Download Yan Ying`s soup, Aristotle`s aesthetic harmony and market economy

Yan Ying’s soup, Aristotle’s aesthetic harmony and market economy
By
Charalampos Magoulas
Introduction
3.6 trillion dollars. To this astronomical price will amount the cost of the
global financial crisis for the banks, according to Nouriel Roubini, Professor of
Economics at New York University.1 The French newspaper Le Monde (23/01/2009)
published the results of a research made by him and his partner, Elisa Parisi-Capone,
who estimate that the American banks will incur the half of the abovementioned loss.
That is why he claims that the American bank system is currently in the limits of
insolvency. Even if we could ignore Roubini’s predictions – although in 2006 he was
called Cassandra and later on Dr. Doom, for he forewarned that home prices and loans
will gradually lead to a deep economic recession – the actual effects of this situation
are already visible: foreclosures, homelessness, layoffs, wide and violent rupture of
the social fabric.
If the goal of the Social Contract signed by the people and their government is
protection and social harmony, at least according to numerous political philosophers
of all eras, the question, which is sometimes considered sufficiently responded and
thus self-evident, in periods when abnormalities in social life menace the regular
function of institutions, becomes crucial and concerns the definition and the substance
of these terms: protection against who and from what and what is social harmony. The
answer to the first part of the question depends on the answer to the second one,
because otherwise it could effectively be nothing more than a simplistic tautology:
protection against individuals or groups of persons who disturb the social harmony
and therefore from their systematic activities. Hence, it is preferable to tackle the
question of social harmony.
Given that in that effort we will have to evoke firstly Aristotle’s theory on
harmony, notwithstanding that it will be analysed within the context of aesthetics, and
secondly the soup allegory regarding the social harmony in Confucianism, it is
fundamental to specify some basic characteristics of the contemporary political and
economical system in which the social harmony is established. Indispensable
principles of the political organisation of most countries in the world are a democratic
regime, liberal economy and the idea of a continuous progress for the achievement of
prosperity for the society. After the Second World War, the theory that the
transformation of totalitarian regimes into democratic ones will be possible only
through the increase of prosperity was dominant among the political scientists and
economists. However, this identification of democracy with money and market is not
correct according to the Italian politologist Giovanni Sartori (2008).
Nevertheless, and before we study the contribution of market economy to
social harmony, it is plausible to examine the nature of the relation between political
system and economic structure of the society. As the political system provides in any
1
Cf. http://www.rgemonitor.com/roubinimonitor/255236/total_36t_projected_loans_and_securities_losses_18t_of_which_at_us_banksbrokers_t
he_specter_of_technical_insolvency
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case the frames within which the economy operates and brings harmony to the
society, we could metaphorically represent their relation as a scheme of form and
content in linguistic terms: language provides the frames within which the content
(i.e. thoughts) is expressed and brings success and harmony to the communication.
Let us now explore this binary relation in Aristotle’s aesthetic theory.
1. Aesthetic harmony in Aristotle
This juxtaposition does not seem that arbitrary if we take into account the fact
that Aristotle’s doctrine on music harmony is included in his Politics. The harmony in
art could be used as an example of what the citizens of a society should aim at and
what kind of form and content could social and political actions have, in order to
assure social harmony. Umberto Eco (1993: 149) in his research on the archaeology
of aesthetic theories, refers to the eighth book of Politics, where Aristotle classifies
melodies into three categories, ethical melodies, melodies of action, and passionate or
inspiring melodies, the first ones being useful for pedagogical purposes and the others
for theatrical spectacle. The educational dimension of art in Politics, as it is explored
regarding the music harmonies, is not entirely distinct from pleasure: the melody
represents the composer’s state of mind and transmits aesthetic values through the
mediation of senses to the spectator and thus modifies the state of mind of the later.
However, music does not only contribute to the education of human beings, but also
provides enjoyment and satisfies the spirit (1340a 38 ff.).
Aristotle describes in Poetics how both goals of art, education and satisfaction
can be accomplished. It is not only the content (myth) of the tragedy that is important
but also the configuration of external elements, such as extension and language
(1451a 21-29). The symmetry of the parts of a play presupposes an exterior (lexical
items) as well as an interior (plot) coherence. These norms ensure the organic balance,
the harmony and the aesthetic quality of the tragedy. Eco is right when he remarks
that there is a quantitative conception of aesthetics in Aristotle: the right proportion
among the parts of the tragedy (episodes and chorals) is a sine qua non rule for the
construction of a well-structured and homogeneous play. The beauty in ancient Greek
philosophical tradition, not only the Aristotelian one, is strongly associated with
proportion (Eco, 1993: 90). This principle of symmetry is generalisable, forasmuch as
it is used as a normative rule in figurative arts.
Nonetheless, the proportion for Ancient Greeks does not only describe a
mathematical relation, but also represents a metaphysical principle. Thus, beauty is
the measurement of the elements of the external form (in the case of tragedy, the
metre, the symmetry of the parts, the number of syllables, the number of verses) as
well as the aesthetic harmony which the play transmits as total to the spectators (in the
same case, the content must be neither superior nor inferior to the chosen form;
otherwise the form would give the impression of grotesque or inadequate). Eco in his
research on ancient aesthetics (1993: 109) cites the comment of Thomas Aquinas on
Aristotle’s On the Soul (426a), where the Greek philosopher seems to identify the
voice and the sense of hearing. The conclusion is that both philosophers agree on the
fact that harmony is a certain proportion. We will proceed now to explore the
application of this principle to the concept of social harmony.
2. Confucian allegory on social harmony
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Modern semiotic theories refuse actually to separate form from its potential
significations and study content as an independent value. However, just as the form of
a piece of art is not the simple addition of the form of its parts, so neither could the
content of it be the addition of the signification of its parts. What really guarantees the
success of an artistic creation is the harmonious melange of the adequate or just
available components. In terms of social or global harmony what is called society or
community of nations is not the simple addition of cultural characteristics, ideological
background, religious and other beliefs of social groups or nations, but the harmonic
dialectic interaction between them. In terms of politics, the harmony of a system is not
the coexistence between a political regime and an economic practice, but the degree
of their contribution to the welfare of human beings.
A very good example that advocates Aristotle’s theory that harmony is a
certain proportion, could be taken from the Chinese culture and especially the
culinary art. As a matter of fact, dining is a ceremony in the Chinese – as well as in
the Greek – tradition, and a harmonic dinner requires the overcoming of prejudices,
class difference and generation gaps (Wang, 2005: 13), just as social harmony entails.
The harmony (he) in Chinese practical philosophy is not only a capital concept that
leads the actions of everyday life but also a strategy for the solution of social
problems, the stabilization of relations and the formation of social groups. An
illustration of this principle is the allegory of Yan Ying soup as it is presented by
Zuozhuan (Wang, 2005: 14-15). The flavour of the soup consists in the harmonious
melange and the right proportion of the ingredients. A lack or the excess of one of
them would disturb the whole soup. This allegory is narrated along with the example
of the ruler and the courtier, where the later keeps observing and indicating the wrong
decisions of the former and in that way rein peace and harmony in the state.
A noticeable conjunction in the soup allegory is this between the
harmonisation of five flavours (sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty) and the
harmonisation of five sounds (gong, shang, jue, zhi, yu) which is equivalent to the
five note-scale in music (Wang, 2005: 15) and ensures calmness of mind in handling
state affaires. Apart from the fact that number five is very important in Confucian
philosophy (e.g. the five elements which are the basic creations of nature: wood, fire,
earth, water and metal), the metaphor of the music harmony remind us the
Aristotelian melodies, which hold a significant role in youth education and delight.
What this allegory of Yan Ying soup teaches us is that harmony either in art or
in politics is the concept that encourages the elimination of wrong elements in favour
of the right ones, indicates the process of transformation of all elements through their
interaction both in art and social contexts and proposes the dialectic union of
opposites. Yin-Yang theories to be found in Confucian philosophy, promote this
dialectic relation between the weak and passive female energies (Yin) and the strong
and active ones (Yang).
3. Aristotle and market economy
This intercultural approach of the concept of harmony in aesthetic and social
theories could be a guideline for the verification of the hypothesis regarding the
relation between market economy, non-interventionist policies in modern
democracies and social balance: does market economy ensure welfare, peace and
harmony in modern globalised societies?
If we want to answer properly to this extremely crucial issue we have to
investigate first whether there is social and global harmony. As far as social harmony
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is concerned, a measure could be the modern diseases of civilisation such as
depression, diabetes, fatness, stress etc. The British epidemiologist Richard Wilkinson
considers that the origin of such illnesses and the current death rates are connected
directly to social inequalities (2005). In countries where inequalities are more intense,
people feel more stressed to earn and consume, because class differences and
competition force the citizens to work more hours and thus live in worse conditions.
For thousands years, the best way for the improvement of the quality of life was the
improvement of the material standard of living. Nowadays, mankind is at the end of
the road, given that there is no clear connection between income and happiness, GNP
and social harmony. According to Wilkinson, economic development can not do
anything more for us; the issue right now is not our material needs but the quality of
social relations.
As far as the global harmony is concerned it would be more than sufficient to
quote Noam Chomsky’s data originated from the UN, according to which, in 1997, 30
billion dollars would be enough to cover the basic needs of global population, while
780 billion were the global armament expenses (1999: 14). It would be odd to analyse
why these inequalities are the obvious reasons of poverty, famine, wars, terrorism,
environmental risks across the world, factors that disturb global harmony.
However, the impossibility of market economy to ensure global harmony is
diagnosed centuries before the rise of the bourgeoisie after the industrial revolution
and the appearance of capitalism. The sociologist Karl Polanyi mentions that, twenty
centuries before economic liberalism, Aristotle in his Politics – forasmuch as he
distinguishes home economics (i.e. household management) from market economy –
argues that the harmony between production for use (i.e. home needs) and production
for profit is not disturbed when both take place at home (i.e. the farm) (2001: 55-56).
Although he is not aware of concepts like “division of labour”, “capital” and “credit”,
he clearly identifies the divergence between the principle of use and the principle of
profit and its consequences for the social harmony. This distinction is the core
element for the development of a radically different civilisation. Criticising the
principle of production for lucrative purposes as abnormal for the human beings,
Aristotle focused his thought on this very point, this crucial issue, namely the
detachment of a completely separate economic motivation from the body of social
relations. Profit is described therefore as the wrong ingredient of the soup, the wrong
note of the melody, the weak link in the chain of global and social harmony.
Conclusion
In conclusion, nowadays market economy has received too much criticism and
it seems quite understandable, when a crisis threatens the societies, to try to locate the
causes of an irregularity such as this that we actually witness. The essential however
is not only to reject but propose alternatives which could possibly re-establish social
and global harmony. As the main issue concerns the relation between democracy and
market economy, it would be an omission to leave unmentioned the fact that a market
economy could function without democratic institutions at least in the way the
western political systems are structured. Another interesting point is that democracy
does not necessarily lead to prosperity. The example of Latin America is always
present.
Nevertheless, two contradictory observations describe the relation between
democracy, development and prosperity: on the one hand prosperity reinforces
democratic institutions – e.g. through the improvement of education – but on the other
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hand money can corrupt and bribe. The relation between state and economic activity
used to be submitted to the law of intervention. Nonetheless, the recent recession and
primarily its causes prove that such interventionist policy did not exist. The main
problem with the development however is that during the last decades is not
sustainable any more, namely we consume more than we can produce or more than
the planet can afford and this is not an issue that can be solved by the market.
Sartori (2008) argues that market comes to late and in an incorrect way to deal
with the dramatic changes taking place today, because at the same time it accelerates
and aggravates them through this “blind development”. The economist Rajendra
Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, proposes two
simple initiatives to resolve the great social and environmental problems of the planet:
firstly, to emphasize on the sustainable use and management of natural resources (e.g.
air, water, earth, forests, biodiversity) and secondly to provide equal opportunities for
everyone. Western countries must accept to reduce the consumption of energy and
goods in order to promote the convergence in living standards; otherwise the global
society will have to face the fatal increase of terrorism and wars in the developing
countries which will suffer the effects of environmental changes of which they are not
responsible.
The same opinion seems to be shared by the French economist Serge
Latouche, who believes that a development according to the principles of market
economy is based on the unlimited economic growth, the infinite production and
consumption and the exploitation of natural resources; this kind of development is not
sustainable in the first place (2006). Since the economy, as we understand it today,
depends on the infinite accumulation and consumption and is holistic (i.e. it is
impossible not to have a market society when market economy rules), the only
solution that could be proposed is de-growth. Even if now it is not clear how urgent is
for mankind to follow this direction, some thinkers claim that it is already late and in
a few years the loss of social, environmental and global harmony will be irreversible.
References
Aristotle, On the soul.
Aristotle, Poetics.
Aristotle, Politics.
Chomsky N. (1996). Class Warfare: Interviews with David Barsamian. A. Filippatos
(trans.). Athens: Kastaniotis, 1999.
Eco U. (1970). Le problème esthétique chez Thomas d’Aquin. M. Javion (trans.).
Paris: PUF, 1993.
Latouche S. Le pari de la décroissance. Paris: Fayard, 2006.
Polanyi, K. (1944). The great transformation. K. Gaganakis (trans.). Skopelos:
Nisides, 2001.
Sartori, G. La democrazia in trenta Lezioni. Milano: Mondadori, 2008.
Wang, K. Chinese philosophy on life. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2005.
Wilkinson, R. The Impact of Inequality: How to Make Sick Societies Healthier. New
York: The New Press, 2005.
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