The idea of beauty as an ultimate value goes back to Plato. Scruton writes: “According to this idea beauty is an ultimate value--something that we pursue for its own sake, and for the pursuit of which no further reason needs to be given. Beauty should therefore be compared to truth and goodness, one member of a trio of ultimate values which justify our rational inclination.” Truth is usually associated with reason or science; the good is usually associated with religion and ethics; and finally, beauty is usually associated with art. The question that must be asked is there a relationship between truth, goodness, and beauty? Is there a relationship between art and truth, goodness, and beauty?
First, art needs to be defined. What is art? The word art has many different meanings, but in the more recent times the definition has been focused on the fine arts. In the 19th century, art became identified with the new discipline of aesthetics. Scruton notes, “Only in the course of the nineteenth century, and in the wake of Hegel’s posthumously published lectures on aesthetics, did the topic of art come to replace that of natural beauty as the core subject matter of aesthetics.” The definition of art in the history of Western Civilization has had a broader meaning. In this tradition, there have been different kinds of arts. Both healing and teaching are recognized as arts. Another kind of art is the liberal arts, cultivating the skills of the mind. Other kinds of arts are arts and crafts, industrial arts, and the useful arts. In the history of Western Civilization, the useful arts have been more prominent than the fine arts until recent times. Although this paper is aware of the broader definition of the arts, it will concentrate on the fine arts, especially, literature, music, painting and sculpture. The question this paper asks is: What is the relationship between truth, goodness, beauty, and the fine arts?
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