To understand what art really is, we must first stop thinking of it merely as a source of pleasure. Instead, we should see art as an essential part of human life. From this perspective, art appears as one of the most important ways through which human beings communicate with one another.
Every work of art creates a relationship between the artist and the audience, and also among all those who experience the same artwork, whether in the past, present, or future. Just as language connects people by sharing thoughts and ideas, art connects people by sharing feelings. While words transmit thoughts, art transmits emotions.
Art is based on the human ability to feel what others feel. When a person sees or hears another person expressing an emotion, he or she can experience the same emotion. For example, when one person laughs, others may feel happy; when one person cries, others may feel sorrow. Similarly, courage, fear, love, admiration, or sadness expressed by one person can be felt by others. This emotional sharing is the foundation of art.
However, not every emotional reaction is art. Art begins when a person intentionally expresses a feeling in order to make others share that feeling. For instance, when a boy narrates his frightening encounter with a wolf in such a way that listeners feel the same fear, it becomes art. Even if the boy invents the story but successfully makes others feel the fear, it is still art. In the same way, when an artist expresses emotions through painting, sculpture, music, or literature so that others experience those emotions, it is art.
The emotions conveyed through art can be strong or weak, noble or ordinary, joyful or painful. Love, patriotism, devotion, sorrow, courage, humour, calmness, admiration, and many other feelings can all be expressed through art. If the audience is emotionally moved in the way the artist intended, the work qualifies as art.
In simple terms, art is the activity of recreating a felt emotion and transmitting it to others through forms such as words, sounds, colours, or movements. It is a conscious human effort to share inner experiences so that others may feel them too.
Art is not a mysterious expression of beauty, a divine idea, a physical game, or merely the creation of pleasant objects. Above all, it is not just pleasure. Rather, art is a powerful means of uniting people by making them share common feelings. It is essential for both individual growth and human progress.
Just as language allows people to share knowledge and thoughts across generations, art allows people to share emotions across time and space. Through art, people can experience the feelings of others, including those who lived thousands of years ago, and can pass on their own feelings to future generations.
Without the ability to share thoughts through language, humans would live like isolated creatures. Without the ability to share feelings through art, humans would become even more divided and hostile toward one another. Therefore, art is as vital as language itself and is deeply rooted in human life.
I. Answer in two or three sentences
1. Why does Tolstoy compare speech and art?
Tolstoy compares speech and art because both are means of communication among human beings. Speech transmits thoughts, while art transmits feelings, and both help people connect with one another.
2. How does speech allow humans to connect with one another?
Speech enables people to share their thoughts and experiences with others. Through language, humans can understand the ideas of others and pass on their own thoughts across generations.
3. What role does art play in human communication, according to Tolstoy?
According to Tolstoy, art plays the role of transmitting emotions from one person to another. It unites people by making them share the same feelings.
4. What is Tolstoy's definition of art?
Tolstoy defines art as a human activity in which one person consciously expresses feelings through external signs so that others experience the same feelings. Art is the transmission and sharing of emotions.
5. Why does Tolstoy liken a thoughtless person to Kaspar Hauser?
Tolstoy likens a thoughtless person to Kaspar Hauser because, without the ability to share thoughts, a person would live in isolation from human culture and knowledge. Such a person would resemble someone cut off from society and intellectual development.
6. What would happen to humanity if people lacked the ability to share thoughts?
If people lacked the ability to share thoughts, they would live like wild beasts, separated from culture and collective knowledge. Human progress and intellectual development would become impossible.
7. How does Tolstoy argue that art prevents people from becoming 'savage'?
Tolstoy argues that art allows people to share feelings and understand one another emotionally. Without this emotional connection, humans would become more hostile and savage toward each other.
8. What is the danger of living without the capacity to be 'infected by art'?
Without the capacity to be infected by art, people would become emotionally isolated and divided from one another. They would lose empathy and become more hostile and inhuman.
9. In what way does Tolstoy claim art is as important as speech?
Tolstoy claims that art is as important as speech because speech unites people through thoughts, while art unites them through feelings. Both are essential for human life and social harmony.
10. How does the Kaspar Hauser example strengthen Tolstoy's definition of art?
The example of Kaspar Hauser shows that without the ability to share thoughts and feelings, humans would become isolated and uncivilized. It reinforces Tolstoy’s idea that communication through thought and emotion is essential for humanity, and that art is a fundamental human activity.
II. Answer in about 150 words
11. Speech and art as two forms of communication
Tolstoy distinguishes speech and art as two complementary forms of human communication. Speech transmits thoughts and ideas, enabling people to share knowledge and intellectual achievements across generations. Art, on the other hand, transmits feelings and emotions, allowing people to experience the inner life of others. While speech connects minds, art connects hearts. Tolstoy considers both equally important because human life depends not only on intellectual communication but also on emotional understanding. Without speech, humans would lose cultural continuity and rational development; without art, they would lose empathy and emotional unity. Thus, speech and art together sustain human civilization by uniting people intellectually and emotionally.
12. Meaning of the Kaspar Hauser comparison
Tolstoy’s comparison of humans without thought-sharing to wild beasts or Kaspar Hauser reveals his belief that culture and civilization depend on communication. Kaspar Hauser symbolizes a person cut off from human society and intellectual heritage. Without the ability to share thoughts, humans would be deprived of collective knowledge and cultural progress. They would live in isolation, guided only by instinct rather than reason. This comparison shows that Tolstoy views language and shared thought as the foundation of human development. Human identity, culture, and progress exist only because people can transmit ideas across time and society.
13. Art as a safeguard against savagery
Tolstoy argues that art prevents humans from becoming savage by enabling them to share emotions and understand each other’s inner experiences. Through art, people feel love, sorrow, courage, admiration, and devotion expressed by others. This emotional connection creates empathy and mutual understanding. Without art, people would become emotionally isolated and hostile toward one another. Tolstoy suggests that art unites people in common feelings, reducing hatred and separation. For example, music, stories, paintings, and dramas allow individuals to experience the emotions of others. Thus, art functions as a moral and emotional bond that prevents humanity from falling into brutality and hostility.
14. Art and human progress
Tolstoy connects art with the progress and well-being of humanity by showing that art enables the transmission of emotions across time and space. Just as language allows people to inherit the thoughts of previous generations, art allows them to inherit feelings and emotional experiences. Through art, individuals can understand the joys, sufferings, hopes, and fears of others, including people who lived thousands of years ago. This shared emotional life strengthens social unity and moral development. By connecting people emotionally, art contributes to human unity and collective growth. Therefore, Tolstoy sees art not as mere entertainment but as an essential force in the advancement of human civilization.
15. Importance of “infection” of feelings
Tolstoy emphasizes the idea of “infection” because it explains the core function of art. According to him, art occurs when one person’s feelings are transmitted to others so powerfully that they experience the same emotions. This emotional contagion distinguishes art from ordinary emotional expression. If an artist consciously evokes feelings and successfully makes others share them, the work becomes art. The concept of infection shows that art is not defined by beauty or pleasure but by its ability to unite people through shared emotions. Thus, emotional transmission is central to Tolstoy’s definition of art.
16. Kaspar Hauser as a test case
Tolstoy’s reference to Kaspar Hauser serves as a test case for the universality of art. Kaspar Hauser represents a person deprived of social and cultural communication. By mentioning him, Tolstoy illustrates what humans would become without the ability to share thoughts and feelings. This example supports his argument that art is not a luxury but a universal human necessity. It shows that emotional communication through art is essential for social life and human identity. By contrasting civilized humans with isolated figures like Kaspar Hauser, Tolstoy strengthens his claim that art is fundamental to humanity’s existence and purpose.
III. Answer in about 300 words
17. Art as essential as speech
Tolstoy claims that art is as essential to humanity as speech because both are fundamental means of human communication. Speech allows people to share thoughts, knowledge, and ideas, thereby preserving culture and intellectual progress. Art, on the other hand, allows people to share feelings and emotions, creating emotional unity among individuals and communities. Tolstoy argues that without speech, humans would live like wild beasts, disconnected from collective knowledge. Similarly, without art, humans would become emotionally isolated and hostile toward one another.
The example of Kaspar Hauser illustrates the consequences of lacking communication. Kaspar Hauser symbolizes a person separated from society and culture. Tolstoy uses this example to show that without the ability to share thoughts and feelings, human beings would lose their humanity. They would become primitive, isolated, and incapable of social life. Through this comparison, Tolstoy emphasizes that art, like speech, is indispensable for human existence. Art connects people emotionally across time and space, just as speech connects them intellectually. Thus, Tolstoy concludes that art is not merely a source of pleasure but a vital condition of human life and civilization.
18. Evaluation of Tolstoy’s definition of art
Tolstoy defines art as the conscious transmission of feelings from one person to another. This definition challenges traditional aesthetic theories that associate art with beauty, pleasure, or technical skill. According to Tolstoy, art is not necessarily beautiful, pleasurable, or mysterious; it is meaningful only when it successfully communicates emotions. A work of art is judged not by its form or beauty but by its power to “infect” others with the artist’s feelings.
This concept rejects the idea that art is merely the production of pleasing objects or the expression of abstract beauty. Instead, Tolstoy emphasizes art’s social and moral function. Art becomes a means of human unity rather than individual enjoyment. By redefining art as emotional communication, Tolstoy shifts the focus from aesthetics to ethics and human relationships. His theory challenges elitist notions of art and makes it a universal human activity accessible to all.
19. Art, morality, and social harmony
Tolstoy argues that art prevents humanity from falling into savagery and hostility by fostering emotional understanding and empathy. Through art, people experience the feelings of others, such as love, sorrow, courage, devotion, and fear. This shared emotional experience creates bonds among individuals and reduces alienation and conflict. Without art, people would become emotionally disconnected and hostile toward one another.
Tolstoy links art with morality because art cultivates compassion and moral awareness. When people feel the emotions of others through art, they develop sympathy and ethical sensitivity. Art thus contributes to social harmony by uniting people in common feelings. Furthermore, art plays a role in cultural progress by transmitting emotional experiences across generations. By connecting individuals emotionally and morally, art becomes a force for human development and collective well-being. In Tolstoy’s view, art is not a luxury but a moral necessity for civilized society.
20. Tolstoy’s theory and his moral philosophy
Tolstoy’s theory of art reflects his broader philosophical and moral concerns about human unity, empathy, and social responsibility. He rejects aesthetic theories that view art as mere beauty or pleasure because he believes art should serve humanity. For Tolstoy, the value of art lies in its ability to unite people emotionally and morally.
His emphasis on emotional “infection” reveals his belief that true art must foster understanding and compassion among people. Art becomes a moral instrument that strengthens human relationships and promotes social harmony. Tolstoy’s ideas also reflect his critique of elitist art that serves only the privileged. By defining art as a universal human activity, he democratizes art and connects it with ethical and social values.
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