped that the souls
of viewers would resonate with the rhythms and
colors of his paintings, and infect viewers with the
same emotions that he felt while creating them. As
we have seen, many works of art may fulfil more
than one function; art that is persuasive may also
delight with its beauty; a religious work may also express the creator’s personal
quest for transcendence; a commemorative piece may also inform us. Yet all art
meets one human need or another, and has the power to shape our lives in many
ways.

KEY TERMS
aesthetics – in the art context, the philosophy of art focusing on questions regarding what art
is and how it is evaluated, the concept of beauty, and the relationship between the idea of
beauty and the concept of art

idealism – the representation of subjects in an ideal or perfect state or form

Let’s Work On These

Among the given philosophical perspectives, choose three (3) and defend
why you agree with each viewpoint.

Let’s Make It Happen

Choose one artwork under each given category that you are familiar with. This
can be the last artwork that you have come across with or the one that made the
most impact to you. Criticize each using the guide questions provided.
Categories:
Movie Novel Poem
Music An architectural structure A piece of clothing

Category: ___________________________
Artwork: ____________________________

 What is it about? What is its function?What is it made of?

 What is its style? How good is it?
 What is its philosophical perspective?