[Fis] Art and the Cognitive (Is art a human phenomenon?)

[Mark Johnson]

Dear Laszlo

Perhaps another way of asking your question is to ask why humans need art
and dogs don't.

Here is my favourite composer talking about his creative process as a
process. He ends "why do we want it? Nobody knows. But human beings need
this for some process that we must use the word 'soul'. And with this our
souls are nourished. And then we are dead" -
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://youtu.be/_ce6lgJCXiI?si=Wq3wAEy_CZ5cn7mO__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!VIDEDTyJZC4rfmaC7O18rXWi2oGsLnBunAxzsO-h3OIj7L9y00mE84K0A03l5HRXdp1iyraoIsWku6ClI0WwXYU$ 

Tippett was inspired by various psychodynamic theories and his view
resonates with that of people like Jung and his followers - Herbert Read
("Education through art") or Anton Ehrenzweig ("The hidden order of art").

Given this, to ask "what is the function that art performs that becomes
necessary because of our being human?" is closely related to the question
"what is the function that psychoanalysis performs?"

That must surely be connected to the use of language,.conversation and some
of the physiological issues that John Torday points to. There is a
pathology in language and technology, and perhaps art helps us to keep it
in check. Poetry speaks to this. And dogs don't have language.

But perhaps a deeper question then is "what is being kept in check?" - our
viable existence as individuals (going to the opera), or our viability as a
species. If it is the latter (which I think it is) how does that work? How
do we (and the artist) know?

Best wishes

Mark


Dr. Mark William Johnson
Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health
University of Manchester

Department of Science Education
University of Copenhagen

Department of Eye and Vision Science (honorary)
University of Liverpool
Phone: 07786 064505
Email: johnsonmwj1 at gmail.com
Blog: https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://dailyimprovisation.blogspot.com__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!VIDEDTyJZC4rfmaC7O18rXWi2oGsLnBunAxzsO-h3OIj7L9y00mE84K0A03l5HRXdp1iyraoIsWku6Cl9F5Lt0s$ 

On Sat, 10 Jan 2026, 20:38 JOHN TORDAY, <jtorday at ucla.edu> wrote:

> Dear Laszlo and FIS, when you ask whether art is unique to humans, I think
> you have to ask that question in the context of physiology as the origin of
> consciousness (Torday JS, Miller WB Jr. A systems approach to physiologic
> evolution: From micelles to consciousness. J Cell Physiol. 2018
> Jan;233(1):162-167.). And in that vein, only humans possess an Area of
> Broca that integrates language and locomotion, great apes also having an
> Area of Broca, but without language facility. It is the merging of
> locomotor and language skills under the aegis of the FoxP2 gene  that is
> the origin of Man's facility for art in my opinion, stemming from
> bipedalism as positive selection pressure for our overdeveloped central
> nervous system (Torday JS. A central theory of biology. Med Hypotheses.
> 2015 Jul;85(1):49-57). Perhaps you could comment?
>
> Best, John
>
> John S. Torday
> Professor of Pediatrics
> Obstetrics and Gynecology
> Evolutionary Medicine
> UCLA
>
> *Fellow, The European Academy of Science and Arts*
>
>
> On Sat, Jan 10, 2026 at 11:04 AM Marcus Abundis <55mrcs at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi László,
>>
>> From your introductory post, and the longer paper's abstract it is not
>> clear what we are being asked to consider in your talk. I thought the
>> 'whole matter' of art, etc. was a wholly settled matter, often framed as
>> the 'Upper Paleolithic Revolution' (but at times called various names). The
>> advent of cave paintings, etc. was seen as clear evidence for a human
>> capacity for abstraction and abstract thought, first arising somewhere
>> between 300KYA (first modern humans) and 50KYA (early evident artifacts).
>>
>> What exactly are we considering in your talk?
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Marcus Abundis
>> 55mrcs at gmail.com (best)
>> +41 62 844 2193 home (2nd best)
>> +41 77 465 8977 (cell)
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jan 9, 2026 at 9:35 PM Csáji László Koppány <
>> csaji.koppany at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear FIS Colleagues,
>>>
>>> This is rather a starting point of a conversation than a report of
>>> research results; a call to think together and share our thoughts and
>>> knowledge. The question in this kick-off text is very simple: Is art a
>>> human ability? As a social and cultural anthropologist, I conducted
>>> fieldworks in Asia, Africa, and Europe over the last few decades. Art
>>> penetrates our everyday life and rituals; just think of the built
>>> environment, music, design, literature, fine arts, vernacular arts, etc. I
>>> have recently published a paper that addresses art(s), aiming to develop a
>>> new definition from the perspective of cognitive sciences (see: Toward
>>> a Multidimensional Definition of Art from the Perspective of Cognitive
>>> Sciences | MDPI
>>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.mdpi.com/3042-8084/2/1/1__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!Xrv66q4RXEKv2pWONoI8np-mus_kNGSc3EjXMgbnMskwKkNrkjmE_CkucMR_l-mR9kB5LSEAvPHhwXtKfFcx6TrO8g$>).
>>> My attached kick-off text largely relies on this long paper.
>>>
>>> Numerous attempts to define art have been made from antiquity to the
>>> present, yet historical overviews often adopt a Eurocentric (and
>>> American-centric) perspective focused mainly on culturally dependent
>>> aesthetic approaches. As a universal social and cultural phenomenon, art
>>> resists center-periphery models. Art is not merely a unique representation
>>> of reality, but also an ability to create new realities and thereby shape
>>> society. Art has attracted and accompanied people from the dawn of history.
>>> Some argue that acquiring the ability to create and appreciate art was one
>>> of the few important steps in the process of becoming Homo Sapiens. Thus,
>>> it is a universal phenomenon that spans ages and cultures—arising from
>>> something fundamentally human.  However, is it really fundamentally human?
>>> What gives its "merely" human factor? Do our experiences (image) on AI
>>> development and its social functions support this idea? Ethologists,
>>> cognitive scientists, and psychologists often over-emphasize one element
>>> (e.g., visual symmetry-asymmetry, harmony, beauty, etc.) of art(s) that
>>> seems suitable for their research methods. This seems a pragmatic and
>>> reasonable solution, but it easily obscures the “big picture” and the core
>>> of the problem. Thus, it remains a question how art can be considered as a
>>> human activity. Consequently, artists and scholars have been preoccupied
>>> since ancient times with the question of what art is, or how certain
>>> prominent forms of art (visual arts, drama, music, literature, etc.) work.
>>> Nevertheless, the abstract concept of art is not expressed by a notion
>>> (word) in every culture. There are significant differences in the use of
>>> the words linked to art. Moreover, the meaning of art has changed
>>> continuously and significantly over time, albeit at different rates.
>>>
>>> The cognitive turn reshaped art theory by reconsidering art as a
>>> cognitive dimension of humanity. Art has no limits on who can create or
>>> enjoy it. The ability to use and understand metaphor, for instance,
>>> demonstrates everyday human artistic cognition. I introduced a simple
>>> vectorial model that aligns closely with the idea of family resemblance
>>> in the sense that cognitive semantics conceives it as a kind of
>>> categorization (meaning construction). This a 3D model rather than a
>>> simple definition. Since art lacks a single, definitive prototype, no
>>> strict, universal definition can capture all its forms in a yes or no
>>> spectrum. My filed studies showed me the variability of artistic
>>> practices (in craft, value, range of affect, etc.) that can be placed in
>>> different ways within a space (and not a category) of art. In this model,
>>> three coordinates form a space. These vectors (coordinates) are equally
>>> relevant cognitive aspects: 1. Creativity, 2. Communication, 3. Experience.
>>> For further, detailed argumentation see the attached file.
>>>
>>> Dear FIS members, dear colleagues in different scientific disciplines!
>>> Do you agree or disagree that art is a human ability? If yes or no: what
>>> kind of evidence can we set up for the argumentation?
>>>
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>>                             László Koppány Csáji
>>>
>>>
>>> P.s. See the attached file for further details and argumentation
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