ABSTRACT
Set against the historical background of C P Snow’s ‘The Two Cultures,’ the notion that both the arts and sciences could share an objective structure would be a new idea for many. The opening chapter therefore provides a broad overview of the organisational structure of culture and its relationship to the world. The chapter sets out to describe the way that objectivity has empowered the development of science and leads into a discussion about the generally perceived differences between the arts and sciences. However, looked at in this over-arching way, it is also fascinating to note that the sciences parallel the arts in a number of important ways and the discussion reveals how such similarities could help to deepen our understanding of the arts. The chapter tentatively approaches the question of beauty, it makes an initial distinction between personal and cultural beauty and along the way, notes that the word ‘beauty’ is used in both wings of culture, to describe works of special significance.
