The Fine Arts are Essential for the Attainment of Human Excellence Essa

The Fine Arts are Essential for the Attainment of Human Excellence Fine art exists since the beginning of time. Its creation does not begin with that of mankind, for, verily, nature is the origin of all art; the ultimate of all artists. Humans, however, are not blind to it at birth. Since the bestowal of vision, both physical and that of the mind, man is expressing the desire to make corporeal that which it beholds. Evidence of this is found in ancient cave paintings, an attempt to immortalize a moment from the past, depicting one from another life. Undoubtedly there have also been drawings in the sand made by the tough-skinned fingers of the primordial ancestor. This urge to reincarnate the sights beheld by memory remains in the being of the present-day homo-sapiens. And between now and then, those with this trait dominant have been the creators and fashioners of paintings and sculptures sometimes revered as divine. Furthermore, these occupations require such skill, such craft knowledge, and finesse, that any other employment performed with a similar degree of these attributes is often given the status of an art. Indeed, the pursuit of the philosophy can also be deemed as such, as it requires just those graceful actions in the form of thought. The two are in fact much closer to being the same than not, and thus, the idea that they work together in complimentary engagement, is not so far fetched. The proceeding examination, therefore, lays the foundation in inspecting what art is, its function, and where its boundaries lie. Secondly, the endeavor extends into an analysis o how fine art can and does help to further the cause that is philosophy. The final conjecture here is that the fine arts are positively necessa... ...irdly, the achievement of human excellence is deemed to occur through the practice of philosophy. Finally, due to the before mentioned, the focal practice of art is essential for the attainment of human excellence through philosophy. Works Cited Herrigel, Eugen. Zen in the Art of Archery. Trans. R. F. C. Hull. New York: Vintage. 1981. Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching. Trans Stephen Mitchell. New York: Harper. 1988. Plato. Euthyphro, Apology, Crito. Trans. F. J. Church. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall. 1948. Strong, David, and Eric Higgs. â€Å"Borgmann’s Philosophy of Technology.† Technology and the Good Life? Eds. Eric Higgs, Andrew Light, David Strong. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2000. Strong, David. Lecture. Introduction to Philosophy and Religious Thought course. Rocky Mountain College, Billings, MT. Spring semester, 2000.