<div dir="ltr">Dear Gordana,<div>Yes, the question is totally valid. Some birs' mating dance or excellent nests, some fish-built dwellings </div><div>or other structures really seems art - for humans. But aren't them only functional behaviors that are </div><div>"recognized" as art only by us? This really turns us back to the fundamental question - what art is, how</div><div>we define it? Can beauty be considered without interest or function for an animal? For humans - yes.</div><div>I am - of course - only loudly thinking. I am not sure for the anser to my question yet, so I really thank</div><div>for thinking together!</div><div>Best regards,</div><div> László </div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">Gordana Dodig Crnkovic <<a href="mailto:dodig@chalmers.se">dodig@chalmers.se</a>> ezt írta (időpont: 2026. jan. 11., V, 9:57):<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div class="msg7333982680687275016">
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book"">Dear
</span><span style="font-family:"Avenir Book"">László,</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book""><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book""><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book"">Thank you for opening this important question.<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book"">What do you think about this fish art?<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="SV" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book""><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/a-pufferfishs-masterpiece/a-pufferfishs-masterpiece/__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!ScQxBLV21qWfNXIiq1daD0JiBzt3Yeluy5KJlxf-uWMxp4AEwH7qwfG7gAKzPV1ksOh19yiJJpGGD9jy4pPJn9WaCQ$" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB">https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/a-pufferfishs-masterpiece/a-pufferfishs-masterpiece/</span></a></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book""><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book""><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book"">All the best,<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book"">Gordana<u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size:11pt;font-family:"Avenir Book""><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:8pt;font-family:"Avenir Book""><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://gordana.se/__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!ScQxBLV21qWfNXIiq1daD0JiBzt3Yeluy5KJlxf-uWMxp4AEwH7qwfG7gAKzPV1ksOh19yiJJpGGD9jy4pPmpmjs0w$" title="http://gordana.se/" target="_blank"><span style="color:rgb(5,99,193)">http://gordana.se/</span></a><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">From:
</span></b><span style="font-family:Calibri,sans-serif;color:black">Fis <<a href="mailto:fis-bounces@listas.unizar.es" target="_blank">fis-bounces@listas.unizar.es</a>> on behalf of "Pedro C. Marijuán" <<a href="mailto:pedroc.marijuan@gmail.com" target="_blank">pedroc.marijuan@gmail.com</a>><br>
<b>Date: </b>Friday, 9 January 2026 at 22:25<br>
<b>To: </b>Csáji László Koppány <<a href="mailto:csaji.koppany@gmail.com" target="_blank">csaji.koppany@gmail.com</a>>, "<a href="mailto:fis@listas.unizar.es" target="_blank">fis@listas.unizar.es</a>" <<a href="mailto:fis@listas.unizar.es" target="_blank">fis@listas.unizar.es</a>><br>
<b>Subject: </b>Re: [Fis] Art and the Cognitive (Is art a human phenomenon?)<u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Dear<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> László,</span><u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Thanks a lot for your exposition. It is great counting with a point of view from someone in the humanities camp.<u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Having worked recently on a BioSystems special issue on Anthropogenesis, I have no trouble to admit that art(s) are a species specific trait of the Homo genus, discussing whether its beginnings belong to Homo Erectus, Antecessor, Neanderthal,
or Sapiens. Artifacts with a truly esthetic sense are found in the later ones, and some traces are presumed in the others. Origins of art(s)? In my opinion they appear as an "overflow" derived from two sources: the strong brain demands from social groups
involved in emerging linguistic practices, plus a strange aesthetic impulse that i do not know how to qualify (and perhaps has a deep biological significance). Your Vectors 2 & 1, Communication and Creativity would look congruent with this initial rumination.<u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">In sum, when you ask "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?" <u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">My response is yes, and the best evidences would stem from anthropogenesis, from archeology, from current anthropology, and from new neuroscience approaches to Art (but not enough! The aesthetic impulse looks quite enigmatic to me, maybe
close to the transcendent). <u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">This was my initial reaction, I will read more carefully your text and the ongoing argumentation.<u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Let me thank, again, your work for the FIS New Year Lecture!<u></u><u></u></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Best--Pedro <u></u><u></u></p>
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<span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype",serif;color:black"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">. El 09/01/2026 a las 0:59, Csáji László Koppány escribió:<u></u><u></u></p>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Dear FIS Colleagues,</span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:106%;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">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:
</span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:106%;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.mdpi.com/3042-8084/2/1/1__;!!D9dNQwwGXtA!QMhJvU3t9o-eVI16E99VZkqXDdBSeEZIyrn9pPXel1iFL7OyQ2OecuICg7GrSJwKlryBYEbudcxEiWiplQs0c7O45afi$" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12pt;line-height:106%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(5,99,193)">Toward
a Multidimensional Definition of Art from the Perspective of Cognitive Sciences | MDPI</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">). My attached kick-off text largely relies on this long paper.
</span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:106%;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">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 </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">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.</span><span style="font-size:11pt;line-height:106%;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
<p class="m_7333982680687275016gmail-mdpi17abstract" style="margin:0cm;text-align:justify;line-height:14pt">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">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 t</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">hat </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">aligns closely
with the idea of family resemblance in the sense that cognitive semantics conceives it as a kind of categorization (meaning construction). T</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">his a 3D model rather than a simple definition. </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">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 s</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">howed me </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">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. </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype",serif;color:black"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">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? </span><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype",serif;color:black"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Palatino Linotype",serif;color:black"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Best regards,</span><span style="color:black"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> László Koppány Csáji</span><span style="color:black"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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<span style="color:black"><u></u> <u></u></span></p>
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<span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">P.s. See t</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">he attac</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:rgb(34,34,34)">hed file for further details
and argumentation</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black"> </span><span style="color:black"><u></u><u></u></span></p>
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