Regarding concern for wandering scientists in art departments: Maybe that's why I have a daughter who actually is a research astrophysicist. I'm proud to say she dedicated her dissertation to me for encouraging her science interests since her childhood. And her mother excelled in physics too. But the point is that you don't need to be a scientist to recognize that there is a difference between feeling, thinking organisms and inert objects. Inert objects can't act on you by their own intention. But you can act on them and you can make-believe that you are investing them with perception and sentience that magically seems to mirror back to you. The difference between science and art is very ambiguous and since the rise of the scientific age artists and scientists have often worked and learned together. Perhaps you didn't know that. wc
----- Original Message ---- From: Chris Miller <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wed, November 11, 2009 5:05:26 PM Subject: Reading Dutton Chapter 4 : Thought Experiments 'If I say a thing is beautiful, how can I convince you that certain properties of that thing are in fact beautiful?" ... is the sort of question that an astrophysicist might ask if he had gotten lost and wandered into the art department. (which is presumably why William, who used to work at a university,is so concerned about answering it) And the same question might be asked about any other perceivable effect, including those listed by Dutton: amazement, amusement, shock, enchantment, etc. But the fact is that artworks (as opposed to distant stars) have been made to deliver perceivable effects to humans, and humans are the only measuring instruments that can gauge their success. Which is to say, that person A may indeed be able to convince person B that "certain properties of that thing are in fact beautiful" -- but each such interaction is sui generis and requires its own explanation. ____________________________________________________________ Diet Help Cheap Diet Help Tips. Click here. http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2231/c?cp=LT5nUEXGn4urXb-3CFd8xQAAJz6c l_zTaptgNR5c8Mer1v9kAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYQAAAAAA=
