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Once it is recognized that productive thinking in any area of cognition is perceptual thinking, the central function of art in general education will become evident.
Rudolf Arnheim
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Art enhances our ability to think perceptually, which is crucial for learning and understanding.

Rudolf Arnheim's quote emphasizes that productive thinking is deeply tied to how we perceive the world around us. It suggests that the function of art in education extends beyond aesthetic appreciation, revealing its role in developing cognitive skills essential for understanding and engaging with our environment.

Themes

ArtEducationPerceptionThinkingCognition

In practice

Example use cases

In a classroom discussion about the importance of creativity, this quote could emphasize why art is integrated into the curriculum.

More from Rudolf Arnheim

Good art theory must smell of the studio, although its language should differ from the household talk of painters and sculptors.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
The dance, just as the performance of the actor, is kinesthetic art, art of the muscle sense. The awareness of tension and relaxation within his own body, the sense of balance that distinguishes the proud stability of the vertical from the risky adventures of thrusting and falling--these are the tools of the dancer.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
Nothing is more humbling than to look with a strong magnifying glass at an insect so tiny that the naked eye sees only the barest speck and to discover that nevertheless it is sculpted and articulated and striped with the same care and imagination.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
Man's striving for order, of which art is but one manifestation, derives from a similar universal tendency throughout the organic world; it is also paralleled by, and perhaps derived from, the striving towards the state of simplest structure in physical systems.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
The arts are neglected because they are based on perception, and perception is disdained because it is not assumed to involve thought.
Rudolf ArnheimRead
Variety is more than a means of avoiding boredom, since art is more than an entertainment of the senses.
Rudolf ArnheimRead

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