Understanding Art: Definition, Creativity, and Science

• Art is the study or creation of beautiful things.

ARTS and its Definition:

• The word "ART" is derived from the Aryan root word "Ar", meaning to join or put together
• The word "ART" could come from the Greek words Artizein, meaning to join or put together, or Arkiskein meaning to prepare
• The word "ART" could come from the Latin word "Ars, Artis", meaning anything made artificially by man
• ART is a natural gift, talent, or capacity developed by study and practice for creative works
• ART comes from the Latin language "ars" which means skill or craft
• ART is one of the oldest and most important means of expression developed by human beings and has been a part of every society across the globe
• In the 21st century, ART is the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences to be shared with others

The Three Components of Creativity:

• Expertise
• Creative Thinking Skills
• Motivation

ART vs SCIENCE:

• Science is theoretical, art is practical
• Science teaches us to learn, art teaches us to do
• Science is acquired by study, art is acquired by practice

ART is a Universal Experience:

• Making art is a universal experience throughout human history
• Evident through the carvings of images inside caves made by emergence of the Cro-Magnon Man and allied Grimaldi people 2000 years ago
• Shang Dynasty of China molded bronze and jade sculptures reflecting authority, wealth and beauty 3000 years ago
• Pyramids constructed circa 2700 BC in Egypt, to perpetuate the memory of their great departed rulers
• Ancient Greece constructed the Parthenon from 447-327 BC celebrating Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
• Virgil was asked by Rome to write the "AENEID”, telling the story of Rome's legendary founder and proclaiming the Roman mission to civilize the world and to preserve the traditions of the great Roman race
• The Church started to chant the Glory of God and recorded music for the first time under Pope Gregory in the year 600 A.D
• Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael mesmerized the people of their paintings in Frescoes, Tempera and Oil of Humanist Idealism in the height of the renaissance of the 16th century
• The Prima Ballerina rose their toes gracing the courts of Louis XIV, the King of France (1643 – 1715)

The Historical Definitions of the ARTS:

• Art has arrived from different meanings to different people of different places throughout the ages

ART as a Pragmatic Instrument:

• Art is anything manufactured by man
• Art is an instrument for education and improvement
• Art is an instrument for religious and moral indoctrination
• Art is an instrument for the communication and expression of emotions
• Art is an instrument for the vicarious expansion of experiences

Art as a Reflection of Nature:

• Art makes use of Nature as an Inspiration
• Art can be a reflection of the Actual:
• Art can be a reflection of the Ideal
• Art can be a reflection of the imaginative actuality and the unachievable ideal

ART is Aesthetic Form:

• Art is an Autonomous Creation
• Art is an Organic Unity

Lesson 2: Introduction to Ethics:

• Ethics comes from the vast study of philosophy

Philosophy Defined:

• Philosophy can be defined and understood in 4 disciplines

The Etymological View:

• Philosophy defines a word by going back to the origin from where the word originated
• Philosophy is derived from two Greek words Philein meaning "the love of", and Sophia meaning "wisdom"
• In philosophy, wisdom that is being referred to is and must be rooted to truth, since the end of philosophy is the search for truth, as the saying goes: "Ang KATOTOHANAN lamang ang magpapalaya sa tao sa anino ng katangahan at kamangmangan..."

The Scholastic View:

• Philosophy as a Science of beings in their Ultimate Causes, Reasons, and Principles which can be known and can be understood by Pure Human Reason
• According to this view, everything can be known, explained, and understood by pure thinking and reasoning alone

The Existential View:

• Philosophy as a search for the meaning of life
• To search means to look, to find, to discover the meaning the purpose of one's existence
• Looking for the meaning of life is important and significant, consumes the whole person, and is an ongoing search without stopping until the answer is found

The Phenomenological View:

• Philosophy as an attitude
• Searching (nagahahanap)
• Questioning/Inquiry (nagtatanong)
• Interacting (nakikialam)
• This attitude is instrumental to an individual to understand fully, explain, uncover the meaning and reasons of our experiences
• Experience defines the meaning of one's life, because we learn from them
• Philosophy should not be limited to mere speculation, not to pure searching; instead look at it as an attitude
• A philosophy of encounter which gives premium on concrete lived experience, not on hypothetical happening
• An attitude that involves 3 processes, namely:

Epoché:

• A bracketing of what one already knows... in so doing, one can approach the object of the knowing with fresh unprejudiced judgment
• It is understanding freely without biases and assumptions in order to explain a phenomenon in terms of its own inherent system of meaning

Eidetic Reduction:

• Derived from the Greek word "Eidos" meaning, essence
• A process of removing the contingent material factors of an experience to its very nature

Transcendental Reduction:

• A process of putting one's experience in the level of my consciousness
• In this regard, we can easily understand the experience of others in so far as we personally experience the same
• Consciousness does not adapt itself to the object passively, rather, its very essence is to form meaning to the object
• There will be no object without a subject, and no subject without an object
• There will be no world without a man and no man without a world
• As Friedrich Wittgenstein's concept of "Dasein", that man is a being in the world, man as a being with the world
• The world is a human world, and man is a being-in-the-world

Lesson 3: The Models of Humanisms:

• The Greek ideal of full human development: Man according to the Greeks is composed of potentialities and abilities for growth and development

The Physical Abilities:

• The human body plays an important role in every individual
• Helps man to carry out his everyday activities
• The need to take care one's body and keep it to its top condition
• Even if the mind is willing, if the body is not able, still, we can do nothing, with the saying "MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO." A healthy mind in a healthy body

The Mental Abilities:

• Man is gifted with the capacity of thinking and reasoning
• Can make decisions and distinctions
• Makes inventions and innovations to make his dealings with life easier

The Communication Skills:

• Can communicate effectively
• Learns to read and write
• A man with the power of speech, speaks with wit and intelligence, can inspire and convince people

Social Skills:

• Man portrays a specific role in his life
• He can be a good son, a good brother, a good friend, a father, or a professional
• He can be a good individual who can contribute for the betterment of his community

The Oriental View of Human Existence:

• Living a full life is not living a mortal life, but rather, living a life as part of something greater (the greater reality)
• In other words, living a life with a purpose, finding one's meaning in life, losing oneself to it

The Hinduism:

• The Hindu believes that the greater reality is the Brahman, that is, the Hindu God
• It is holy and sacred and the source of all things
• The only thing that is real
• Apart from him, man is meaningless and useless
• The Atman, on the other hand, is the human soul
• A gift from God and therefore, holy and sacred
• Sin separates man from God
• It destroys the sanctity of the soul
• To regain the sanctity of the soul, Man must learn to live a life of sacrifice
• To seek the needs of others before oneself
• To give premium on helping others without expecting anything in return
• To live a life of selflessness
• Sacrifice teaches man to live a moral life as he prepares and cleanses his soul with moral deeds, and likewise, prepares himself in the time of death where he will return his soul to the rightful master of life that is, God

Confucianism:

• Confucius believed that the greater reality is the human society
• The human society can be broken down to 3 simple units
• The family
• The circle of friends
• The community or the state
• To reach the fullness of one's existence one must perform his utmost obligations to the social units, learn and fulfill his obligations and full responsibilities to the members of the family, the friends and in the community and state

Taoism:

• A teaching from the ancient China known as the "Tao", meaning - the way
• It is believed that it is the source of all things
• It is an all encompassing reality that leads and guide every being to move in the best possible way they can
• To live a full life is to follow the Tao
• To follow the Tao is to be wise
• Taoism teaches the virtue of humility and discipline
• To be humble is to live in harmony with nature
• To be humble is to live a moral and peaceful life
• To be humble teaches man to live a full human life

Hebrew Understanding of Human Life:

• The Hebrew defines Human Life as composed of challenges and situations wherein man is called to respond to it in a worthy and noble way
• For it is in a way of overcoming the challenges that man draws the meaning of his existence
• Challenges makes man draw out what is inside him and become a better person
• This humanism is not always limited to the religious faith, but in one's commitment to find ways to respond to the challenges of the situations
• "Nasa dyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa"

Other Humanisms:

• Humanisms of morality
• Founded on following directly all the moral laws of one's religion and society
• Obeying rules develops self discipline and right decisions and moral action, and teaches a man to live a righteous life

Humanism of Creativity:

• Founded on being creative in all aspects of one's life
• Being creative teaches man to make life's moments interesting and worth living

Humanism of Religion:

• Defines man as a child of God
• Living his life in following the will of God
• To love others as to Love God, and the emphasis is on prayer and worship in one's life

Humanism of Love:

• Founded on establishing deep relation with others
• Acceptance of the whole person along with being sensitive to the needs and experiences of others