Day 5—Art’s role in Society

Introduction
Art for art’s sake is a relatively recent idea among philosophers of art and the larger society. In some
societies today, art is still seen as primarily a public affirmation of the cultural values held in common.
The relationship between art and morals has a long history of on-again/off again romance. Do the art
objects with which we surround ourselves help us become better or worse people? In the Republic Plato
argued that art was so powerful that it could circumvent reason and therefore must be rigorously
controlled for the public good. As an imitation of an imitation (the physical world around us), art offers
us a twice-removed access to what is real and to be valued. That puts it in last place in Plato’s desired
educational system. In fact, art is intrinsically deceptive.

Aristotle charts a more positive function for art as an important part of moral education. He claims that
art offers us ways to engage our hearts and minds about virtue and vice, thereby effectively shaping our
character in positive but also negative ways. It matters, to Aristotle, which music you listen to, what
artists and poets you admire. For example, in his Politics* Aristotle offers an extensive argument for a
positive role for music within his larger educational project. He details the various musical modes and
how they can be used to calm or excite. He points out in Book VIII that the value of music could be seen
in three ways:
1. for the sake of amusement, entertainment, relaxation: this justification sees music as a way to
relax after the hard work of learning but as such it is really an interlude, not educative in its own
right. Music is a form of play.
2. Music can lead to better character, to virtue: in this sense, music is not mere play but can “form
our minds and habituate us to true pleasure.” This idea that we must learn to appreciate good
pleasure, or rather- take pleasure in the right things, is a central one in Aristotle’s ethical theory.
One of the key justifications for early education in virtue is to form deep-seated tendencies to
enjoy what is right and feel pain at what is wrong. This second role is clearly a practical
application of music in character education.
3. Music can contribute to the enjoyment of our leisure time and further our mental development.
This last view suggests that music serves as an enrichment of the human experience and its
function is broader than simply that of character development or mere play.

* Aristotle, Politics, VIII, 1339. From the Basic Works of Aristotle, Richard McKeon (editor,) Random
House, 1941, p. 1310.

Centuries later Leo Tolstoy would argue that art must increase the good in society or else it should be
banned or censored. Karl Marx and latter Soviet ideology especially embraced the ideal of art’s function
to support state.

To the extent that art can indeed powerfully both express and even elicit emotions, we can appreciate the
philosophical questions concerning its moral impact. Coupled with this is the question of offensive art.
Can art be evil? Promote evil actions? Hurt persons?

Reading and Discussing

Consider giving your students the above referenced excerpt from Aristotle’s Politics or some passages
from Tolstoy’s essay “What is Art” : http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/361r14.html for reading critically
and discussion. [This reading is included in the packet with credit given to the author.]
Case Studies for discussion
For each case, encourage the students to understand the issue at stake, examine the arguments for and
against and develop their own positions through dialogue within the classroom community.
Case One: offending religious sensibilities
In 1996 the mayor of New York City instigated a protest against the Brooklyn Museum of Art for
displaying a work by the Nigerian artist Chris Ofili which depicted the Virgin Mary (a Roman Catholic
icon) with elephant dung. Art Professor Michael Davis of Mt. Holyoke College offers a pro/con study on
his website: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/csj/991008/madonna.html

Case Two: Public funding for art? The Mapplethorpe and Serrano controversies
Read the article on the controversy over public funding for art that offended the public sentiment:
http://www.publiceye.org/theocrat/Mapplethorpe_Chrono.html

Case Three: rap and violence

In 1992 the band Bodycount with lead singer Ice-T came out with a song entitled “Cop Killer” which
allegedly expressed the singer’s outrage at police brutality and his desire to fight back by killing cops, a
radical solution to be sure. This generated a wave of protest and much condemnation of rap in general as
inciting violence, lawlessness and being terrible music for impressionable young people.

Have your students research the history of this song* or others which have been condemned for glorifying
violence or misogyny. Should music be censored? For people under a certain age or for everyone?

*Warning; lyrics include bad language and references to violence.

Discussion Plan: Art to heal/ art to help

Art has also been praised for promoting peace, healing schisms and bringing people together in times of
grief, both personal and communal. This function of art may be considered independently of its aesthetic
value. Consider the following questions in groups:

1. What examples do we have of art that helped heal bad times?

2. How important is it that art promote virtue, good character?
3. In examples of art such as film and literature, should good always triumph over evil?
4. Should we censor art? For everyone or only for children? Why or why not? If yes, who should
make the determination of censorship?
Larger Role for the Arts in Society: testcase—Music
Aristotle may have had a point when he highlights the power of music to move us towards calm or
excitement. What purpose do the following examples offer in their context? Can you come up with some
examples to illustrate each type of event or situation?
1. music in church or temple
2. music at football games and other sporting events
3. music in parades
4. bagpipes in war
5. music at political rallies
6. wedding and funeral music
7. music in a concert hall
8. benefit showing of a Broadway musical
9. Other venues?

Are we “mis-using” art if we treat it as performing some non-aesthetic function?

Art in the global context

Up to now you most likely have focused on art in the Western (European and American) traditions. If
there is time, consider devoted a discussion to art from different societies. How does art function within
the Native American tribal cultures? The ancient Mayan? How do the many different cultures on the
African continent make and use art? This discussion would best develop from an examination of sample
works from a wide range of cultures with background research on the role of art within that culture.

Activity
Have students research and bring in examples (images or recordings) of artwork from non-Western
cultures, either historical or contemporary.

 How does art function in that society/culture?

 What aesthetic criteria are used to judge “good” art in that tradition? Or does the concept of
“good art” not function there?
 Can someone from the outside understand and appreciate these art forms?
 In what ways do artistic traditions enrich or “cross-pollinate” one another?
Concluding session in Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art: Assessment

Congratulations! You and your students have explored a wide range of aesthetic topics and have begun to
realize the rich confusion that philosophy of art introduces into our lives. Revisit the original list of
questions from the first class and have the students write a reaction paper to their experiences.
Which question interested them the most? The least?
What questions remain tantalizingly open?
Has their thinking about art changed at all?
How will their experience of art be similar or different from having explored these topics?

Possible Projects
1. Have the students create a work of art that captures some of the questions that they have
discussed. One option might be to give each student a camera or encourage them to use their own
cameras (or cell phones) and create a display which illustrates their philosophical adventures.
2. Have the students present a panel to the school on aesthetics and philosophy of art in which a
number of them work on papers and presentations to share with the broader school community.
3. Have the students perform the play ART for the school community and run a discussion
afterwards.
4. Encourage the students to develop their own capstone project in reaction to the readings,
discussions and activities of the Aesthetics Units.