The emotion reaction that art creates is stronger than reactions to simply logical or rational philosophical arguments.  YES!
Watch this video and then we can chat more.

These thoughts begin from ‘Radiohead and Philosophy’, a book of essays edited by Brandon W. Forbes and George A. Reisch.  The Essay that spoke to my soul was ‘All the Argument We Need‘ by John Sylvia.  As an artist living to make art that matters, this is gold.

Now the above video…

We all think that child labour is wrong.  We can be convinced by an argument discussing the negative impact on children or the imbalance of wealth or our ignorance as consumers.  These arguments are convincing, but… Do you FEEL anything?  Maybe.

John Sylvia discusses Aristotle, and his ‘Conception of Rhetoric’.  Aristotle divided a good argument into three categories.:

1. Google – “define: Ethos” – perceived character of the speaker, credibility.

2. Google – “define: Pathos” – property of anything which touches the feelings or excites emotions and passions.

3. Google – “define: Logos” – argument from reason and logic.

Sylvia argues western philosophies disadvantage is that “the way of reason (logos) is important and necessary; however, emphasis was placed so heavily on that method alone that the ethos and pathos were almost entirely excluded”

The article concludes to state that the strongest arguments are formed when we include logic, establish credibility of the speaker AND include emotion. (hint: video art)

I strongly believe that art, especially video art, plays a major role in effective communication.  Effective communication that not only informs the viewer, but elicits an emotional response that will lead to action.

even if you already accept that, for example, child labour is wrong, this video still was a hard reminder and wake-up call.  “It brought forth the reality and the nature of the problems…in a way that no cognitive argument could.

“Stories and Images also have the power to engage the emotional commitment of their hearers to the content represented.  That is, they engage us not simply intellectually, but also affectively as the same time.  They can thus communicate information or values or norms of behavior while engaging a commitment to them.” – Egan K.

…A wonderful confirmation that we are on the right path!  Keep creating.

Here are some current projects and things I am creating with other artists.  Wax casting a wedding ring, coffee table art, resin experiments and raw pigments.  Artists love other artists:

 

spread the love!

Tags: philosophy, radiohead

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 21st, 2010 at 7:47 am and is filed under activism, art. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.