Four reasons art is made – and how they shape the art world

There is something very strange about the art world, which, I think, has to do with art stemming from four different motivations that often come into tension with each other.  More specifically, I suspect that art is created mainly for four reasons: 1) Urge: many artists seem to have a compulsion to create (sometimes, to create oddly specific things). They make art to satisfy this urge. In this category, I would also include art that is mainly motivated by helping the artist ach...
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The “seven realms of truth” framework

Here’s a framework I use to think more clearly about complex debates and philosophical questions about whether something is “true,” “exists,” and is “real” (e.g., “is this painting art?”, “is everything subjective?” and “is morality real?”). I find that thinking in terms of this framework can make it easier to figure out what’s being claimed and to clarify what I myself believe. The framework divides things that are sometimes claimed to be “true,” or that we might say “exist,” into seven dif...
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The Problems with Product Ratings

Ratings on the internet (on Amazon, Netflix, IMDB, etc.) can be very valuable, but there are also big problems with them that people aren't as aware of as they should be. Here, I'll discuss two major issues with online ratings. Problem 1: The Different People Problem Probably the biggest problem with ratings is that the different people rate different sorts of products. In other words, the people that rate The Selfish Gene (4.5 stars on Amazon) are a somewhat different group of people tha...
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