What is the difference between art and philosophy?
In defining their differences, Bryan Magee defines art and philosophy in terms of what their practitioners do:
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This insistence on reasons is one of the hallmarks of philosophy. It distinguishes philosophy from, for example, both religion and the arts…
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The creative artist, like the philosopher, is fully committed to a truth-seeking activity, trying to see below the surface of things and acquire a deeper understanding of human experience; however, he publishes, or publicly presents, a form that relies on direct perception and intuition rather than rational argument.
Bryan Magee, The story of thought: the essential guide to the history of western philosophy 1998 p. 8
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Moving in the garden this morning, I consider in relation to Simon’s remarks about the tension between art making and doing a PhD, and how I am striving to find a balance between these.
Moving between rising and sinking, opening and closing, motion and stillness, I enjoy the moments of balance between these tensions. And the please is in experiencing no sense of value, or emotional weight, being placed on how I use my space, time or energy.
This leads me to the idea of Antarctic landscape as a neutral space – not for humans – and the extraordinary pleasure I found being there.
Antarctica simply exists, on a vast scale, without us. It reminds me that everything in the natural world – including ourselves – simply exists. Experiencing its landscape brought me face to face with my own sheer existence, with no value attached to that. I simply am. And there is a joy and sense of freedom in experiencing that – a freedom from emotion and complex thoughts.
I contemplate how therapy is generally not for public presentation, whereas art generally is.