The Truth Of Art

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The truth of art

Janaro and Altshuler in the book “The Art of Being Human” uses conflicting methods for getting the truth of the world. Their work have attempted to achieve the truth of humanity by describing it as a study of history, literature, philosophy, languages, comparative religion, arts and ethics. According to the authors memories and history allow humans to envision what is going on in their lives. Epic stories, poem and folklores are effective tools used by artists of all times for explaining humans. The art of being human is the philosophy of life imitated by generations. Human beings learn traditions and old ways of living through literature and art.

The reality of being human is also revealed by addressing the question of free will. Great philosophers like Plato has attempted to solve this puzzle by stating that human beings were created by some powerful entity not by themselves. Beck also claims that human beings were sent to this world irrespective of their consent. While everything what people do in this planet is the result of their free choices. The authors quoted Vladimir Lenin, “When the state exists, there is no freedom. When there is no freedom, there will be no state” (Janaro & Altshuler). According to this ideology human beings have no freedom because their actions and choices are the product of circumstances. They are unable to find the reality of freedom until they die. Even death is not their choice but they know that everyone has to leave earth CITATION Gil10 \l 1033 (Kay). Deeper analysis of the concept of freedom states that human beings are lacking free will because most of their actions are controlled by the powerful entity such as state.

A prominent genre of humanity discussed by authors is love. It is a theme, which is engrossed, and part of almost every aspects of human life such as philosophy, art music or literature. Love is recognized as a single most powerful emotion that allows humans to conquer everyone because all beings are seeking it. Theme of love is a visible element of art and is the strongest motivation for most of the masterpieces. Artists of every age have attempted to explore the meaning of love including the famous English poet William Shakespeare, Australian painter Gustav Klimt in his work “The Kiss” (1907-1908). Shakespeare claims that love cannot be defeated because it don’t bound loves by space or time. The authors mentioned in the book, “among Sappho’s favorite subjects are the joys and the sorrows of being in love” (Janaro & Altshuler). This reflects that human beings cannot deny the reality of love which control their emotions. The feelings for love appear naturally that are not in control of humans. Love Inconsistency was translated by Sir Thomas Wyatt which was originally written by Petrarch. Is says, “I find no peace, and all of my war is done; I fear and hope, I burn and freeze likewise” (Janaro & Altshuler). The poem has attempted to highlight the role of love in one’s life. Without love humans beings can’t attain peace or satisfaction.

Cultural history is another element used by Janaro and Altshuler for revealing the art of being humans. History was preserved by the artists and philosophers in arts and language which was transmitted to the humans of every generation. The book has stressed on the significance of Greek history, “Iliad seems to have been an ambitious effort to give the nation of Greece a cultural history” (Janaro & Altshuler). Different narratives were conveyed to the humans by the ancient writers such as Iliad explains the events of Greek siege and Trojan War. These historical events are recreated for portraying epic subject such as wrath of Achilles and interventions of gods in human life. Glory and bravery are essential traits of human beings according to Iliad. According to this philosophy, “Achilles qualify as a mythical hero; he shows great prowess in battle and has reputation of being unconquerable, with only one tragic weakness” (Janaro & Altshuler). Human beings irrespective of their good qualities were inclined to fall for worldly temptations. The contributions and fights of Achilles are recorded in history which attempts to associate attributes of bravery with human beings. Gilgamesh considered as a treasure of human culture by portraying him as a powerful creature. He was the hero of the second BC. It dates back to the Mesopotamian excavation and is commonly known as King of Uruk. “Gilgamesh was discovered in the ruins of an Assyrian library dating from the seventh century BCE” (Janaro & Altshuler). He had to power of taking anything he wanted and he struggled to attain immortality. The story of Gilgamesh helped humans to understand that there are some natural laws which can’t be changed such as death.

Language is a dominant tool used by the artists and historians for transmitting the themes of being humans to the next generations. The book states, “although many poets were writing success sonnets in Shakespeare’s time, most of his sonnets tower above those of hos contemporaries” (Janaro & Altshuler). This reflects the significant role played by the intellectual people in explaining the meaning of life to human beings. Language is a powerful tool which allowed authors and poets to transmit their beliefs to the world. The authors have explained, “great poets in language, like Shakespeare, know the rhythm has an emotional effect” (Janaro & Altshuler). Without language humans were not able to understand their purpose and the reality of human beings.

Art was apparent in theater and dramas in Greece. The philosophers and artists were involved in the mission of narrating stories which explained the purpose of life to the people. The authors have mentioned, “the Greeks, after all, developed the art of theatre and their dramas were originally tragic in nature” (Janaro & Altshuler). Their purpose was to tell the people that downfall and sufferings are reality of human beings, which they can’t escape. The beliefs of the ancient Greek philosophers like Plato and Sophocles were passed onto the next generations which made them accept the reality that tragedy and misery are inescapable CITATION Raf18 \l 1033 (Fasel). Human beings had a natural tendency of adopting the same roles as they witnessed in art, literature and stories. Art also helped humans to develop the same emotions that are part of personalities of their ancestors.

Janaro and Altshuler have explained the aspects which, defined human beings such as art, culture, history, language and literature. These elements had played positive role in binding humans and societies together. Literature and language preserved the human history and helped them in understanding their reality and role in life. Stories were transmitted by the Greeks which, offered answers to the puzzling questions encountered by humans. Literature has provided answers to the conflicting question of free will and choices. Art in different forms has impacted lives of humans and also encouraged them to cling to their past. Without history survival would be more complex which is prevalent in the form of literature and art.

Work Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY Fasel, Raffael N. "‘Simply in virtue of being human’? A critical appraisal of a human rights commonplace ." An International Journal of Legal and Political Thought 9.3 (2018).

Janaro, Richard and Thelma Altshulerr. The Art of Being Human. Pearson, 2016.

Kay, Gillian M Morriss. "The evolution of human artistic creativity ." Journal of Anat 216.2 (2010): 158–176.