ABSTRACT
In this chapter I wish to place the arts within a broad theory of knowledge. At the moment there is still a strong tendency in our civilization to see truth as being confined to propositional statements. Such a view is extremely narrow, works both against our common understanding and our use of language and has severely marginalized the arts. In this essay it is my intention to sketch an alternative conception of knowledge which I believe is not only more adequate to our complex experience of the world but also includes that kind of knowing which characterizes aesthetic and artistic experience. The theory of knowledge opens the way to a proper recognition of the meaning and value of the arts in civilization and to their vital place within the school curriculum.
