Art: Moral or A-moral

The clearest picture of art, as many understand it, is those paintings hanging on the walls in the houses, halls, auditoriums, etc. They are placed in those areas where people’s attention is caught. But only few appreciate art, or maybe they never know what art is. What does art consist is the right approach that ordinary folks can better grasp the idea.

Objective and Subjective Judgments

No single individual has the same taste when ask to give judgment on a piece of art work in front of them. But two most common sources from which their individual judgments derive. First is the objective judgment, and this means the appearance of the art work is somehow almost perfect – how the artist set in place the materials that create his masterpiece like the exact mixing of different combination of ink colors and the neatness of drawing. Second is the subjective judgment where the observer finds the meaning of the art work being conveyed, its relevance to the development of the person and the society as a whole. In other words, art itself speaks to any individual who happens to discover its meanings.

Truth of Art

The objective approach tells us what that piece of art means. And there are two kinds – the concrete and the abstract. The concrete piece of art, without much human effort, reveals its meaning and value by using our five senses. But the abstract piece of art requires effort from our intelligence. It needs our focus and concentration in arranging art-like puzzle. The subjective approach becomes the venue of understanding what does the artist wants to say deeply, for art is one of the means of expressing one’s self and world view. It is the best way of doing critical analysis of the artist’s world, his life-experience and aspirations for us. These two approaches complement each other to bring out its truth.

Truth-value of Art

If there is one thing in common on why do art exist is this: artists want to spread the message and light the world its truth-value. What does it mean by truth-value? I am sure that the truth-value is something what artists believe as essentials to our existence. Theodor Adorno speaks well about the critical role of art, and showcases that art has truth-content. This truth-content of art is not there to be displayed and be enjoyed by the viewer saying ‘This is art!’ But this truth-content is dynamic. It has the capacity to transform our thinking, our relationship, our existence, and our world for the better. Of course, the opposite is also true that art can transform everything for the worse.

Art and Morality

The truth-content of art has the power of transformation either for the better or for the worse. This is the basis of consideration when to include or not the piece of art for public display and for public viewing. In the case of Cruz’s art, both views – objective and subjective – speak of the transformation for the worse. His art is a combination of religious objects, treated as sacred by its adherents, and sex objects like contraceptives, considered as evil taught by the Church. What is in store is that there is no gap between art and morality.

Thinking of art as manifestation of beautiful is superficial. Art does not exist for beauty’s sake, for beauty has its boundaries and not limitless as many think that way. The essence of beauty effects harmony, a transformation for the better. And if every artist has the sense of this essence, the road to building a better society is not far from possibility. Art is not beyond morality but always abound within it.

Do college students nowadays need sex education?

This is the question I formulated when I asked the students in reed 1 to share their opinions about sex education being promoted by the deped months ago before the inauguration of the 15th president of our country. The class had been divided according to ‘yes’ group and ‘no’ group to the issue. As in the field of education, to explore their capacity to express their ideas on the topic, my mind was directed towards those who gave their ‘yes’ to the implementation of sex education. I did not give any condemnation to these students and branded them as ‘immoral’ because of their stand. But behind their all justifications and argumentations on their stand of the issue, there is an urgent need to address their expression, for they seek not an ideal, doctrinal or metaphysical gestures but an empirical and practical help. Why is that so?

First reason is that their parents neither teach nor talk them about sex in general. Other reasons, too, came out during the debate like: parents were not open to the matter out of shame or parents just inject a wrong timing of religious dose of doctrine that the topic is evil, and etc. The students ask for it not because for the sake of learning about sex but to give them a clear direction of the right understanding of sex with a purpose. Since this generation belongs to them, it is a product of liberalism where all threats to religious and cultural conservatism are flowing in from the television, radio, internet, and cellular phones etc., and the urgent call behind all their answers cannot be ignored. The question Do college students nowadays need sex education? needs to be address as soon as possible, not only for the sake of these young minds, but for the little kids as well and the future generations to come.

Parents and Sex Education

Parents are the right persons to teach sex education at home. This is the official stand of the Catholic Church in the Philippines on the recently aborted issue on sex education promoted by the DePed. The Church has been vocal and critical on this event while the DePed people are busy in disseminating their modules to be given to the pilot schools in public secondary level. Their undertaking will be evaluated, and if it proves to be successful, another option will push through for the elementary levels on the same topics.

The church keeps repeating that parents are the right persons to handle the issue on sex. Her position is borne out from the development of the doctrine on the sacrament of matrimony, where Augustine began the idea of the three goods of marriage, and later Aquinas modified them to ends of marriage. What is the contention all about? The first end of Christian marriage is to procreate and educate their children, and it has become the basis of the Church's stand on the brewing issue of sex education.

Following the thought of the Church, when it comes to who is the right person to teach their children about sex, the answer is very clear – parents and not anybody-teachers. The role of the teachers is not being downplayed here, but the role of parents is indispensable because it is their prime duty to exercise as such.

If the right persons on this matter are the parents, it follows that the right place for sex education to be conducted is in their very home. Why is that so? It is where the bond of friendship, intimacy, belongingness, familiarity among parents and children established. And everybody seems to believe that the home is a place where all the positive values such as love, respect, care are taught and practised.

The opposite might be true when sex education will be taken place at school. The situation is not healthy and conducive for a well-rounded process of learning, where students and teachers come from different family backgrounds and perspectives. Only when parents become active teachers to their children especially on the issue, the fear of negative effects such as promiscuity, increasing of AIDS victims, unwanted pregnancy, abortion and the like will be of less possibility to occur.