Art, the artist, society and heritage from the perspective of analogical hermeneutics

Abstract

This paper presents Mauricio Beuchot’s proposed analogical synthesis of art and the social function of art and the artist. Art is defined as a technical and intellectual activity that seeks to express beauty. Under analogical hermeneutics, the work of art is an icon that represents reality and humankind. Its beauty is not merely a pleasing quality, but a symbolic charge that connects culture with nature, reconciling humanity with its origins and distancing it from anguish. The artist is not an isolated entity; they are the symbolic conscience of people. Their work involves a tension between tradition and innovation, which must be resolved analogically: respecting classical models without falling into slavish imitation. Beuchot argues that art is not morally neutral. The artist has an ethical responsibility to educate the taste and sensitivity of their audience, avoid “onanistic” narcissism in order to create self-giving and generous art that delivers a positive message, and function as a bridge between creative subjectivity and the needs of their contemporaries. Thus, the artist acts as a social educator, contributing to the holistic development of the human being through aesthetic enjoyment and symbolic meaning. This leads to the heritage dimension of art.