Common Sources of Value in Arts

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Journal of Philosophy, Inc.

Common Sources of Value in the Arts and Everyday LifeAuthor(s): Charles A. Fritz, Jr.Source: The Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 43, No. 18 (Aug. 29, 1946), pp. 486-496Published by: Journal of Philosophy, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2018955 .

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486 THE JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHYpurposewas, npart, to place the primary ualities n nature,wheretheywould be within heprovinceof the physicist, nd to excludethesecondary ualities fromnature, o that thescientistwouldnothave tobe concernedwiththem. But it is not because the primaryqualities are in naturethatthe scientistdeals withthem,nor is itbecause the secondary qualities are in the mind that he neglectsthem. The validityof sciencedoes not restupon such a metaphysi-cal basis: sciencewas not underminedwhenBerkeleydemonstratedthat thesamearguments sed to provethat secondary ualities arein themind can likewisebe used to show thatprimary ualities arein themind. The reason thescientist ealswiththe primary uali-ties is thattheyare quantitative, nd admitof precisetreatment;and the reason he excludes the secondaryqualities is that they be-long to the realm of the vague. Descartes' view thatthe primaryqualitiesare distinct, hesecondary ualities confused, omes closerto thetruth handoes theLockeanconception.The naturalsciencesdeal with the quantitative nd precisefea-tures of reality, whereas philosophy, n contrast,deals with thequalitativeand vague aspectsofreality. This is an important if-ferencebetweenphilosophy nd science. It accountsfor some ofthe lag of philosophybehind the natural sciences, nd it must betakeninto accountby any viewwhich regards science as the idealstructure f knowledge r whichattempts o adapt themethodofthe natural sciencesto philosophy. ARTHUR W. BURKSSWARTHMORE COLLEGE

COMMON SOURCES OF VALUE IN THE ARTS ANDEVERYDAY LIFETHE result of manyesthetic heoriesunfortunatelys to set theartistup as a race apart with whom those who practice theordinary ctivities f mancan have no common ond. The artist'swork, t is said, produces for him its own values and satisfactionswhichcan not be obtained in any other activity, nd which canonly be obtainedby mendevoting t the east their pare time, ndperhaps their ives, entirely o art. The performance f the ordi-nary activitiesof men, so runs the theory, ives them no satisfac-tion; theymustturn n some otherdirection o find he meaning nlife. Yet there are expressions n common peech which seem toindicate a belief that the ordinaryworkerdoes at timesfind ignifi-cance in his work, nd even shares some of the values experiencedby the professional rtist. Thus we speak sometimes f an indi-vidual's work as "a workof art," such as a general's battle, a


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COMMONSOURC.0S OF VALUE IN ARTS 487conceptionof government, r, more humbly, a new bridge or ateacher's class. Of course,onemight ay that suchuses of "art"are merelyfigurative ses elevating heworker o a heighthe canneverreally attain; but actually feel theyare verynearthe truthof thematter.I shouldlike to showin thispaper that art is rathera mannerof doing things, n attitudetoward work,than a definite rofes-sion or finished roductof somekind. A painter is not then anartist because he paints pictures,but because by so doinghe hasmanagedto organizehismedium n a way thatexpresses ome viewof his of the world. His interesthas been in this organizing, hispainting process,because in thiswayhe has derived a certainself-satisfaction, ertain values that make him prize his profession sgiving meaningto his life. These values he would not have ob-tainedif he had paintedfrom n interest otin thepainting tself,but in the prestige or wealththatmight result from his finishedpicture. Yet menin any professionwill find heycan obtain self-satisfactionwhen theycarry on thatprofession rom n interestnit itself, n its problems, n mastering ts materials as well as pos-sible, rather than in the ulterior resultsof their work; and thatsatisfactionwill be of the samekindas theartist'sin his work. Itis thenthis distinction etweenworkingbecause of an interest nthework tself nd because of whatevergain may be expectedtoberealized from t that differentiateshe artist and the mere workerregardlessof what profession heymay be engaged in.A definition f "art" is usually determined y the delineationof the subject-matter onsidered, nd it is the inclusiveness f thisdelineation that will decide much as to the applicability of theentiretheory. Thus many esthetic heories oncern only the finearts (some, ndeed, onlypainting), and oftenonly the objects pro-duced by them, nd the conception f art derived from hem s toonarrow to include the more unconventional xamples of art I men-tioned at first. The definition f "art," as of most other words,is partly a matter of choice; if someonewants to talk about artand means by "art" onlypainting, that is his privilege. Often,however, houghthe definitionmay be arbitrary, t is not obviousto theindividual making t howarbitrary t is; and he may be ledto make dogmatic statements bout all art, which if the originalview of art is too restrictedmay have unfortunate onsequences.Thus beginning nlyfrom heobjects of the fine rts t will be diffi-cult to include the satisfaction roduced by more everyday ctivi-ties, nd theartist s a resultbecomes eparatedfrom therworkers.To arriveat the wider conception f art that is the purpose of thispaper, it is necessaryto include types of activitywhoseproducts


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488 THE JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHYwould not ordinarilyqualify for the title"work of art," and seeif some conception f the artisticprocesscan not be derivedfromsuch a consideration. Several examplesof these activities re pre-sented n the next section.

First of all, there s thecase of a man,a writer f technicalpub-lications, who thoughtof himself-privately-as an artist. Onemighthave consideredhim a hack, writingdetailed explanationsof various complicatedpieces of radio equipmentfor the armyorengineeringconcerns. In such work he had first of all to bethoroughly cquainted with the equipmenthe was explaining aswell as withthe basic principles underlying he operationof anyradio set. He was, besides, workingunderdefiniteimitations,henature of his subject-matter,he deficienciesn backgroundof hisreaders, and various arbitrary stipulationsthat he had to meet,suchas length, definite utline statinghowmany paragraphsthebook would have and in general what each would contain. Yetstarting rom omany givenconditions e still had enoughfreedomtomake a distinctive ook, somethingwhose style and organizationin spite of the predetermined utline could express something fhis own personality.This writerbelieved that there were two important ources forhis satisfaction n the finished ook: the fact of having organizedall elements fhis materialforthe best solution f his problem, ndhis absorption n thatmaterial. The fact that the book was com-plete he believed to be a necessary lement n his satisfaction;forhe felt his problemof presenting theorycould not be solved byomitting ny relevant facts. At the same time he realized thatcompletenesswas not enough,that mere inclusionof all the factswould not make a successfulbook; there had also to be organiza-tion,and forhim"organization" was practically ynonymous ith"structure." The organization f all the facts,with no irrelevantones, n a logical,coherent rder seemed to him to be the structureofhiswork. The organization urther nvolved ts communicationto the reader,if not the sense of organization tself, at least therelationbetween heideas so that the readerwould be carried frompointtopoint. For thisreason iterary tyle ould not be neglected.Accompanying his satisfactionwith the best organizationforhis purpose was the writer's absorption n his material. He or-ganized his material in terms of the logical relations between itselements. His interestwas not personal,nor in the material forits practical uses, cost,or other such aspects. Rather, he becameinterestedn the qualities and relations nherentn the equipment


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COMMON SOURCES OF VALUE IN ARTS 489he was explaining, he relationof different arts to thefunction fthe set as a whole, the relation of particular parts to each other,and the unique characteristics f each. Thus the writer foundhimselfworkingdivorced from personal aims and considerations,workingoutside himselfguided by externalobjects and relations.A second case of a man thinking f himself s an artist was aradio engineer designing radio receivers. His problem was notmerely o build a radio receiver, ut to build a receiverwith bettertone quality and sensitivity han a competitor'swithin givenpricerange, say $35. Besides designing set that would serve his spe-cificfunctionhe was limitedby otherconditions, he nature of thematerialsthemselves, nd specificrestrictions uch as the size ofthe finished roduct, patent rights not available to the designer,the necessity f using standard parts, and the physical difficultiesof placing parts of odd shapes within the set. He utilized hisknowledge f the principlesof his science,his previousexperience,and the resultsof experimentation ntil he felt that he had de-signedthebest set possible underthe givenconditions. Since hisfinal design indicated the relation of parts that best fulfilled hegiven function, changing either the function or the conditionsrestricting he design would have necessitated change in the re-lation of parts, and also givenhimmore or less freedom o effectthischange. His design was the result of an exploration f all thedifferent lements nd their combinations nd directed the use ofeach elementwherethe designerbelieved t to be best fitted. Eachelementhad its place, there were none that could be omittedwith-out affecting he set and none interchangeable or the better. Theresultingradio set, by no means a structurebuilt without imits,was determined y thedesigner's aim,theconditionswithinwhichhe had to work, nd his desire to build the best set possible underthose restrictions.As a last example, et us consider a teacherof a class in phi-losophy. He was faced first f all withtheneed to unifythe sub-ject-matterhe was to present. He was limited,not only by thegeneral nature of the subject, but by deficienciesn his students'preparation,by the time theyhad available for reading, by theneed to tie this class and this particular topic in with past andfutureclasses,and especially by the fact that all this had to bedone in a one-hour eriod,whichmeantthat his discussionhad tobe limited o a fewessentialpoints. He had to see that his hearerscomprehended he unity of his subject and felt the relative im-portanceand coherenceof the several concepts nvolved. Fixingone point,thenanother,he made his studentsmovestep by step toan awareness ofthe whole. He was consciousof thisprocess,con-


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490 THE JOURNALOF PHILOSOPHYscious not only of weaving togetherthe threads of his subject,but of gatheringup the membersof his class and unifying hemwith his presentationof the subject to make a unified pattern.The structure f his class was notmerely he outlineof his lectureas he had written t down,but was inherent n his presentation fhis materialand included thereactionsofthemembers fhis class,unfolding s that class progressed. It was principallyto his skilland judicious choice that he owed the organizationof his subject,so that thewhole theory nd the separate ideas were grasped bythe class; however, he teacherhad not onlya sense of organizingideas,but ofshaping,of weldingtogetherdeas and people. Whenhe was most uccessfulhe was consciousonlyof matters therthanhimself: his ideas, the expressionof them,the response of hispupils. His hearers may have been exhilaratedby the class, re-membered t not onlyfor its content,but perhaps even moreforthe skill in organization nd presentation, or the teacher's com-plete devotion o his work. As forthe teacher,he knewhow wellhe had done his job and whenhe had a good class; havingdone hisjob particularlywell, he said to himself, That class was a workof art"-and hewas right.

IIThe important ommonfeaturesof all theseunusual worksofart are: (1) theproducer s working o fulfill definite unction;(2) he accomplisheshis aim by introducing he appropriatekindof organizationor structurento the materialshe is dealing with,whether heyare radio parts or ideas; and (3) this structure sdelimited nd in part determined y a set of externalconditions,

the nature of the materialshe is handling,and othermore arbi-trary stipulations. Not only are these features mportant n theactivities have alreadydiscussed,but they are also, I believe,theimportant nes in the workof the fineartist. This I shall trytoshow later. The fact that I have been using "organization" asalmost synonymouswith "structure indicates the universalityof structure,hat it is in a sensethe formofpracticallyall humanactivity. Any activity, other than the most rudimentary,musthave someorganization r structuref it is to be other han a set ofrandommovements;for each kind of activity,with the differentmaterialsused and the differentutcome o be achieved,therewillbe a different ind of structure. In the cases I have discussedthere are three differentindsofmaterialthatmustbe organized,"must" because a box full of electrical parts is not a radio re-ceiver,any more than a page coveredwithwords or phrases is aparagraph. Further,to say that structure s limitedby external


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COMMON SOURCES OF VALUE IN ARTS 491conditionsmeans no more than that there is a specific tructurefora specific ituation, lthough his structuremaybe an instanceof a kind of structure,ust as the plans of two different ousesare alike in being house plans but are differents the two housesare different.Althoughthe presenceof somestructure s a necessarypart incarryingon the activities have been discussingto somedefiniteend,it is not by anymeanssufficiento make their productsworksof art. Even in the mosthaphazard of productstherewill havebeen some organization, omestructure. It is only by makingthebest product that the workerhas approachedthe artist. For ex-ample, the teachercan be eithera drudgeor a teacher n the fullmeaningof the word. He can either pend the hourreadingaloudthe outlinesof a systemwithouttroublingto see whetheror nothis class can follow him, technicallydoing his job, or he can bethe teacherwho enables his class to followor even anticipatehimas he unfolds his subject and feels that his class is as much apart ofhimas his emotions r sensations. The difference etweenthe best or artistic productand the ordinaryproduct involvesadifferencen the structure f the two. The ordinaryproductwillnot make the best use of the available material, ts constructionwill not involveselectionof the best of thematerialto use and thematerials will not be combined in a way that best fulfillsthefunction. In the technicalbook,forexample, he deas may merelybe writtendown to presentthe facts; no attemptbeing made tobuild up to the main point,to have theproper emphasisplaced onsubordinatepoints,to make the readerfeel the logical connectionbetween the points,and to make it as interesting eading as pos-sible. The structure r organization f the best product will con-tain all the required elements nd none that are superfluous ndnot relatedto the remainder f the structure. What is "best" ineach case is determined y referring o the functionof the finalproductas it is modified nd limitedby whatever econdarycon-ditionsexist; it is a further est of themaker's skill, forhe musthave a completeknowledge f his product,knowpreciselywhat itmustdo, and be able to knowwhen he has a productthatwill dothat.It is in themakingof this "best" productthatthe workerhasfound an esthetic satisfaction. It has required the organizationof objective materials,manipulating deas or mechanical objectsbest utilizingthematerialhe is workingwith,whichrequires notmerelyputting the elements ogether n any superficialway thatto some extentfulfills hedesiredfunction, ut a thoroughnvesti-gation of the qualities and potentialitiesof his material. It is


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492 THE JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHYan impersonaltask at which he becomes absorbed in his subjectand can disregard personal considerations. The non-artisticworkerdoes not findthis fascination n buildinga coherent truc-ture out of objectivematerials,but, rather,would find his job anecessary vil. The workerwho finds satisfaction n building astructure or its own sake,will by so doingobtain self-expression,though t maynotbe thedegreeof self-expression hich he wouldobtain if he were workingfor that end alone; but the necessityofachieving n objectivefunction ike thatservedby the technicalbookor radio set requires selecting nd choosing lements nd de-terminingways in whichtheycan be combined, nd the selectionand choice will be an expression ftheworker ust as is everyoneof his judgments nd valuations.The fact that the worker an find n esthetic atisfactionn hisworkdoes not mply hat theobserverwill findhisproductsestheti-callypleasingor consider hem s worksof art. Frequently, herewillbe onlya limitednumberofpersonswho will have thedetailedknowledge o appreciatethe care that has gone into his work. Abook on higher mathematicsmay be an excellent technicalbook;but mostof its readers,whowill be fewenoughto begin with,willbe able to read it only for its content,which,after all, is thereasonfor which t was written. Those who have such a grasp ofthe material as to leave them free to observe the way in whichthe book is writtenwill be able to judge and appreciate the au-thor's work. Then they would be able to derive esthetic atisfac-tion fromthemanner n which the authorexpressed the subject-matter, rom he order and arrangement f the ideas, ratherthanfroman understanding f the contentof the book. The authorobtains his satisfactionby means of the product or structurehecreates; whetheror not others can obtain estheticsatisfaction naddition to technical nformations forhima secondary onsidera-tion.

IIISo far I have hardlymentioned fine arts," by whichtermmean thosepursuitsfamiliarly alled "arts" -painting, literatures

music,and the like. But I believe that a closely parallel discus-sion can be followed orthem, lthough here re several mportantdifferences.An analysisof thethree xamples gave earlier n thispaper brought ut severalcommon eatures f thoseactivities, om-monto most othersfor thatmatter, specially the organizationofsometype of materialfor a definite urpose. I believe the workof the fineartistwill show the same features,with his pleasure,again, obtained from he creationof the "best" structuren each


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COMMON SOURCES OF VALUE IN ARTS 493case. The work of fine rt is a creationmade withperceptualma-terial, tones, words,colors,or forms, o expresssome idea of theartist's. The unityof the product and the fact that the workofart is a creationmeans that the worker r artist n thesecases hasorganizedhis material, ntroduced ome structurentoit.The structuredevelopedforeach kind ofworkof art is deter-minedbythe qualitiesof theparticularmedium oncerned,whetherit is therelationships etweencolorsand masses, or thosebetweentones and melodies. In every art with the possible exceptionofpainting t is obvious that organizationhas occurred. Sometimesthe representational ualities of painting may cause one to over-look its structure. However,one of the visible differencesetweena paintingofa scene and that scene tself s the fact that the paint-ing is a painting, wholewhich s comprisedwithinthe frame ofthe picture,whereas the original scene was not a unity. Anyunityin the view is imposedby the observer f onlyby a casualand arbitrary imitation f the part of the view he is to observe.A photograph s givenunity by a somewhatbackhanded methodof selectingfrom given landscape thoseportionswhich seemtofollow conventional rinciplesof compositionn painting. Therehave been enoughdiscussionsof principlesof "form" in art with-out myhaving to go into themhere. Withoutany exact determi-nation of the principlesof form, t remainsthat, in painting atleast, "form" usually covers the conventionalmethodsby whichcontours,masses, colors, and lines are ordered and disposed tomake the unified icturethat is the artist'sexpression f the scenehe observes. In fineart, as in the common ctivities have dis-cussed,eachworkwillhave its own particular tructure eterminedby thespecific onditions nderwhichthat work s made, althoughtheywill be instancesof thegeneralrules of organization oreachkind ofart.The activitiesdescribed n the firstpart of this paper had ineach case a definite ractical function;the attainment f self-ex-pressionwas notthe primary im of the activities, utwas obtainedby the workerin the course of making his product. For theworker n the finearts, however,not only is there self-expressionand personal satisfaction btained in the process of working, utit is the end for whichhe is working, he function f his product.The artist achieves satisfactionby manipulatinga medium, byplacing form nd structuren an objectivematerial so the result-ing product xpresses n idea or emotionwhichhe apprehendsmoreclearly, perhaps, than others. His self-expression omes aboutthroughhis makingthe product; as he works and develops histhemehisexpression ecomesmorecomplete nd moreexplicituntil


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496 THE JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHYproductsofhigherquality. If it is a radio set that is beingbuilt,it will be a betterradio. This may notbe so important xcepttothosebuyinga radio, but the same result will followfor all activi-ties,such as teaching and governmentalwork. In the latter case,a more effectivedministrative tructurewould result,and, aboveall, a greaterconcernof those n authoritywith thewelfareof thepeople dependentupon them-since theirworkconsists n lookingafterthe interests f thosepeople.But the most mportant esult of such an attitudetowardworkis thevalue to be derivedby theindividualdoingthe work,makingitpossibleforhim to obtainthosevalues it is too often hought hatonly the professional rtist can obtain. The practice of the fineartscan then be relatedto common ctivities,f it is true, s I havetried to show,that the procedurethe fine artist uses is the sameprocedureused by anyworker n doinga goodpiece of work. Theartisthas obtainedhis values by organizinghis mediumto producehis intendedresult, he workerhis values in organizinghis materialto his end. By recognizing heircommon ualitiesofworkmanshipthey will both be able to produce betterwork and derive moresatisfactionfrom t. It is such a satisfaction hat can be one ofthechief oys of life.

CHARLES A. FRITZ, JR.POUGHKEEPSIE,NEw YORK

BOOK REVIEWReliable Knowledge. H. A. LARRABFE. New York: Houghton

Mifflin o. 1945. vii + 685 pp. $3.50.ProfessorLarrabee's book is the issue of twentyyears of aca-demicexperience, the last ten of themspentin teachinga coursecalled 'Methods and Problemsin the Social Studies,' whichis re-quired of all undergraduates n the Division of Social Studies. . ." at Union College. It has had an embryonic xistence n theformof twomimeographed ditions. In the Foreword,Larrabeesalutes his teachersat Harvard and Columbia, especiallyDewey.Among his Harvard teachershe mentionsC. I. Lewis, but theHarvard influence hatmouldsthisbook s not the formalistic rag-matism of Lewis, rather the romantic practicalismof WilliamJames,with its doctrineof the transformingower of belief andsympatheticnsight Hocking's influence lso?), especiallyon thelevel of social transaction. Tincture such a view with the morescientificpiritof Dewey's naturalism, nvolve it a little with theincipientsubjectivismof "philosophical anthropology"and psy-

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Common Sources of Value in Arts