ISSUE176

TOPIC: ISSUE176 - "The function of science is to reassure; the purpose of art is to upset. Therein lies the value of each."
WORDS: 529 TIME: 00:57:59 DATE: 2008-3-18 15:04:29

I find the speaker's claim specious on both counts. Generally speaking, both science and art could reassure or upset the masses. With respect to certain traditional areas, especially physics, sciences can usually serve to reveal the truth and eliminate people's doubt. With respect to special modern technologies, populace may be upset with possible outcomes of these technologies. The art, including music, painting, and literature can also serve these two opposite influences.

In study of scientific development, it is extensively believed that science stem from philosophy, which aims to explain natural phenomena people in certain era would have observed. Therefore the function of science serves chiefly to interpret that what are the rules all the matte in the world obey under the surface of natural phenomena from this perspective. For instance, the earth has been experiencing day and night in turn for several millions of years. People at first were confused about why it sometimes is cold in certain period of a year but sometimes hot in certain other period. Consequently, folks turned to science for help. In ancient era, people concluded that the sun moves around the earth and the earth is the center of the universe in light of their observation. Though this theory has proven to be false according to today's accurate calculus, however, it did reassure people's doubt under certain circumstance.

Fairly speaking, science does have brought to us upset in specific realms. This is especially true in modern society. Consider, for example, the clone technology in biology has even influenced our common ethnics to some extend. It will be hard-pressing to identify a friend one has ever been familiar with, in respect that the original friend and the duplicated one are the same in appearance and accent. More horribly, the copy may be completely different from the original one in what they thinks, which is harmful to our community and society.

People may find that these two functions of science also can be discovered in the realm of art. Not only does art make people upset, but art also can relieve masses' uncertainty. In the first place, various arts play a key role in arising multitude's upset in several aspects. For example, perhaps paradigmatic modern example is the so-called "non-mainstream" art that becomes popular in recently years. This art encourages adolescents to wildly show their inner moods, no matter whether they are delighted or upset, and this art rarely confines behavior of juvenile, which is reckoned as an anti-social category of art. In the second place, art can also serve positively to our daily life. Too many instances support this perspective. Classical music can make people feel better about themselves and calm down; great pictures painted by prominent artists can expand people's fantasy; and fluent and beautiful sentences will bring a person into dream. All these functions of art serve to reassurance.

In summary, the functions of science and art should not be limited to a special field, and the values of science and art vary from person to person, which are greatly supported by empirical evidence. What a role do science and art play should only be judged by a person himself or herself.