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Within various fields experts who have the same information, many disagree on a

topic, this can be seen within art and ethics. An expert is an individual with a set

knowledge in a specific area, an art would expert be an art critic while in ethics it would

be a philosopher studying ethical components. To what extent can experts in a field

disagree about the foundations of a common area due to their personal interpretations

and knowledge? Within the areas of knowledge from art and ethics, to a great extent

expert in a field can disagree about the foundations of a common area due to their

personal interpretation and knowledge. Within ethics there is a debate about what is

ethically right or wrong, ethics has to do with moral principles that govern a persons

behaviors of activities. Also, art critics are having a debate about what kind of pieces

can be called art as various standards and interpretations are involved. Art uses

creativity to produce aesthetic objects that are appreciated from their beauty and

emotional power. Although art critics and ethical philosophers may be evaluating a

certain topic, they may disagree if the topic can be seen as art or ethically right.

In the art community, critics have disagreements about what piece of work may

be considered as art since each critic may have different perspectives and values for a

specific art piece. Theodor Adorno, a German philosopher and sociologist (1903-1969),

stated in his book Aesthetic Theory that It is self-evident that nothing concerning art is

self-evident any more, not its inner life, not its relation to the world, not even its right to

exist. (Danto, 17) demonstrating that art is suppressed by regulations and standards, in

a way individuals are killing art, degrading its value. Adorno believed art should be

valued by its aesthetic beauty, individuals may be viewing the same art piece but they

can view its aesthetics differently. This connects to the aesthetic paradox which is that
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art may have standards or that art is just beauty in the eye of the beholder. Within the

book The Paradox of Aesthetic Meaning by Lucius Garvin, it is explained that finding

meaning in a piece of art various from the evaluator. During the 1980s, graffiti grew and

was seen in art showcases, but art critics are still having the debate of whether graffiti

should be considered as art. A graffiti artist whos broken the restraints of art critics

definition of what is considered as art is Banksy, Banksys fame has grown throughout

the years and is now recognized as a world famous artist although his work consists of

graffiti pieces. George C. Stowers in Graffiti Art: An Essay Concerning the Recognition

of Some Forms of Graffiti as Art wrote that graffiti are a form of self expression which

involves imagination, planning, and effort which makes others feel emotions. Art in

general seems similar to the purpose of graffiti, which determines graffiti as art although

critics see it as something criminalizing. Stowers also stated that a lot of the opposition

of graffiti as an art form is because of its unexpected location and bold presentation, he

argues that an illegal location or its presentation should not be the reason why graffiti

will not be labeled as art. This demonstrates the disagreements with graffiti having a

place in the art field, as some view it as illegal and not as a way of self expression.

But, to an extent the art community should have some type of standards to

determine what is classified as art. Art critics argue that graffiti should not be considered

as art, since it is illegal in certain areas due to the vandalism that is occurring by the

graffiti. In a Vice article, it explained that graffiti are illegal as environmental laws state

that graffiti are illegal under the Criminal Damage Act of 1971, and an individual found

guilty are punished with a fine of $8,000. An example of this is the graffiti artist El Sexto,

also known as Danilo Maldonado Machado, who has been arrested multiple times for
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vandalism by the Cuban regime. El Sextos work displays the truth of the Cuban

government, yet he is seen as a criminal by the government and is not recognized as an

artist. Experts may disagree about their art standards and what can be classified as art

due to their personal beliefs or culture. But, Banksy throughout the years has gained a

name recognition for his graffiti works, capitalism has now been involved with his works

as individuals are willing to pay millions to get a piece by him or to extract the piece.

This demonstrates that once an individual makes a name for themselves, it seems

possible for them to defy the standards of art placed by critics, When street artists do it,

it's vandalism. When Banksy does it, it's art. (Vice) Art in some way does have

regulations about its consideration in the media, but if the individual has a big name

recognition, like Banksy, the art standards in place will not stop their work being

considered as art.

Also within ethics there is a debate about what can be considered ethically right

or wrong, as there are many things which impact an individual's thought of whats

ethically right. Bertrand Russell, a philosopher from the United Kingdom 1872-1970,

wrote a book called The Elements of Ethics; Right or Wrong which explains that what an

individual sees as ethically right has to do with their own morality. There is a debate

about what ethics is, but it all goes back down to morality. Russell explained that

determining if something is ethically good or wrong has two methods, the first method

used by utilitarians judging the rightness of an act by relating the good or bad

consequence that comes from it. The other methods used mostly by intuitionists is

judging the approval or disapproval of the morality. Russell believes that one should use

both methods to fully establish ones right or wrongs. Abortion is a topic where there is
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the debate if it is ethically right as some people believe it is not morally right to abort an

unborn child. BBC explained that abortion is still a constant debate within ethics due to

legal and religious positions, in some countries it may be viewed as illegal due to a

heavy religious influence while another country may hold a more libertarian view

believing abortion is up to an individual. This demonstrates that within ethics, the reason

there are disagreements is mostly due to an individual's morality which impacts their

perspective on certain subjects.

Yet, there are guidelines about what is ethically right due to ones moral

principles. Moral principles are developed within an individual over time, then impacting

their ethically viewpoint. Humans develop virtues, which are character traits that help us

develop into an ethically right human. Virtues are developed through learning and

practice, individuals from a different culture will develop different virtues. Due to people

having different virtues, this also causes debates about what is right or wrong, ones

environment will affect this. An example of something which has ethical debates is

euthanasia, which is the termination of someone's life only when guidelines are meet.

Some individuals believe that euthanasia is ethically right as someone should be

allowed to die if their illness is extreme, people should have the right to chose whether

they wish to die. But some people view euthanasia as ethically wrong due to religious

opposition as some believe that God should decide when someone should die, also

some individuals fear that laws regulating euthanasia would be abused. Individuals

would use their personal knowledge, like an experience of being in extreme sickness

pain, religion, or alternative medical remedies, to influence their personal belief of what

is ethically right.
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Within ethics and art, there are significances to their implications because it's

important to know there is still a constant debate about what art or or what is ethically

right in the world. As of now, there are no set rules to follow within art and ethic due to

various interpretations. The classification of art or ethics is also determined by ones

perspective, an older person may view graffiti to be vandalism as it was not glorified

during their time period. Also, an older individual may view abortion as ethically wrong

because they could have been raised with an extremely religious background and it was

not permitted during the time period they were raised, for example the catholic church

views abortion as bad. But a younger individual may view graffiti as a way of self

expression due to the change of media perspective as Banksy is now an individual who

has their art glorified in the media. Also, a younger person has now seen that abortion

or euthanasia is permitted in some countries which is why their morals may change and

they view it as something ethically right.

Overall, within ethics and art there are many debates about what is ethically right

or wrong due to how sensitive the subjects are. Some subjects may be sensitive due to

it being based off of an individual's moral beliefs which are established as they grow.

Every individual will side with what is right or wrong due to what they feel the closest to.

What an individual feels close to will be affected by their age, religion, gender, or

environment. Due to these factors, this why that although an expert in a disciple has

access to the same facts, they may disagree with something, which was seen in art and

ethics.

Word Count: 1,600

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Works Cited

Danto, Arthur Coleman. The abuse of beauty: aesthetics and the concept of art. Chicago, Ill:

Open Court, 2006. Print.

Ellsworth-Jones, Will. The Story Behind Banksy. Smithsonian Magazine, Feb. 2013,

www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-story-behind-banksy-

4310304/?preview=_gt%253d_p&page=1. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

Horne, Alex. Why Is Banksy the Only Person Allowed to Vandalize Britains Walls? Vice, 3

Oct. 2014, www.vice.com/en_ca/article/banksy-graffiti-allowed-clacton-293. Accessed 9

Feb. 2017.

Martinez, Alexandra. Cuban Artist and Activist El Sexto Abducted and Detained in Cuba

Following Fidel Castros Death. Miami New Times, 27 Nov. 2016,

www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/cuban-artist-and-activist-el-sexto-abducted-and-detained-

in-cuba-following-fidel-castros-death-8954018. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

Russell, Bertrand. The Elements of Ethics. 1910 ed., fair-use.org/bertrand-russell/the-elements-

of-ethics/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

Skilton, Andrew, Dr. Ethics Guide: Aborition. BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/abortion/.

Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

---. Ethics Guide: Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide. BBC,

www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.

Stowers, George C. An Essay Concerning the Recognition of Some Forms of Graffiti As Art.

Graffiti Art, Fall 1997, www.graffiti.org/faq/stowers.html. Accessed 9 Feb. 2017.