The basics of Arete: Measuring the Visual

Abstract

Visual literacy is to determine the core meanings of images and to display a set of skills in this long process. These named skills can be varied until the ability to make contextual, metaphoric and philosophic understanding can be the interpretation level and can identify the complexity of an image. The ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from visual information as presented in an image, on a diagram, or on a single photo may go a long way in a modern liberal education. All kind of images, who saturate our daily lives through social media require a heightened level of visual literacy from both sides, this of the teacher and that of the educated to be. Social sciences and health sciences, rely heavily on images as data sources and require a serious level of visual literacy to understand the scientific world. On the other hand arts, literature, film use the conventions of visual language – symbols, images, sound – and suppose to make them accessible almost to everyone. To analyze authentic film messages requires interpretive comprehension skills such as making inferences on cause and effect, logic and impact, identifying point of view, and considering the specific techniques used to construct an arete, meaning an arete, as defined in ancient Greek paideia. People of modern world, as personalities and active citizens, instead of being passive recipients of media, can be creative and actively engaged with the medium of picture. Visuals appear to be both as proposition and as evidence; on the other hand, they are used to document, to design, to model, to experience virtually and to show the visible and non-visible. Using visuals in scientific studies requires solid research, interpretation and evaluation skills particular to the innovative visual materials.