Summary
This article investigates the current problems of the spiritual universe from the perspective of humanism, conceived as a system of ideas and achievements whose essential components are the human being, the fight against alienation and the effort for human improvement. In addition, the human sensitivity category is formulated to underline the need to issue responses to stimuli, the integration of the affective and reason, as well as the urgency that greater attention be paid to feelings in said integration. On this basis, the article displays some ideas on the aesthetic education of human sensibility with the aim of highlighting its discouraging potential and human improvement.
Keywords: humanism, aesthetics, education, sensitivity.
Abstract
This article is a theoretical study that departs from the need to find innovative solutions to the present problems of the spiritual universe. It proposes to do so from the perspective of humanism, conceived as a system of ideas and realizations, whose essential components are the human being like main value, the fight against the alienation and the task for the human improvement. In addition, we expose the concept of human sensitivity to emphasize the need of articulating answers to the stimuli, the integration of affection and reason, and the need to pay more attention to feelings in such integration. The article develops some ideas on the aesthetic education of the human sensibility in order to highlight its contrary essence in relation to alienation and in favor of human improvement.
Keywords: Humanism, Aesthetics, Education, Sensibility.
Introduction1
Thinking about education is always a highly complex task. This is due to many factors, but above all to one: it is essentially related to the characteristics, contradictions, tasks and demands of the present, in which the past and the future converge in terms of what should be, the ideals and the realization of both. .
The adaptation of the conception of education to the current demands and the near future, as well as the educational task, are great challenges that humanity faces today. These refer to the ways of reaching higher levels in its dialogical, critical, emancipatory essence (Díaz 2), consolidating planetary consciousness, strengthening respect for diversity, increasing demonstrations against anti-human ideas and acts, and above all increasing the enrichment of the spiritual universe.
It deserves a note: in this text the spiritual universe category refers to the spiritual life of society, that is, the production of ideas, theories, feelings, values, beliefs, ideals, as well as their dissemination, exchange, consumption, conservation, destruction. It includes the works of science, religion, philosophy, politics, literature, art, morality, aesthetics, and their relationships with social and individual needs, interests, and ends.
It is possible that it is considered that there is no urgency to think about the enrichment of said universe and, much less about aesthetic education, in a context where there are so many problems that overwhelm humanity in the second decade of the 21st century and even put survival at risk. of the planet. There is no doubt that some of them are basic -food, employment, housing and health- and their solution must be prioritized, but human life has other dimensions that should not be ignored; rather, in certain circumstances, there would be to attend to them more carefully. Such is the case of the enrichment of the spiritual universe.
Today the existence and intensification of “selfishness, violence, and spiritual pettiness seem to undermine the goodness of our collective life” (Goleman 8). Along with this, the increase in aggressiveness and other emotional problems (10) become evident: the industrialization of sentimental-sexual relationships through digital encounters -a kind of market for quick sexual relations (Lardellier 79)-; the increase in flexible and ephemeral couples (Venegas 576); attention to the body as an accessory to shape in a beauty framework where health does not matter (Espinal, Estrada and Pérez 190), but rather fashion (Retana 326). In Bodei’s words: “the misery of the insignificant; the regressive pleasure of seeing what is already known come back and, therefore, gives security; the hammering repetition of what is always the same; the triumph of banality and chatter; mental and emotional bewilderment; […] the futility of so many attempts to create new forms of expression” (The form 157); and if that were not enough: “reciprocal indifference” ( Geometry 6). Such problems are from the spiritual universe.
Some of them exist in Cuba and are increasingly present. One of the most disturbing is indifference, which already forces you to think about how to stop it and turn it into its opposite. Education is shown in this panorama as an instrument of extraordinary value; but it must be approached with greater mental breadth, with an innovative desire (aimed at finding new theoretical and practical possibilities) and with integrative intentions. Therefore, in the present text answers are sought not only within the framework of reason, but also in the affective one, aesthetic education is optimistically addressed and the category of human sensitivity is used creatively.
On this basis, this paper studies the aesthetic education of human sensibility from the perspective of humanism, to highlight its daunting essence along with its capacity for human improvement, potentially usable to solve some current problems of the spiritual universe, specifically indifference. . It contains reflections of a philosophical nature, many of them supported by the specific situation in Cuba. The following methods were used: analysis-synthesis, induction-deduction, historical-logical, conjugation of the universal and the particular, and comparison (of ideas, principles, tendencies, objectives). It is structured in the following sections: “Theoretical clarification of humanism”; “Around aesthetic education”; “Theoretical distinction between sensitivity and human sensitivity” and “
Theoretical punctuation of humanism
More than one author affirms that the word humanism was put into circulation by the German pedagogue Friedrich Niethammer to insist on the educational supremacy of the classics of Greco-Latin culture, in relation to modern science and technology (Rodríguez 13). Based on this, criteria such as the following are sustained: “the concept of humanism refers expressly to the education and culture of Antiquity” (Jaeger 300) and is “the cultural current that comes to us from Greece and Rome to through the Renaissance” (Vitier 105).
Several scholars, when they link humanism and the Renaissance, call it Renaissance humanism and highlight the central role that humans were given at that time in the philosophical, artistic, literary, political, and educational endeavors, as well as the exaltation of freedom, the dignity and knowledge of nature. In this way, humanism is understood as a cultural movement, a new look at humans and their values (Toffannin 514), a different way of thinking, a current of thought or an attitude of the spirit of the Renaissance (Martins 99). .
With the passage of time, the conception of humanism has varied and various types have emerged (Varona 26-9), but, in general, the importance of humans and their benefit is present in all of them, as well as the confidence in their abilities to move forward in every way. An example of this is when it is defined as “a set of ideas that highlight the dignity of the person, the concern for their harmonious development and the struggle to create favorable conditions for the achievement of such ends” (García 118). Now, what is truly relevant and essential is its discouraging character (Guadarrama 3) and human improvement.
Humanism constitutes a system of ideas and achievements whose essential and essential components are human beings as the main value and focus of any idea or action, the fight against all kinds of alienation, and human improvement. Always at its foundation there is some kind of conception about the human being.
In the conceptions about humans, it stands out that the center is made of a specificity and it is taken as essential and defining. Such is the case of reason (Descartes 160), feelings (Rousseau 165), the set of social relations (Marx 9), the ability to think about God (Ruiz 76), the biosocial nexus (Minkevicius 144), the imagination (Lapoujade 193). With this variant, typical of modernity and simplifying thinking, humanity achieved undeniable results; however, the current development of scientific knowledge requires another way of thinking: complex thinking that, among other features, is inclusive (Morin, La cabeza 125) and responds to the challenges of such knowledge (Maldonado 13).
Complex thought is the foundation of the conception of humanism used in this text, from which the human being is understood as a complex whole whose essence lies in the bipolarization of antagonistic characters (Morin, Los seven knowledge 35 ) . In its light, the faculties and characteristics of humans are conceived in an integrated way. Therefore, in the foundations of this writing is the conjugation of reason and feelings. However, the latter must be attended to more if the balance of both is to be achieved, not as an end, but to strengthen the capacities of humans and advance in their de-alienation and improvement.
Alienation consists of any state of opposition to humans (seen individually or in groups), where objective and subjective, conscious and unconscious, spontaneous and forced, material and spiritual, psycho-bio-socio-cultural relationships, among others, are combined; it is dialectical, historical-concrete and its manifestation can be very varied (cultural, economic, social), but it is always one of oppression, impediment, degeneration, clouding, discrimination.
One must not lose sight of the fact that alienation continually changes its forms and that new ones do not cease to appear. Humanism is essentially its antithesis; hence its discouraging power, which is greater when it is not limited to theory, but also encompasses practice. For this, the recognition that humans make of their faculties and capacity to transform the world to their benefit, based on their potential and creative spirit, is decisive. However, with the discouraging character, humanism is not complete: it needs to be combined with human improvement, which must correspond to the demands and challenges of the present and future historical moment, so it can be achieved in each individual and in the entire society, historically achievable superior qualities.
Due to the above, the theoretical and practical work against alienation and for human improvement are dynamic processes to which a final limit cannot be set, that is, a goal that is reached once. This vision determines that humanism does not lose validity and that it requires perseverance and creativity. In this sense, education is extremely important.
About aesthetic education
Education is essential to carry out the purpose of enriching the spiritual universe and, therefore, to attack indolence in the face of ideas and facts that engender hatred, discrimination and lead to limiting, impeding or disdaining human improvement. Today it is urgent to become aware of the novelties and challenges that educational work and educators face: optimizing the transmission and use of scientific knowledge, promoting and stimulating multilateral human development (physical and spiritual); inculcate the willingness to attack and exterminate iniquities, take care of the planet and “strengthen, preserve and develop one’s own, to find our essential being and insert ourselves into the universal culture with sovereign right” (Pupo 44), in short, build a better future .
In all this network of tasks and objectives, aesthetic education has a specific place. Various opinions have existed around it since the German philosopher Alexander Gottlieb Baumgartem (1714-1762) began to use the word. Among those, those that limit her to art and the artistic stand out, such as Hegel (27), Sánchez Vásquez (51) and Jacques Rancière. For him, it consists of “a specific regime of visibility and intelligibility of art, which is part of a reconfiguration of the categories of sensitive experience and its interpretation” (“Thinking between” 1), he sees it “as a regime of functioning of art and as a discursive matrix, as a way of identifying what is proper to art and as a redistribution of relations between the forms of sensitive experience”25). The criterion that associates it with sensitivity and feelings also stands out (Bayer 183; Audi 320; De la Fuente 3), which, in general, are located in the foundations of the conception.
It is worth pointing out that aesthetics is often equated to beauty and beauty, which is not an error, as long as they are at its foundation, but it does constitute reductionism, because ugliness and ugly are also on that foundation. (its dialectical opposites), as well as the relationships established between both parties. In addition, on this basis, more links are included in aesthetics, such as the wonderful and the grotesque, the sublime and the low, the elegant and the corny. In it, what is truly basic and essential is the aesthetic sensibility, which takes place in these links and because of them. This whole runs through the various human relationships.
If aesthetics, as specific knowledge, has been identified with the philosophy of art, and the aesthetic and the artistic have become so close that they have almost merged, it is to imagine that aesthetic education has become equal to artistic education. or to artistic appreciation, it has even been reduced to a sociocultural strategy of educational and cultural institutions. It has also been exclusively linked to the use of beauty in teaching or the so-called cultural activities, which are frequently restricted to the study of local traditions, meeting people linked to art and literature, artistic and literary work or the reading and observing such works that certainly have a special place in such education, be it in terms of active participation in their creation or performance,
Aesthetic education can be conceived as the deployment of the capacity for perception and enjoyment, the consolidation of positions, the formation of values and the stimulation of creativity, in all these cases, of an aesthetic nature. Essentially it consists of the encouragement, development and shaping of aesthetic sensibility.
Theoretical distinction between sensitivity and human sensitivity
The word sensitivity has more than one meaning. One of them refers to the faculty of feeling, typical of living beings, which in the case of humans “is always a conquest over nature and not something immediately given” (Sánchez Vázquez 48), because their senses ceased to be strictly biological to the same extent as in activity, especially in practice, they developed human properties and, in fact, sensitive consciousness was enriched.
Another of its meanings is the quality of everything that has the power to feel, to experience sensations, which in humans can be physical or moral and produce feelings; In this case, from the perspective in which it is observed, one can speak of political, ecological and, also, aesthetic sensitivity. Regarding the latter, Adolfo Sánchez Vázquez affirms that it is both a specific form of human sensibility and “a superior form of it, insofar as it expresses in all its richness and fullness the true human relationship with the object as confirmation of the essentially human forces objectified in it” (50). According to this author, in said superiority it is crucial that the aesthetic object only exists in concrete-sensible forms and that is the only way it is offered to the senses. However,
From this position comes the inconsistency of the criterion that indicates that artistic and aesthetic values are indefinable. In addition, returning to the author Fabelo Corzo (“For an aesthetic” 100), it is necessary to address the legitimacy of everything that has to do with aesthetics and emphasize that in this framework, anything that threatens humanity must not be recognized. Today there is an urgent need for an aesthetic theory that carries (along with the issues that have historically shaped it) interest in life and that, to the same extent, its focus is on spiritual enrichment, human improvement and the fight against all kinds of alienation.
Among the meanings of the word sensitivity can also be found that refers to the natural human tendency to be carried away by compassion, pity, tenderness, as well as the behavior that follows from there. In turn, the word of yore is used to refer to the property of human beings to manifest themselves in some way: attraction or rejection, even when the stimuli are extremely small and apparently insignificant.
On this basis, the category of human sensibility takes consistency . With it we want to underline the following: i) it is urgent to give more attention to the integration of feelings and reason; ii) in said integration, to achieve balance, the affective must be prioritized, especially feelings; iii) all stimuli are important, even if they are minimal; iv) before the stimuli there must be responses and care; v) the adjective humanit means not only that it belongs to humans, but that it contains a humanly constructive verbal or action purpose, for which reason it is the antithesis of indifference and passivity; vi) pity and tenderness are not enough, it is essential to solve problems; vii) his spirit is markedly tolerant and understanding so as not to trigger violence, but solidarity and help.
This conception of human sensitivity has antecedents. One of them is the concept of poetic reason by the Spanish philosopher María Zambrano (20), who supported it to refer to the integration of reason and feelings as a way to face the problems of the world in which she lived. Between both conceptions there is a common point: the aforementioned integration, but in human sensitivity the integrative claim is aimed at highlighting the importance of all stimulus and reactions in order to end indifference and promote social activism (not only political ).
Close to human sensitivity is author Daniel Goleman’s conception of emotional intelligence. This is based on the link between feelings, character and moral impulses, as well as the relationship between ethical attitudes and underlying emotional capacities; it tries to harmonize reason and emotional impulses and for this it emphasizes the intelligent use of emotions (Goleman 41); Enthusiasm, perseverance, the ability to self-motivate and, above all, self-control have a significant place (Goleman 302).
The integrationist spirit also takes place in other understandings, such as the one held by Arias and Lemos regarding spiritual intelligence , where the cognitive, the affective and the behavioral are conjugated (12, 205). This idea agrees with that of the author R. Bodei with respect to the fact that the links between the concepts of reason and passion must stop being apprehended as a struggle “between logic and the absence of logic”, even “this relationship may be interpreted, if at all, as conflict between two complementary logics” ( Geometry 4). Other authors have emphasized the correspondence between emotions and reason, as well as the possibility and benefit of combining them (Viegas 10-1), where, in turn, emphasis is placed on activity.
Close to the conception defended in this work is the idea of environmental sensitivity (Wagensber 10), which emphasizes the relationship between the individual, his freedom and the environment -above all social- supported by the knowledge of the objective conditions and the corresponding human behavior as a complex being. That is why it alludes to important moments: intentionality, construction, creativity, flexibility, among others, which always respond to principles, purposes, ideals, of a moral, social, political, economic nature, together with referring to the relationships between the conditions predictably unpredictable and human actions. But this is not intended to attack indifference and insensitivity.
Otras de las concepciones sobre la sensibilidad humana es la del autor Beltrán Anglada, quien la despliega desde la psicología y la concibe en cuatro tipos: la mental, la emocional, la física y la religiosa. Anglada la ve apta para todos los humanos, pero solo utilizable por quienes poseen una mente muy desarrollada y un corazón abierto a las necesidades sociales.
These theories studied are valuable in various ways because, basically, they consist of a search for solutions to the problems of humanity. One of them is the elimination of unnecessary disjunctions and the advancement of integration; this is in its various manifestations, such as between the affective and the rational (Morin, Los siete saberes 17). Among the latter, it is urgent to achieve balance; Now, to achieve this, it is necessary to prioritize feelings and highlight them, because currently the rational prevails. It is necessary to accentuate the education of sensitivity, which F. Schiller already emphasized in the 17th century “not only because it is a means of giving effectiveness in life to the progress of knowledge, but also because it contributes to the improvement of one’s own knowledge” (43) and advance human sensitivity.
That is where the relevance of aesthetic education lies, which does not consist in imposing models of tastes, desires and preferences (Valdés 76), but in stimulating the sensitive component of humans and combining it with the rational in greater equity and, from that level , deploy human sensitivity, which in the aesthetic framework (worth the emphasis) develops with the beauty-ugliness nexus as the core, with the specificities of each individual and their environment.
The aesthetic education of human sensibility seen from humanism
The aesthetic education of human sensibility can be understood as a system of aesthetic actions aimed at acting on the combination of the affective and the rational in order to activate human beings in the confrontation with indolence. By attending to it from the perspective of humanism, the aim is to highlight its daunting essence together with its capacity for human improvement, to solve, even to some extent, some current problems of the spiritual universe, specifically, indifference and with it self-limitation. From this perspective, the feasibility and foundations of said education, its principles, purposes and strategies are observed in a systemic way.
Feasibility of aesthetic education of human sensibility . Although some ideas about aesthetic education have been exposed above, it cannot be overemphasized that it is possible to carry it out, even when diversity, the individual and the specific continually make their way in today’s world. Its feasibility is due to the change that she herself has had in her basic objectives: not to impose criteria, but to lead humans to discover their aesthetic sensibility and what stimulates it. Therefore individual specificities are fundamental, guiding individuals to grasp life and enjoy it in a greater spiritual dimension.
On the other hand, it is worth emphasizing that aesthetic education, like education in a general sense, extends throughout life and is carried out by all of society through family, friends, colleagues, neighbors , the so-called cultural institutions, schools at different levels and, among others, the mass media. Of these, it is worth noting their dependence on politics (if this favors education, the results can be beneficial) and their breadth, variety and scope, which favor education when it is at its service. Today it is also appropriate to talk about digital media and social networks.
In Cuba, the realization of an aesthetic education of human sensitivity can be deployed in schools and so-called cultural institutions (theaters, museums, libraries, among others), where the work of cultural promoters and other activists stands out. In both cases there is an organized educational system, with professionals generally well prepared for this type of work and with the desire to do it, both in teaching and outside of it.
This type of education must have as its first objective to carry out the work of aesthetically educating human sensibility: a difficult task and, furthermore, one that requires a lot of optimism. Once the intention is in place, it can be carried out using the aesthetic capacity of the sociocultural and natural environment: flora, fauna and social and individual activities, since they open up multiple paths and ways for its realization, as well as like art and literature. The greatest and most profound effects can be achieved if there is a planned aesthetic-educational process, with a contending program of a system of actions and control of the results, which discards improvisation and voluntarism (Estévez, La educación estética51) and that it makes the most of “the degree of aesthetic sensitivity that the subject of the reception possesses […] for the conformation of the aesthetic judgement” (32).
Principles of aesthetic education of human sensibility
Some of them are:
1. The starting point is in the specificities of each human being (Valdés 76), which should not be seen as dismissing the influence on the personality of others.
2. Include in its realization the entire sociocultural and natural spectrum. This principle prevents the absolutization of art and literature as the core of this education and that it is limited to them, although it does not exclude them; In addition, it encourages the participation, as educators, of other members of society, along with teachers and art instructors, whether from the labor community, political institutions, social organizations (Estévez, La alternative estética 20) and the family . In this way, the identification of aesthetic education with artistic education is not pertinent (21).
3. It does not have to be carried out through a subject called Aesthetic Education (54), since the desired educational effect (awakening sensitivity and eliminating indifference) can be achieved not only through teaching work, but in various ways. However, it is recommended that there be a course focused on these objectives.
4. Do not limit yourself to the use of a single theoretical and methodological approach.
5. It must present a perennial and systemic character, which presupposes that it is carried out through the coordinated action of the entire society and encompasses the different spheres of human activity (Montero 33).
6. It must be kept in mind that it is a complex process and, therefore, it must have a scientifically based program, which postulates that aesthetic taste is not a casual result, nor is it just an individual result, that is, it does not deny or relegate to lower planes the spontaneous actions or the development that each one offers to their aesthetic and artistic tastes.
7. You must watch over feelings in a special way. This is attending to its quality from an aesthetic perspective (which must be expressed through the intensity of emotional perception and aesthetic enjoyment) and taking care of its relationship with society (needs, interests, goals).
8. Stimulate the development of needs and interests that strengthen aesthetic values with special attention to cultural identity, without disdaining other cultures.
9. Confrontation with aesthetic pseudo-values, much more so if they are fundamentally alien to one’s own cultural identity. This matter must be understood as a principle to follow, but it must not be confused with a closure to the new, the foreign or the universal. In this case, greatness lies in the ability to assimilate what is humanly beneficial, adapting it to each culture.
Purposes of aesthetic education of human sensibility
Among them are:
1. Contribute to the formation of aesthetic and artistic taste to, through them, favor the development of creativity, the ability to appreciate art and discern the ugly and the beautiful, the low and the high, the comic and the tragic, the grotesque and the sublime. In addition, it is necessary that creativity turns to conquer the interest of individuals, especially for the values with which indifference is threatened.
2. Build the aesthetic ideal because as a transversal axis it crosses the spiritual life and thus it is present in all the variants of education and in human activity, for which, in turn, it functions as an entity that unites the integral formation.
3. Prepare individuals and the masses for the consumption of cultural products (Estévez, La alternativa estética 4) by encouraging fantasy, imagination and creativity, as well as increasing interest in artistic creation .
4. Preserve and develop identity, both aesthetic and cultural, and from this point contribute to the harmony of social relations through empathic interaction between individuals, between them and nature, and between them and society. Not coincidentally, with said education, an attempt is made to aesthetically form a personality whose main characteristic is the possession of motivations that are not exclusively aesthetic, but also ethical and ecological, because “it is not coherent who, having developed a certain sense of beauty, does not fight for it to prevail in their natural and social environment (in their community); or who, being able to appreciate the beauty of the landscape, flora and fauna, does not feel a deep love and respect for nature” (Estévez 7). Each individual does not always reach this level of interrelationship, among other factors, by individual characteristics. However, the truth is that whoever loves to enrich his spiritual universe, generally expands his values wherever he is.
5. Act on the sensitivity of each individual so that the aesthetic is impregnated in their projects. Qualitative change does not truly occur in society if individuals do not feel identified with the social environment.
6. Contribute to the comprehensive training of men and women, as well as professionals who are characterized by their creative sense and human sensitivity. In this it is vital that the sensitive spectrum be sharpened and broadened by strengthening aesthetic-perceptive capacities and the coherent orientation of aesthetic taste (Estévez 32) and that attention to beauty is stimulated to enrich feelings and encourage sensitivity. , not only for individual aesthetic purposes, but to participate in the improvement of society.
7. Ensure that beauty exists in all human activities: if one does not think about it, the result of the work cannot be beautiful (Montero 32). In his spiritual universe, human beings have an aesthetic component that forms and unfolds linked to his sensitivity, which influences his entire life and is even decisive in his manifestations and in the directions he takes. The aesthetic dimension is not only a goal to be achieved, it is also a starting point that must be carefully attended to, because the issue is “forming a new sensibility, developing a more varied and profound appreciation of culture, which contributes to a personal and collective happiness and a richer definition of the traits of nationality” (Silva 3). Attention to beauty does not mean that ugliness and the negative are disregarded;
Strategies of aesthetic education of human sensibility
They are between them:
1. If you look critically at the situation of aesthetic education in Cuba, you come to understand that creative and extensive strategic work must be implemented to increase the number of specialists who are dedicated to systematically delve into the theoretical and practical problems of aesthetic education -not to be confused with scholars and experts in art, literature or philosophical aesthetics-. Aesthetic education is taught in a few university courses and there are not a few students who show a desire to eliminate it or lack interest in it.
2. It is necessary to highlight their educational and social role to encourage their development. It is not by chance that in school and public libraries there is little specialized literature on aesthetic education, mostly outdated. In addition, because it is often equated with artistic education, it is notorious that its knowledge does not have the depth that it should, which “is manifested in conceptual confusion; little command of the categories of aesthetics and an (almost generalized) ignorance of the theory of aesthetic education and artistic education and the specific role of both in the integral formation of students” (Estévez, La educación estética 77).
3. Strengthen their links with life, which should have a favorable impact on the development of the capacity for aesthetic perception and the formation of a high aesthetic awareness in all members of society (7). Along these lines, the intention to increase aesthetic pleasure should stand out as a way through which humans not only find peace, but, above all, impulses and strength to perform tasks and overcome obstacles.
4. At the strictly teaching level, strategies aimed at increasing the creative and systematic use of procedures that facilitate direct contact of students with objects that have aesthetic and artistic values should be increased (80), not only to develop their skills or expand their knowledge, but so that they are able to capture in them the discouraging and human betterment forces.
5. Encourage teachers of all specialties to locate content with aesthetic potential in their subjects and to use it transdisciplinary and transversally, preferably through independent work where active methods are used that encourage students to apply knowledge creatively and the skills they already possess and thus become managers and builders of their own knowledge and self-education, but, above all, of their growth as human beings with the expansion and enrichment of their spiritual universe, with which, in turn , contribute to the improvement of colleagues and friends and the elimination of taboos, discrimination and other alienating forces.
6. Do not absolutize the use of texts on art and literature because, among other reasons, not all students like them. With human sensibility, teachers can break taboos, such as the coldness typical of the positivist conception of scientific knowledge, and help students open up their feelings and display human sensibility.
7. Open the way to how much they understand that they are sensitive sides of the students. But, at the same time, there is another important aspect of the matter and it is machismo. Teachers and students of the male sex have to understand that sensitivity (in all its forms) is a human property and not only of the female sex.
Works of art and literature – aesthetic education of human sensibility – humanism
Works of art and literature are the result of human activity where aesthetic purposes prevail. Although aesthetic education is not limited to them, it is essential to carry out an orientation so that the student knows, understands, and enjoys them in order to contribute to the development of their creative potential. To this extent, the aesthetic education of human sensibility cannot ignore the transformations of artistic and literary production, nor the factors that condition them: there is no universal norm for their creation and perception; the desire for such a rule does not prevail among the creators; The borders between artistic modalities and between them and the non-artistic are increasingly pale, although the specificities given, above all, by the gesture and the capacity for modification are maintained.
From the creator-work-consumer triad, creators should not be prioritized in aesthetic education, since they generally display their creativity with their own aesthetic codes, and often do so with minimal or no attention to external considerations. . In turn, due to the enormous speed with which one lives, the plurality of aesthetic tastes and the speed with which they change and discard, it is appropriate to stimulate “a non-linear, open aesthetic vocation, in permanent self-construction” (Sánchez Medina 31). .
Today the value of aesthetic education grows when, through flexibility and openness to the new, it promotes “the development of a sensitivity capable of appreciating the aesthetic meaning not only of the works already created and adhering to accepted normative patterns, but also of innovative, transgressive art, new in terms of the aesthetic proposals it promotes” (Fabelo, “Aproximación teórico” 25). Sometimes what is innovative and transgressive brings benefits to humans because it spiritually enriches them with the stimulation of imagination and fantasy, through which, for example, they can move feelings that lead them to think about their neighbor and how to remedy their ills. , because “the aesthetic attitude does not have to be at odds with the practical attitude” (Fabelo, “Por una estética” 96).
Works of art and literature have an ideo-aesthetic power that is intertwined with the emotions and aesthetic feelings that they arouse; in them not infrequently the practical-spiritual assimilation that the creator has made of his natural or sociocultural environment is felt, as well as the transformations that he impels, not exclusively towards social or political changes, but to the broadening of the soul, as Novalis claimed. with his blue flower (Die blaue Blume), where he deposited the enigmatic force of art and his desire to turn the world into a place of beauty, through the power of creative imagination and the feats of heroes. With this position, it is not intended that the creator be a human servant, but that with a high-quality work, which exceeds the levels reached, it is capable of humanly improving those who contact it,
This theoretical position is not an exaggeration of the educational function of works of art and literature and their liberating power, rather what it does is highlight the power they have to awaken human sensitivity and with it the denial of indifference. These works not only produce aesthetic pleasure, they also promote “growth, progress, dignity, the emancipation of the human being” (Fabelo, “Aproximación teórico” 21), a condition that immediately comes to light in the light of humanism. Through them it is possible to assimilate values and know anti-values through which the spirit of discouragement and human improvement can be awakened. The artistic image, in any of its manifestations, exposes constructions referring to life and encourages each one to form their criteria,
Regarding the aesthetic education of human sensibility, there is an aspect that can come to light from different perspectives, but which, when observed through the humanist prism, stands out: there are people who do not relate to these works and need special education. that arouses curiosity and interest in them and leads them to understand that their ignorance and their attitude are oppressive forces that should be destroyed. In addition, they must learn to incorporate superior qualities, which do not necessarily have to be of a moral nature, since human improvement is not only of this type, it is also when spiritual fibers are removed. Walking out of a concert or art gallery, you can feel many qualities activated, such as love and kindness.
In the development of aesthetic education it is possible to use all kinds of work, even what can be considered pseudo-art, since what is important is criticism that includes recognizing and highlighting the positive and negative, the usable and the disposable. . In all this work, the emphasis on beauty is central, but not exclusively, because spiritual enrichment is not achieved only in this way. It is significant to stress the importance of coming to critically and creatively appreciate the ugly and the ugliness; they are not always negative; In addition, the non-positive aspects of life also count, you just have to know how to appreciate them and learn to treat them properly.
The grotesque, the dirty, the repulsive, when it is embodied in a work of art or literature, is not the result of an extravagance on the part of the creator, nor to stimulate its diffusion. But it is necessary that the consumer understands it, that he knows how to capture the messages and, even more, that he is capable of assuming a critical position. Those are cases where the aesthetic education of human sensibility can and should shine. Human beings must be educated so that they know what to fight against (not only in the political sense) and to do it; also so that they apprehend critically and creatively what they are recommended to imitate. This also shows the enrichment of the spiritual universe and reduces indifference.
conclusions
The aesthetic education of human sensibility is humanist by nature, because its goal is the conjugation of feelings and reason in the aesthetic universe to obtain answers and together with them attack indifference and passivity. This implies the intention of human improvement; but when it is studied from the perspective of humanism, its discouraging essence also comes to light, which is manifested, in a special way, in the opposition to indifference as an obstacle to human growth.
This type of education must have the following characteristics: carried out in a systemic way (that is, there must be harmony between its principles, objectives, strategies and other components); the spirit of creativity and optimism must prevail in it; in its development, use all kinds of works of art and literature for a critique that can recognize the positive and the negative, the usable and the disposable. All this can be done in many ways, with a breadth and variety of methods. But in schools it is recommended that a specific subject be established,
Grades
1 The official background of this work is the research project CAPES-MES, Brazil-Cuba, number 055-88 (2008-2010), between the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the University of Holguin, entitled “Complexity, transdisciplinarity and education superior” where the author delved into aesthetic education in universities and its links with culture. However, the study of humanism-culture-aesthetic relationships in Western philosophical thought began in the eighties, the results of which have been exposed in national and international scientific events. Among his publications, Culture, cinema and human beings stand out: a look at Humberto Solás, La Habana: Ciencias Sociales, 2014. The writing of this article was influenced by the call made by Pope Francis in Cuba during the mass celebrated in the city of Holguín on September 21, 2015. There he motivated to think more about the beautification of the soul with friendship, forgiveness, humility and love, as well as the role that these values have for the development of the family and the solution of many social problems of today.
References
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