Ο κοινωνικός ρόλος της τέχνης

Abstract

An important parameter of the definition of art, as an intellectual-social phenomenon, is its communicative character: the artist creates with concrete intentions, addressing himself to a public that is willing and capable to comprehend his messages and get moved by them. The questions that arise concern the role of the artist’s intentions, but also that of the public’s response to the evaluation process of the artistic works. The artist functions under the influence of the social, historical and cultural framework that he lives and works in, while the work of art is able to influence the social group, by proposing new ways of thought and by cultivating values. The object of this paper is to examine the various possibilities of art to influence society, as far as the works of art function as agents of fundamental values. The aesthetic, cognitive and moral values, existing in the content and in the form of the works causing aesthetic experience with beneficial (or not) effects for the individual and the social group, are analysed: beauty, as a pure aesthetic value, contributes to the achievement of internal calm and balance, while aesthetic knowledge extends the intellectual horizons and renews the ways in which we perceive reality. Even if art does not offer scientific education, it can contribute (by way of its easy understandable language and its pictures) to the comprehension of difficult scientific theories. Emphasis is given to the philosophical tradition that connects art and ethics, and to the possibilities of forming or weakening moral values through art.