Aesthetics and Spirituality

Aesthetics, the experience of spiritualty through the appreciation of the exalted sublimity of beauty, allow for a temporary respite from the interminable suffering of human life. The use of the term spirituality in this essay is characterized as the relation “conceived between man and God” [i] with the caveat that God can be defined, loosely and nebulously I realize, not only via the various Christian conceptions, but also as a pantheistic or panentheistic God, a universal consciousness, a universal essence, Kant’s concept of ‘the thing in itself,’ Schopenhauer’s concept of the force of ‘the will to live’ and/or the infinite cosmos. The thoughts of American philosophers; William James, Alain Locke, Mary Whiton Calkins, John McDermott and Vine Deloria as well as selected classmates Canvas comments will be enlisted to assist in the development of this idea.

William James submits that it is acceptable to believe in, to have faith in a concept such as beauty, truth, God or spirituality without requiring evidence as to its actual existence and “in spite of the fact that our merely logical intellect may not have been coerced.” [ii] Of course, willfully believing things you know are false makes no sense, however if there is no evidence either way or the evidence is inconclusive, then one must make assumptions. Even with any purported evidence, a proof of truth may be viewed subjectively and/or interpreted it in multiple ways. Contemplating aesthetics though works of Art can provide evidence of a spiritual realm that some humans are capable of directly experiencing.

James submits that the skeptics mistakenly believe that our fear of being wrong about the existence of spirituality trumps any hopes of spirituality being real. He argues it is a fallacy to believe “that dupery through hope is so much worse than dupery through fear.” [iii] The skeptics may contend that there are no absolute universal truths, with the exception of the fact of consciousness itself, so any quest for spiritual realities are in vain. James however makes the assumption that “there is truth and it is the destiny of our minds to attain it” [iv] and as we go on experiencing life, our opinions grow more true. He parts ways with skepticism and agrees to disagree with the skeptical point of view.

Faith, especially religious faith, is an example of this quest for truth. James admits that religion “cannot be verified scientifically.” [v] Although, whether there is evidence for spirituality or not can certainly be argued, either way one must take a leap to come to that interpretation. However, just because you convince yourself that something is true does not mean that it is. James ‘bet’ on whether to believe or not seems similar to ‘Pascal’s wager,’ Pascal espoused the value of managing the risk of believing or not believing in God and spirituality by proposing that the potential gains are better than the potential losses of not believing. This may be a psychological sleight of hand, though if effective, does it matter?

James concept of to ‘the will to believe’ not only entails having faith that God exists but extends to the will to believe that we have a spiritual access to God. This mutual transcendence, an overwhelming sense of unconditional love between man and god can occur via contemplative methods such as prayer, meditation and Art. We can find not only meaning, we can experience spirituality through Art and “the possibility of a profound enrichment emerges.” [vi] Art is a form of contemplation, instigating spiritual psychological reflection, hence is a form of meditation or even prayer!

Art is an interpretation of nature not an imitation. Beauty or Art, in its many forms, unlike propaganda, offers an avenue to profoundly experience the spiritual realm as we "live our lives as always aware of the symbolic nuance that accompanies all of our experiences." [vii] Whether it be visual encounter such as painting or sculpture, aural as in music or olfactory as in aroma, each artistic sensual experience can be interpreted as spiritually meaningful. During the natural engagement of all the senses concurrently, a feeing of sacredness can be felt during the deep reflection on the holistic sublimity of nature, "sacred places are the foundation of all other beliefs and practices because they represent the presence of the sacred in our lives." [viii]

Art is not only manmade. Natural beauty, a breathtaking view, a majestic mountain, the dynamic power of the ocean…all natural processes qualify as Art. However, all human creative artistic processes do not. Some are classified as Art and some defined as propaganda. There is a delineation between the two as propaganda does not provide the meaningful connection between humanity and divine will that Art enables.

There is a unifying quality to Art that propaganda does not have. It is the ability to find a personal meaning, a connection to something other and bigger than ourselves. Locke points out that true Art has much more value that just aesthetics, it has intrinsic meaning imbued with free expression while propaganda is shallow and linked to partisanship and is “one sided and pre-judging.” [ix] Propaganda has a defined objective purpose, it “harangues, cajoles, threatens or supplicates” [x]  in order to convince someone to feel a specific way about something. Propaganda contains an artificial concrete message whereas the meaning of Art is truly subjective and lives in the eye of the beholder. Art has no specific message, “art in the best sense is rooted in self-expression and whether naive or sophisticated is self-contained.”[xi] As classmate Cameron Paladino proposes in her Canvas post from March 5, “aesthetics do have meaning, but the meaning is subjective, depending on the person viewing it. With propaganda, I think that you are being fed a message with the intent that everyone will view and respond in the same way.” [xii]  Although “propaganda at least nurtures some form of serious social discussion,” [xiii] there is inherent subliminal or even overt messaging that is intended for the observer that “is one-sided and often pre-judging.”[xiv]

The feeling invoked by Art is magnificently ineffable, escaping verbal definition with a velocity that defies the gravitational pull of logic. McDermott describes the aesthetic experience as “the hidden ambience that lurks in the everyday, the ordinary, the scene, the sounds, the smell, the feel, the dreams, the rich symbolic hinting” [xv] that allows us to “sustain a relationship that is sacred with the world.” [xvi] That feeling of awe, the oneness with nature, that connection between Art and spiritualty consists of “the very movement itself of the soul putting itself in a personal relation of contact with the mysterious power of which it feels the presence.” [xvii] When this experience, this feeling of natural awe, can be duplicated by a creation made by man, “it makes the veto on our active faith even more illogical” [xviii] and that creation can be defined as Art which has the ability to invoke “the more perfect and more eternal aspects of the universe.” [xix] Locke writes in order to achieve spiritual growth that one “must choose Art and put aside propaganda.” [xx]

Art, like prayer, meditation and incantation is a gateway to spirituality that allows for an amelioration of suffering. In fact deep contemplation and reflection on Art is a form or prayer. As classmate Dustin Hampton mentions, “Calkins considers a few different methods of what prayer may be and even describes prayer as internalized.” [xxi] Art is analogous to prayer in it being a form of mediation which invokes an internal feeling of spirituality. Calkins profoundly opines that “prayer is the intercourse of the human spirit with a reality or being, realized as greater than human.” [xxii] William James espouses “a similar definition of prayer as “every kind of inward communion or conversation with the power recognized as the divine.” [xxiii]

Unlike propaganda whose purpose is to invoke a specific message defined by its creator, Art’s intrinsic meaning is discovered via a creative process between the observer and the Art, each mutually contributing to a unique experience able to invoke a spiritual significance, a feeling of a divine oneness with the universe. Art, like prayer, is “a form of connectivity through mutual acknowledgement.” [xxiv] The reality of the relation between art and spirituality is not perceived in the head, it is found in the heart, and if your soul is not prepared to receive a spiritual connection, your mind will never allow it to happen. Art requires no proof that it is Art, as it is its own evidence, available for each observer to subjectively perceive and assign their own personal spiritual meaning, their own truth, as “the desire for a certain kind of truth here brings about that special truths existence.” [xxv]  Thus the truth one perceives in Art is created and not discovered as a preexisting form. If one subconsciously desires for Art to represent the spiritual, the observer will manifest that connection.

Great music, impressive artistic creations and awe inspiring views invoke a feeling of serenity, of spirituality, a religious experience of the divine… the sublime. One’s mood is uplifted, a mental relaxation takes effect and relax, and day to day problems are forgotten, demonstrating “the fundamental purpose of art and of its function as a tap root of vigorous, flourishing living.” [xxvi] You get lost in the present, time stops, you transcend to another realm, a realm of mutual creation, both you and the artist and/or nature combine to form a unique perspective of beauty. We can never extinguish our “collective unrequited suffering” [xxvii] however it can be mitigated or as McDermott surmised, “the best that we can do is to do better.”[xxviii] We can experience a temporary serenic reprise in the face of “the voice of unrequited suffering”[xxix] via the artful experience. Life is suffering. Art mitigates suffering. This mitigation of suffering is the common factor between natural and manmade art.

Art is one of the reasons that make like worth living. Why bother with art or even with living? One possible answer is that “when a person is open to the multiple voices of experiences, inclusive of the apparently inert presence of things, the inchoate and the riot of sounds and colors, nutrition is at work such that one, indeed, might decide to bother.” [xxx] McDermott believes that “the nectar is in the journey and not in its final destination,” [xxxi] that “living is a journey, the origin of which is not of our making” [xxxii] which I interpret as meaning that the purpose of life is simply to live, there is no overriding end goal or achievement required. All we can do is attempt to ameliorate suffering; it can never be stopped as the world is “the voice of unrequited suffering.”  [xxxiii]

Experiencing spirituality through aesthetic experience allows human beings a temporary respite, an escape from our interminable suffering, if only for a brief interlude in time. Spiritually experienced through the appreciation of beauty is one of the nectars to savor on our journeys through life. If one believes in “the value of life being found through the experiences that we have,” [xxxiv] then the experience of spirituality via aesthetics contributes to making life worth living. The experience of spirituality gained via aesthetic reflection, contemplation and appreciation can ameliorate the suffering of life.

Works Cited

[i] Mary Whiton Calkins, “The Nature of Prayer” p. 498

[ii] William James, “The Will to Believe” p. 1

[iii] Ibid., p. 27

[iv] Ibid., p. 12

[v] Ibid., p. 25

[vi] John McDermott, “Why Bother: Is Life Worth Living” Experience as Pedagogical” p. 233

[vii] Ibid., p. 234

[viii] Vine Deloria, “Sacred Places and Moral Responsibility” p. 337

[ix] Alain Locke, “Art or Propaganda” p. 2

[x] Ibid., p. 1

[xi] Ibid.

[xii] Canvas, “M3 Discussion 1”, Cameron Paladino, March 5

[xiii] Alain Locke, “Art or Propaganda” p. 2

[xiv] Ibid.

[xv] John McDermott, “Why Bother: Is Life Worth Living” Experience as Pedagogical” p. 231

[xvi] Ibid., p. 233

[xvii] Mary Whiton Calkins, “The Nature of Prayer” p. 500

[xviii] William James, “The Will to Believe” p. 27

[xix] Ibid.

[xx] Alain Locke, “Art or Propaganda” p. 1

[xxi] Canvas, “M3, Discussion 1”, Dustin Hampton,  March 1

[xxii] Mary Whiton Calkins, “The Nature of Prayer” p. 489

[xxiii] Ibid., p. 491

[xxiv] Canvas “M3 Discussion 1”, Max Bell, March 2

[xxv] William James, “The Will to Believe” p. 24

[xxvi] Alain Locke, “Art or Propaganda” p. 1

[xxvii] John McDermott, “Why Bother: Is Life Worth Living” Experience as Pedagogical” p. 229

[xxviii] Ibid., p. 230

[xxix] Ibid., p. 228

[xxx] Ibid., p. 233

[xxxi] Ibid.

[xxxii] Ibid.

[xxxiii] Ibid.

[xxxiv] Canvas, “M2 discussion 2”, Elektra Jordan, March, 10