Meditations on Pleasure: John Ruskin and the Value of Art in the Classroom

Abstract

ABSTRACT Life is multiplex; information is ubiquitous. We do our best to learn, but we struggle not to forget. The demand to “know” is powerful; the experience of living can often feel overwhelming. We desire a better way of looking at the world around us. John Ruskin reminds us that it is a good thing to start small. He asks us to look, to train our eyes to see detail. He teaches us to appreciate the one thing for its own sake; it is by appreciating the one thing that we are enabled to better appreciate the world around us.