tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post1577674028532394703..comments2024-03-23T04:01:39.348-04:00Comments on Understanding Society: Creativity, convention, and traditionDan Littlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15953897221283103880noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-46640675449677128612016-09-29T05:58:09.310-04:002016-09-29T05:58:09.310-04:00This is such an interesting debate. The paradox of...This is such an interesting debate. The paradox of novelty - essential to further develope the arts and society but at the same time hard to make people understand. On the other hand, if done correctly, novelty is exactly what will get people's attention...very complex. It's like you say in the article (as i interpreted it) - to innovate further, the artist needs to find her balance on the "limits" and frameworks of the already conventional.Kevinhttp://www.punkaprosa.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-87601560407532009802009-04-27T09:57:00.000-04:002009-04-27T09:57:00.000-04:00Carolyn,
Both points are useful. And they both h...Carolyn,<br /><br />Both points are useful. And they both highlight a central difficulty: how do you get the audience from familiar ideas and interpretations to novel ideas? If the political audience is prepared to translate all political commentary into "Whigs and Tories", then how do you make a point that is more of an Orwell-socialist perspective? I think your comment about cognitive dissonance theory is directly related; as I understand the notion, it has to do with the concept that people work very hard to fit their observations into familiar categories -- thereby making it extremely difficult to recognize novelty.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment.Dan Littlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15953897221283103880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-43987905232560081252009-04-27T09:54:00.000-04:002009-04-27T09:54:00.000-04:00Greg,
This is a good point. For Quine and Davids...Greg,<br /><br />This is a good point. For Quine and Davidson it is primarily about conceptual schemes and manuals of translation; the extension here, I guess, is that "conventions" guide the interpretation of works of art, and if the audience doesn't share a sufficient number of conventions with the artist, then there is no basis of interpretation. I suppose the incommensurability point could be fleshed out this way for the interpretation of works of art: two cultural communities may have traditions or sets of conventions for the interpretation of the meaning of works of art that (1) constitute fully meaningful bodies of work internally; but (2) do not permit mutual comprehensibility.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment.Dan Littlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15953897221283103880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-27007910417073186402009-04-27T08:09:00.000-04:002009-04-27T08:09:00.000-04:00>>These issues of tradition and innovation s...>>These issues of tradition and innovation seem to me to be related to the arguments of Davidson and Quine regarding radical incommensurability.<br /><br />And, of course, the limitation on human thinking that is called cognitive dissonance comes to mind.<br /><br />Carolyn Kay<br />MakeThemAccountable.comCarohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01372850688572724835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-16564609602909087992009-04-27T07:33:00.000-04:002009-04-27T07:33:00.000-04:00I'm thinking that your observations apply to polit...I'm thinking that your observations apply to political commentary and persuasion.<br /><br />Even if you see clearly what is happening, unless you have the skill to couch your understanding in terms of what people are already thinking and believing, you won't influence many people.<br /><br />Carolyn Kay<br />MakeThemAccountable.comCarohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01372850688572724835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4058766287077382431.post-19968197631848962692009-04-27T06:29:00.000-04:002009-04-27T06:29:00.000-04:00These issues of tradition and innovation seem to m...These issues of tradition and innovation seem to me to be related to the arguments of Davidson and Quine regarding radical incommensurability. Just as is the case between different cultures, there must be <I>something</I> in common in order for a language (for example) to be recognizable as a language, so with artistic traditions. Something can be recognized as innovation only if it retains sufficient commensurablity with the tradition to be recognizably a part of that tradition.Greg Byshenknoreply@blogger.com