Digital Commons Network^™

Leadership In Literature, Linda M. Ghers

Honors Theses

The purpose of this paper is to explore a controversial topic -- the utility of the arts and the function of aesthetics in society. Because the very nature of art is essentially an abstract representation of reality, to explore its function seems to be outside the realm of possibility. Yet many still consider art to have a didactic function, and the study of any of the arts is based on the premise that the appreciation and creation of art can be useful for instructing humanity about the world beyond the artwork itself. How and what art actually teaches are questions …