Part 6
You are going to read four extracts from articles in which academics
discuss the contribution the arts (music, painting, literature, etc.) make to
society. For questions 37-40, choose from the academics A- D. The
academics may be chosen more than once.
Mark your answers on the separate answer sheet.
The Contribution of the Arts to Society
A Lana Esslett
The arts matter because they link society to its past, a people to its
inherited store of ideas, images and words; yet the arts challenge those
links in order to find ways of exploring new pailis and ventures. I remain
sceptical of claims that humanity's love of the arts somehow reflectssome
inherent inclination, fundamental to the human race. However, exposure
to and study of the arts does strengthen the individual and fosters
independence in the face of the pressures of the mass, the characterless,
the indifferentiated. And just as the sciences support the technology
sector, the arts stimulate the growth of a crest ve sector in the economy.
Yet, true as this is, it seems to me to miss the point. The value of the arts
is not to be defined as if they were just another economic lever to be
pulled. The arts can fail every measurable objective set by economists,
yet retain their intrinsic value to humanity.
B Seth North
Without a doubt, the arts are at the very centre of society and innate in
every human being. My personal, though admittedly controversial, beliefs
that the benefits to both individuals and society of studying science and
technology, in preference to arts subjects, are vastly oversaed. It must be
said, however, that despite the claims frequently made for the civilising
power of the arts, to my mind the obvious question arises: Why are people
who are undeniably intolerant and selfish still capable of enjoying poctry
or appreciating good music? For me, a more corvincing argument in
favour of the arts concems their economic value. Needless to say,
discovering how much the arts contribute to society in this way involves
gathering a vast amount of data and then evalasting how much this
affects the economy as a whole, which is by no means straightforward.
C Heather Charlton
It goes without saying that end-products of artistic endeavour can be seen
as commodities which can be traded and exported, and so add to the
wealth of individuals and societies. While this is undeniably a substantial
argument in favour of the arts, we should not lose sight of those equally
fundamental contributions they make which cannot be easily translated
into measurable social and economic value. Anthropologists have never
found a socicty without the arts in one form or another. They have
concluded, and I have no reason aot to concur, that humanity has a
natural aesthetic sense which is biologically determined. It is by the
exercise of this sense that we create works of art which symbolise social
meanings and over time pass on values which help to give the community
its sense of identity, and which contribute enormously to its self-resport,
D Mike Konecki
Studies have long linked involvement in the arts to increased complexity
of thinking and greater self-esteem. Nobody today, and rightly so in my
view, would challenge the huge importance of maths and science as core
disciplines. Nevertheless, sole emphasis on these in preterance to the arts
tails to promote the integrated left/right-brain thinking in students that the
future increasingly demands, and on which a healthy economy now
undoubtedly relies. More significantly, I believe that in an age of dull
uniformity, the arts enable each person to express his or her uniqueness.
Yet while these benefits are enormous, we participate in the arts because
of an instinctive human need for inspiration, delight, joy. The arts are an
enlightening and humanising force, encourag ng us to come together with
people whose beliefs and lives may be different from our own. They
encourage us to listen and to celebrate what connects us, instead of
retreating behind what drives us apart.
