What Is It
艺术爱好者会说，艺术给我们的环境带来了美，并为智力和情感的反思提供了机会。但那些不欣赏艺术的人认为它是不必要的和无聊的——无论如何，肯定不应该用税款来支持。在学校的艺术项目预算不断减少的时候，约翰和肯与休斯顿大学哲学系主席辛西娅·弗里兰一起提出了一个关键的问题:艺术的价值是什么?
Listening Notes
Art is often taken as a primary example of something with intrinsic (rather than just instrumental) value. But what’s so valuable about ‘intrinsic’ value? Ken and John question whether attributing ‘intrinsic’ value to something isn’t just a way to avoid giving a rigorous defense of its value.
在对艺术的内在价值做出最后的判断之前，他们邀请了Cynthia Freeland来帮助他们首先理解什么是艺术。有了她的解释，他们开始为自己的判断增加一些见地，并开始意识到哲学对世界的解释不是唯一值得欣赏的东西。
In the next section, Ken and John press Cynthia on the limits of what is appreciable in the arts - especially in modern art. Do ordinary - even repulsive ordinary - things become art just because they are placed in a building with the words ‘art museum’ plastered on its face? On the other hand, are beautiful things less than ‘art’ just because they are ordinary? As they respond to callers, Ken, John, and Cynthia hone down Cynthia’s definition of art.
In the final section, Ken and John talk to Cynthia about funding the arts in education. They ask Cynthia what she would say to Schwarzenegger if he asked about funding the arts in California public schools. She discusses how art can supplement education in subjects like history and language, and the important career skills, social aptitudes, and personal qualities that involvement in the arts builds.
- Roving Philosophical Report(seek to 2:00): Polly Stryker reports on the extrinsic value of art, as a tool to help people cope with illness.
