Connecting Two Creative Philosophies
Summary of Rhys Southan
In his essay “Is Art a Waste of Time?” Rhys Southan attempts to inform and educate the reader on the philosophy of Effective Altruism, by describing an experience meeting several of their members while on a countryside retreat. Effective Altruism is a broad philosophical belief system, not explicitly tied to any specific group or organization. It was founded in 2009 by a core group of supporters, but it is a very decentralized However, they are certainly related to , or work in tandem with, several charity organizations, including “Giving What We Can”, and the “Against Malaria Foundation”. Effective Altruism preaches cooperation and sacrifice, in order to help reduce human suffering worldwide. This morality does not stem from a belief in divine judgement, according to Southan; “…most EAs [Effective Altruists] don’t believe in souls, much less eternal damnation…” (Southan 3). Instead, Effective Altruism advocates a utilitarian philosophy, in which decision are made in order to minimize suffering as much as possible. Several members that he meets criticize Southan’s attitude and passion for art, and he is ultimately unable to reject the love of his life-creativity-for a belief system he finds cold and un-comforting.
Summary of Benjamin Zanner
In his TED Talk, Benjamin Zanner shares his artistic philosophy and beliefs with the audience, and makes the case for why art – music specifically – is so important to the world. An elderly British conductor for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Zanner has no snooty, pretentious ideals about classical music. He believes classical music is for everyone, everywhere. “Nobody is tone-deaf. If you were tone-deaf, you couldn’t change the gears on your car, in a stick shift car. You couldn’t tell the difference between somebody from Texas and somebody from Rome. And the telephone….If your mother calls on the miserable telephone, she calls and says, “Hello,” you not only know who it is, you know what mood she’s in. You have a fantastic ear. Everybody has a fantastic ear. So nobody is tone-deaf.” Zanner encourages his audience to engage with classical music in a different way. Instead of gently nodding off, he helps the audience relate to a piece by Chopin, by explaining why the chorus has the effect it does. Zanner also requests that the audience “…think of somebody who you adore, who’s no longer there? A beloved grandmother, a lover — somebody in your life who you love with all your heart, but that person is no longer with you. Bring that person into your mind, and at the same time, follow the line all the way from [the] B [note] to [the] E [note], and you’ll hear everything that Chopin had to say.” Zanner relates a time that when an Irish child during the Northern Ireland Conflict explained to Zanner how the music had made him feel; “‘[y]ou know, I’ve never listened to classical music in my life, but when you played that shopping [sic] piece…my brother was shot last year and I didn’t cry for him. But last night, when you played that piece, he was the one I was thinking about. And I felt the tears streaming down my face. And it felt really good to cry for my brother.'” This helped Zanner to realize that classical music-and art is for everyone, everywhere. This of course, flies in the face of the Effective Altruism philosophy that art is a waste of time and can never truly reduce suffering. Benjamin Zanner himself describes his philosophy as “one-buttock”. This crude, humorous name belies a profound, deep insight into harmony and energy. What Zanner is referring to is allowing your mind, body, and music to be connected; AND allowing your passion to flow through you so much that you can just barely sit still, hence the “one-buttock” instead of the usual “two”.
