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eawhite's picture

Meaning Attributor

Until most recently, Dennett, Darwin, Sontag, Fyerabend and Whitmann have meant little more [to me] than nice words written during varying centuries, decades and years and for a variety of purposes, some of which have had some inspirational impact on humankind - perhaps. But all that changed for me after Prof. Grobstein’s discussion about the differences between abstract art and realistic art. Having that visual as my guide for understanding the evolutionary process makes my appreciation of the authors listed above that much more meaningful. That analogy helped me to understand the ‘meaning attributor’ part of our humanness; humans certainly have this innate need to make sense/meaning. Art, like science, like literature, and like philosophy mean nothing until and/or unless our brain attributes meaning and significance to it. Each of us ascribed meaning to the works of the authors above and to the realistic and abstract art – no two were alike. My brain and your brain ascribed meaning to everything with no influence from each other. Everyone and everything is an evolutionary process.

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