It seems to many of us that creativity, by and large, is purely for entertainment. However, the cognitive function of art, along with ethical, educational, magical, therapeutic, occupies a large place in the mental sphere of man. What are the different roles and how are they manifested?
The cognitive function of art is based on obtaining new information for the individual. Most often, it is associated with historical works: novels, paintings, films.
Reading Aristotle or Dostoevsky, we can imagine how our fellow tribesmen lived in Ancient Greece or in Russia in the nineteenth century. And the novels of Alexei Tolstoy or Mikhail Sholokhov will bring us closer not only in details, but also in the description of the way of thinking - mentality - of people during the Civil War. The cognitive function of art (or otherwise - cognitive) also consists in the analysis of paintings, graphics, illustrating the reality of centuries gone by. Indeed, for example, we would not be able to find out what Peter the Great looked like, what Catherine the Great wore, if they had not been captured on portraits of contemporary artists. The same applies to battle or everyday paintings.
However, we ask ourselves whether the cognitive function of art consists only in studying the history of previous generations.
Creating works, artists invest in them not only and not so much information as creatively process the surrounding reality. It hardly makes sense to study botany from still lifes, because the basic functions of art are much more diverse and multidimensional than just a dry statement of information or photographing the world.
It is believed that the first forms of creative manifestation of human consciousness were magical in nature. Dances, songs, paintings were supposed to serve as a kind of spells before the gods. The educational function of art appeared much later. Paintings, poems, films can affect the moral and ethical sphere of human consciousness. The simplest examples are fables with their direct or metaphorical message. The aesthetic function is the ability to feel and convey the beauty of the inner and outer world. Emotional - in the transmission and stimulation of special states of consciousness and spirit. Mozart’s “Requiem” evokes some emotions in us, and the popular hit - others. The therapeutic function is closely related to the ability and ability to express through art our hidden and tormenting feelings. For example, certain musical genres are used for meditation and hypnosis. And as a therapeutic measure, doctors recommend watching comedies.
The cognitive function of art in combination with psychological analysis can also be used to comprehend one’s inner world.
It is also often used in therapeutic practice. By joining the works of art under the guidance of a psychologist or psychotherapist, we can understand what is important, significant, painful for ourselves, what problems we need to work through, and what we need to pay more attention to.