When trying to figure out whether art or science is a better medium through which to explain the world, one must look at their inherent functions and components.
Art by nature is expressive. If it loses it’s element of expression and becomes something pragmatic or structural, it ceases to be art. This is because art conveys. It conveys opinions and is thus subjective. It exclaims rather than explains. Science, in contrast, is explanatory. It attempts to say what is and what is known.
While “measurement is not always imperfect,” that does not take away from the goal. Any part of art that attempts to do what science does, to explain something to a degree of fact, becomes structural, and thus does not go any lengths in defining that piece as “art.” Measurements are only imperfect because the goal has not been met, not because science is the wrong tool to use in explaining the world.
Math was created to quantify; when quantifying we use math. Similarly, science was created to explain the world, and thus when we explain the world we use science. Art on the other hand was created to express, so when one wishes to express, he uses art.
While there are limitations to science’s ability to explain, they are only birthed from the limitations of what science claims to be able to explain. Science only explains the world. It does not explain interactions. Sometimes it attempts to explain the world at point of interaction, such as the chemicals that are released in moments of love or fear, it does not attempt to explain anything beyond the structure and nature.
Art comes to explain our interactions with that structure and how we live with nature- what does war feel like? What happens when few have much and many have little?
And so, if we wish to replicate our understanding of the world, we should do so with the tool used to explain it, for understanding is gained through explanation. That tool is science. If we would like replicate elements of life in our explanation of the world, if we would like to explain how we interact with the world, certainly that is where art comes in.
Why is there such an emphasis on explaining how the world works instead of how we interact with it? Because our understanding of how the world works is something that would not be known if not for the time taken to study it, and after studying it you can understand how it works. However, a full understanding of how we interact with the world can not be fully known unless experienced- all the art in the world will never be able to truly convey what it feels like to have your heart broken or what it feels like to witness a sunset firsthand.
