What is the cognitive function of art

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Many of us think that creativity, by and large, is solely for entertainment. However, the cognitive function of art, along with the ethical, educational, magical, therapeutic, occupies a large place in the mental sphere of man. What are the different roles and how do they manifest?

The cognitive function of art is based on obtaining new information for the individual. Most often, it is associated with historical works: novels, paintings, films.

Reading Aristotle or Dostoyevsky, we can imagine how our fellow tribesmen lived in ancient Greece or in Russia in the nineteenth century. And the novels of Alexei Tolstoy or Mikhail Sholokhov will bring us closer not only in detail, but also in describing the way of thinking - the mentality - of people during the era of the Civil War. The cognitive function of art (or otherwise - cognitive) also lies in the analysis of paintings, graphics, illustrating the reality of bygone centuries. Indeed, for example, we would not have been able to find out how Peter the Great looked, what Catherine the Great wore, if they had not been captured in the portraits of artists -contemporaries. The same applies to battle or everyday paintings.

However, let's ask ourselves the question of whether the cognitive function of art consists only in studying the history of previous generations.

Creating works, artists invest in them not only and not so much information as they creatively process the surrounding reality. It hardly makes sense to study botany from still life, because the main functions of art are much more diverse and multidimensional than just a dry presentation of information or photographing the world.

It is believed that the first forms of creative manifestation of human consciousness were of a magical nature. Dances, songs, painting were supposed to serve as a kind of spells before the gods. The educational function of art appeared much later. Paintings, poems, films can influence the moral and ethical sphere of human consciousness. The simplest example is fables with their immediate or metaphorical message. The aesthetic function lies in the ability to feel and convey the beauty of the inner and outer world. Emotional - in the transfer and stimulation of special states of consciousness and spirit. Mozart's "Requiem" evokes some emotions in us, and a popular hit - others. The therapeutic function is closely connected with the ability and ability to express through art our hidden and tormenting feelings. For example, certain musical genres are used for meditation and hypnosis. And as a therapeutic measure, doctorsrecommend watching comedies.

The cognitive function of art, combined with psychological analysis, can also be used to comprehend one's inner world. This is also often used in therapeutic practice. By joining works of art under the guidance of a psychologist or psychotherapist, we can understand what is important, significant, painful for ourselves, what problems we should work through, what we should pay more attention to.