TREAC Paragraph:
The introduction of the arts into the scientific field would be very beneficial to gain empathy, among other important skills. Empathy is the most important skill one can gain from the arts, but can rarely be gained through the sciences. Yo-Yo Ma explains this in his essay, mentioning “To be able to put oneself in another’s shoes without prejudgement is an essential skill. Empathy comes when you understand something deeply through arts and literature and thus make unexpected connection.” Being a famous figure in the arts, Ma understands and expresses the vitality of learning empathy. The unexpected connections we make to each other and the world would not come if it were not for the empathetic skills learned through various art fields. Science can merely teach us facts, not the understanding provided by numerous art fields.
Barclay Paragraph:
The arts have a way of demonstrating things important to human nature and behavior that sciences are just unable too. Yo-Yo Ma and Jonah Lehrer both discuss in their individual essays the important and beneficial influence that the art fields have on people, that the sciences lack. In Yo-Yo Ma’s essay he says “The arts help us cope with (these) issues by engaging, not avoiding, the deep emotions of intimate loss involved and retelling over and over again the story of the human condition and its limits.” He expresses how the arts can communicate what the sciences don’t have the ability too. Lehrer talks about a similar idea, saying “It is the contradictions in works of art that make them able to represent us – as logical and methodical generalizations cannot – our world and ourselves, which are also full of contradictions.” The arts have the ability to share and explain the complexities of the human life, and how they work within us, unlike the sciences. Art fields have the power and specificity to explain such complex things on a level that the everyday person can understand.
