Who Needs Critical Training?

There are many complaints about philosophy in general, but what about in particular?

The complaint is always that it is useless. That it discusses nothing. Of what use is philosophy to the regular person? It is for academics needing something to do in their little rooms between classes.

But what about in particular? Of what use is philosophy to a person professionally? Rand likes to make the case that we are all thinking animals and "thinking" is one of our "professions." In this case, we are all in need of philosophy.

But what about the artist?

What is an artist? It is someone who sees the world and helps us see the world through metaphor. Instead of through reason or hard fact or even emotion, an artist wants to literally paint a picture where through the resonance of metaphoric example we sense the world. The idea is that, for an artist, and especially for someone promoting art, this example is better than the others.

We don't learn by hard fact or by being lectured to, etc. We learn by seeing or reading about a river in all of its complexity. The reason we learn is that this river, if presented correctly, reminds us of the movement of our life. We are often cultured to see the world through other methods and by using other techniques and so this metaphor has a more dramatic effect and, for those who promote art, it can be more effective.

Imagine the first time you saw a great movie. If you are the kind of person that has any potential for growth and complexity, this experience stands out. There is something about the resonance in the film, something about your experience with the metaphors, the through-line, that brings out in you an understanding that transcends that of other ways of knowing. There are people who, after watching a real movie, will sit for an hour as if they have had a great conversation and they will think about life in new ways.

This is art.

There is the idea that humans have specific ways of knowing. Science teaches us hard facts about the world and it creates general rules. Philosophy appeals to reason and teaches us to compare and prioritize ideas formed in this way to enlarge competing truths and, ultimately, to convince through clear and wise reasoned truth. Religion, supposedly, discusses (when does it discuss?) faith, whatever that really means. And finally, art helps us know through metaphor.

I suppose we need at least three of them to see the world. One does not take the place or really trump the other (of the three). A wise man, I suppose knows all four, uses three, and maybe finds his place in one. He might express his interdisciplinary widsom through one, like art, though his foundation may have been laid by three.