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MalcolmRoss:CultivatingtheArtsinEducationandTerapy
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articulationmakesachievable.Whenwereadagoodbook,thebookisreading
us.Inasmuchasthepossibilityofbeingishiddenfromusweareignorantof
it.TeC19EnglishpoetWilliamWordsworthspeaksofchildhoodasakindof
‘forgetting’—thegraduallossofinnateself-understanding—anditssubstitu-
tionby‘schooling’.
Wecannotaccessthatsilentrealmoftheinefable,ofthesoul’struth,through
theconventionsandinvestigationsoflogical,rationaldiscourse.Teonlyway
todosoisbymeansofthatwhichwillpresenttheinefabledirectlytousso
thatweknowitaspresent,experienceitasalivingpresenceforus.Meaningin
artisembodied.Tisisthespecialcharacterofthesymbolinart,whichthe
philosopherSuzanneLangerhascalled‘presentational’,todistinguishitfrom
theordinary,referentialsymbolsofrationaldiscourse.
ArtandBeauty
Tebeautythatisthetouchstoneofthesoulisthebeautyofholiness,the
goodlinessofhumanknowing—andbytheirbeautyshallyouknowthem,
boththeartistandherwork.Itisbeautythattouchesusintheflashofillu-
mination.Itisthetaskofthearttherapistandtheartteacherinarttoopen
ustothepossibilityofourownbeautythroughart.Tebeautyisinthetruth
telling,inthestruggleforauthenticarticulation.Testruggleforpersonal,for
humanmeaning.Tebeauty,thepoignancy,ofourworkliesinthequalityof
ourhumanity.
TeIntelligenceofFeeling
Whattheintelligencefeelinggrantsus—andonlyfeelingwilldoso—is
intelligence(Imeannews)oftheinefablesoul.AntonioDamasioandothers
writingaboutemotionandfeelinginsistondistinguishingonefromtheother:
whereasemotionlooksoutwardandexpressesitselfinactionintheworld,feel-
inglooksinwardsandsignalsthelongingofthesoultobewhole.AsPascal
mighthavesaid,feelingsaretheheart’sreasons.Troughtheintelligencethat
feelinggives,wemaybecomereconciledtothedoublelifeofart—assouls
embodied.Tesoul’struthisbeingtruetofeeling:thisisauthenticity.Temak-
ingthatreallycountsinartisthere-makingoftheauthenticself.
