To What Extent May the Subjective Nature of Perception Be Regarded as an Advantage for Artists but an Obstacle for Scientists?

In this essay, I will attempt to answer the question: “To what extent may the subjective nature of perception be regarded as an advantage for artists but an obstacle for scientists?” To begin my essay, I will firstly define the key terms in the question provided. The term “subjective nature of perception” is defined as different possible ideas and views of any subject in question, usually based on personal opinions instead of facts. The term “artists” refers to people in general who have painted and drawn pictures or sculptured statues and so on; and “scientists” refers to experienced researchers whose profession is to explore in-depth the natural and physical sciences. My framework for this essay will hence be comparing the both the positive and negative effects of perception on the fields of art and science, while taking the stand that the subjective nature of perception is advantageous for the former, and a hindrance to the latter to a larger extent.

Perception is important to attain knowledge. Through a piece of art, an artist is able to bring forth his views of a certain subject. For example, if different artists were given, say, each an identical chair, none of the resulting drawings would be identical. This is because every artist would draw his picture at a different angle as compared to the others, proving that perception plays an important role in the portrayal of a subject in the field of art. Artists can also play on the strings of perception in our minds in their artworks. An apt example is the famous street artist Kurt Wenner, who makes use of the mind’s perspective to bring across his interesting paintings. Many of his paintings make the pavement or walls look as if there was something in them, usually an image of a hole with objects in it. These works of art use the viewers’ perceptions to make them appealing, further emphasizing the advantages that the subjective nature of perception can provide in the field of art. The viewers’ perception would hence come into play for them to know and understand the meaning of the piece of art.

As for science, the subjective nature of perception helps scientists to understand and explain certain phenomenon. Observation, the basis of science, is based on the perception of the object in focus. By perceiving the effects on the focus with certain environmental factors in an experiment, a hypothesis is made. After additional research, a theory can hence be formed, which may even become a law after even more tests. Therefore, it can be seen that perception allows humans to attain knowledge in both the fields of art and science. On the other hand, the subjective nature of perception also can have a negative effect on both the fields of art and science. In art, even though artists try to portray the artwork in a way where they hope viewers can perceive it in the same way that the artist does, the viewers may see it with a different perspective, hence, the viewers would appreciate it in a different way. This is why there is no concept of right or wrong in art.

For the field of science, the subjective nature of perception poses many problems for scientists, more than that for art. As mentioned earlier, perception is subjective to personal views, not facts. On the contrary, the job of scientists is to research for facts in their fields of study, and then present the results for others’ information, and not just base their assumptions on just their own personal views. Different scientists would have varying opinions on the same observation, resulting in disagreements between each other. This would hinder the entire process of research and presentation of the findings. For example, the commonly disputed Theory of Evolution is still under much debate due to many scientists’ and researchers’ differing views. For every piece of evidence supporting this theory, there will be at least another perception of it to disprove it. Thus, it has not been proven to be true to date. Therefore, it can be seen that the subjective nature of perception can also be an obstacle for both artists and scientists, but more so for science than art. While the field of art is fully based on perception and science sees it as an obstacle, perception is still an essential element of attaining knowledge. Through which, more analysis can be made, and conclusions can be derived. Hence, the above reasons and examples overall prove my stand that the subjective nature of perception is regarded as an advantage for artists and an obstacle for scientists to a larger extent.

References http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scientist http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/subjective http://www.azinet.com/aging/evolution_controversy.html http://www.kurtwenner.com/

References: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/scientist http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/subjective http://www.azinet.com/aging/evolution_controversy.html http://www.kurtwenner.com/