Science/Truth and Art/Beauty

[morgan44m]

Some writers suggest that by tradition science is concerned with truth, while art is concerned with beauty. How might these two endeavors be the same? How might they be irreconcilably different?

[WoWo]

How might you do your own home work. Some say doing home work is a personal experience where others seem happy to ask for the answer and put no effort in, how are the 2 endeavors the same, how might they be irreconcilably different.

[EliPledge]

Top answer WoWo! Good try though, morgan44m!

[morgan44m]

This question is for an optional essay... I really want to answer it, but I'm confused on what the question is actually asking and what kind of answer I'm supposed to give. I just wanted to know how to go about answering it...sorry

[el duerino]

wot subject? you could argue that the truth is beautiful, that beauty contains truth, or that they are both beautiful to different people etc

[EliPledge]

Sorry morgan44m didn't mean to sound cruel. I suppose science could be the sanma as art in being concerned beauty when it reveals something of beauty e.g. a Golden Ratio in architecture or something: while it could be irreconcilably different from art when it discovers a truth that is not beautiful or even ugly - like disease and decay for example.

[EliPledge]

"sanma as": that's not a technical term concerned with art or science, it's a typo for "same as"!

[EliPledge]

You could set out the answer thus: section(s) on the ways in which science and art might have the same concerns i.e. science concerned with beauty, but also art concerned with "unbeautiful" truth (e.g. there's a female artist who paints deformed bodies and autopsies - can't recall her name). Then a section on where they are concerned with different things e.g. art reflecting an ethereal/mythological beauty or something, and science revealing something truthful but ugly like ... maggots or something!

[ragged_claws]

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty - that is all Ye know on earth and all ye need to know." OK, it maybe all ye need to know but it won't get you any marks. Still it's a great quote and has played on my mind for 15 years.

[slimjim]

In future, don't just cut'n'paste your essay question onto here; that does wind some of us up. If you put a bit more effort into it and describe what you think and what you don't understand, you will find us much more helpful; we were all in your shoes once upon a time. Do feel free to keep coming back here with anything you're stuck on.

[morgan44m]

thanks guys :) this is for a college application actually... only 500 words. I don't know if im going to pick this one to answer; I have trouble staying within word limits.... but anyways you guys helped a lot!

[yaya1205]

hey. are you applying for university of michigan?