Art in the system of traditional values (based on the materials of the World Values Survey)

Popov Evgeniy Aleksandrovich ORCID: 0000-0003-3324-8101 Doctor of Philosophy Professor of the Department of Sociology and Conflictology of Altai State University; Professor of the Department of History and Philosophy of the Barnaul Law Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 66 Dimitrova str., office 513A, Barnaul, 656049, Russia popov.eug@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction. Art is a difficult phenomenon to study, at least at the interdisciplinary level, there is often some confusion among researchers, although they, relying on an integrated approach, should expect to obtain sufficiently significant results. In reality, of course, there are such results – both theoretical and empirical. Meanwhile, according to some authors, "interdisciplinarity does not guarantee clarity in the position regarding art at all, on the contrary, a certain crisis may arise associated with a mixture of perspectives, categories, approaches, etc." ^{[22, p. 18]}. A difficult situation is also developing in the camp of disciplines that identify art as their main object of research – the problem here most likely lies in the "vagueness of the phenomenon of art itself, its form and content" ^{[21, p. 31]}. But the sciences themselves are changing priorities in the study of art: for example, sociology in its corresponding branch, the sociology of art, turns to intentionality and event research in the field of art, while focusing on the "new reality of art", when its institutional characteristics are more important than the identification of its sensually emotional nature. In one of my articles devoted to this perspective of sociological research of art, I just drew attention to this circumstance ^[9]. On the other hand, there is still an urgent need to involve sociologists in the study of art in its various forms and forms, but sociologists still do not always show interest in a complex and contradictory phenomenon, and therefore the question arises reasonably how to interest a sociologist in the study of art and spiritual life? ^[8]. Meanwhile, art is considered more objectively in art criticism, aesthetics, cultural studies, and philosophy. Max Weber, for example, wrote, comparing aesthetics and art criticism: "Aesthetics is given the fact that there are works of art. She tries to justify under what conditions this fact takes place. But she does not raise the question of whether the kingdom of art is not, perhaps, the kingdom of diabolical splendor, the kingdom of this world, which in its very depths is turned against God, and in its deeply rooted aristocratic spirit is turned against the brotherhood of man. Aesthetics, therefore, does not raise the question of whether works of art should exist" ^{[4, p. 718]}. At the same time, doubts often arise, perhaps, in the main science for the study of art: "The main loss of modern art studies is the departure of that lively sense of admiration for the beautiful, which was the initial impetus for the study and analysis of art" ^{[2, p. 335]}. In modern scientific discourse, we can find a multiplicity of interpretations of both the phenomenon of art itself and specific works of art in the variety of their stylistic, genre and formal-substantive features. 

 In general, it can be stated that the format of such studies boils down to three key positions: (1) understanding the essence of art as a given, as transcendence, as ontos – such a traditional approach is still significant in art interpretations, but its "classicism" narrows the boundaries of research; it is obvious that "through the prism of the essence of art it is difficult to see its own power, it is subject to comparison with the logos, the Universe, the cosmos, nature" ^{[20, p. 72]}; (2) appeals to the sensual and emotional sphere of art, which brings it closer to a person (subject), but thus makes it "more accommodating, necessary, necessary, and as a result, it is attributive, completely subordinate to the subject" ^{[13, p. 188]}; (3) orientation to the sign–symbolic-figurative nature of art, assessment of the possibilities of translating meanings, formation of one's own "field of art in which meanings do not intersect, but stand apart from each other, and the task is to assemble them into a single structure – extremely complex" ^{[14, p. 442]}; in addition, "attention is focused on the search for possible outcomes of the construction of fictional worlds. Speculative practice is based on the ability to imagine alternative worlds and develop hypotheses in virtual environments" ^{[7, p. 153]}. As you can see, the positions are different, and they generally provide a fairly wide range of ideas about art and its existence. In fact, we are dealing with two main interpretations of art: firstly, as an aesthetic activity and, secondly, as a method or result of symbolic exchange. But it seems to me that in order to objectify art in human life and in scientific research, it is important to focus on another significant research perspective – the value-semantic one. It could be designated in the traditional expression as axiological, but it is still more appropriate to use its value-semantic sound. Here I agree with the point of view of M.M. Bakhtin, who believed that meaning does not complete any project, it aims at a long-term search for new facets of being ^{[1, p. 362]}. Meanwhile, the axiological approach creates a certain completeness in the search for such facets. Thus, it seems necessary to explore the phenomenon of art in a value-semantic way.

It is worth emphasizing that we cannot always find exactly this kind of research perspective in modern science, however, the value nature of art and art as a value are independent facets of art perception and its interpretations. This is probably due to the fact that the value world has more pronounced and often objective properties (for example, the transformation of values, their hierarchy, consistency and structurality), and art is still a more delicate phenomenon, more difficult for attributive understanding, which often leads to simplification or, conversely, multiple complication of its interpretations.         

The problem outlined in this article is related to the need to accept art as a self–sufficient value in the individual and collective life of the subject - this is despite the fact that in scientific discourse art appears as an aesthetic human activity and as a value along with other values in their hierarchies is practically not considered or identified. The perspective of understanding art as a value in the value hierarchies being built expands not only the boundaries of art in its phenomenal sense, but also makes it possible to assess its actual role in the life of social subjects.    

Thus, the purpose of the article is to analyze the position of art in the system of traditional values that are of universal importance for modern cultures and societies.

To objectify the role of art in human life in its value-semantic expression, materials from eight rounds (1981-2023) were used The World Values Survey, which are publicly available on the relevant research platform (https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs.jsp ).

The main methodological perspective of the study is the technique of socio-cultural "centralization" (A. Hagen ^[17], J. Holden ^[18]), which allows to establish the limits of transformation of traditional and innovative values depending on their values to ensure survival or spiritual and moral improvement of a person. These authors, offering this technique for socio-cultural research, appeal to the distribution of values in clusters or hierarchies according to the principle of "attraction" or "repulsion" from the "value core" formed within culture or within civilization. In the first case, the "centralization" of values occurs due to their "attraction" to the "core of values", in the second – due to their "repulsion" from civilization to ensure the safety and survival of subjects.

The World Values Survey system of traditional Values. Referring to the data of the World Values Survey (hereinafter – WVS), R. Inglehart and K. Welzel noted, in particular, that it presents two key value clusters – values of self-expression and values that ensure human survival in a post-industrial society ^{[6, pp. 67-72]}. The researchers focused on the analysis of value transformations according to the aggregated principle, which allowed, in a cross-cultural format, to assess even the most insignificant fluctuations in value changes over both a long time (more than 5 years) and in the short term (up to 3 years), and in the context of 25 countries [ibid.]. As a result, it was concluded that traditional values, for all their "invulnerability" in the process of socio-political and socio-economic changes taking place in the world in the context of globalization and modernization of cultures and societies, experience the most significant shifts in value hierarchies, which may indicate significant transformations. For example, it was shown that secular-rational values share places with the values of religiosity and faith in approximately equal terms, but at the same time, in short-term fixation, they are more susceptible to changes (a drop of 1.9 points) in contrast to religious ones, which in turn also shift in the hierarchy to a position less than 1 point, but already in the long term ^{[6, pp. 67-68]}. Such a "spread" can only indicate an objective process of fluctuation of values, but not necessarily their transformation. In another case, according to WVS, there is a significant change in the positions of the traditional value of the family – the movement in the hierarchy over the past three years has occurred by more than 3.2 points, and in the context of different countries; and in clusters of values of self-expression and survival, this is perhaps the most noticeable change.  

Meanwhile, it should be emphasized that, in the opinion of J. According to Holden, a shift of values in clusters or hierarchies by more than 2.5 points is considered essential for any value transformation. The indicator from 0.9 to 2.4 is recognized as intermediate, in need of targeted monitoring – the prospects for significant transformations in this range increase in the short term and decrease, respectively, over a long distance of systemic changes ^{[18, p. 41-43]}.

The value system in the WVS waves is built both in a cluster way (values of self–expression and values of survival), and according to the classical principle - groups of traditional and innovative values are distinguished. Meanwhile, the researchers note that the cluster aspect of building value hierarchies is more understandable and corresponds to the logic of "centralization" of values by "classes": (1) cultural – civilizational; (2) substantial – attributive ^{[15, p. 269]}. At the same time, the classical dichotomy – traditional and innovative values looks more debatable, it is often difficult to draw the line between them in modern conditions of development of societies and cultures; as an example, the value of the family, recognized as traditional and universal, but due to social changes partially losing both the functions of a "classical" social institution and traditional values, is given, increasingly in a situation of "centralization" into a group of innovative ones. We emphasize that this issue has a controversial aspect of the solution, but still, researchers, drawing the line between traditional and innovative, emphasize the need to identify these values on the basis of their value-semantic (or value-normative) certainty: if values are included in the appropriate value-normative system of culture, they may have pronounced signs of traditional ^{[10; 12; 24]}. Analyzing the work of the famous researcher of values G. Hofstede, a number of authors note that his approach reveals the principle of "avoiding uncertainty", which "speaks about the degree of acceptance within society of uncertainty of meanings, rules and attitudes, as well as the unpredictability of situations and the future as a whole. Representatives of communities with high values of the indicator "avoidance of uncertainty" are characterized by a preference for clearly defined rules of conduct and instructions in all spheres of life – from moral and ethical aspects to specific production tasks" ^{[5, p. 47]}. At the same time, for WVS, the principle of value-semantic certainty is also important, since the attribution of values to traditional and at the same time universal involves identifying the boundaries of their transformation relative to groups of innovative values. It is in a comparative way that in WVS any deviations in the position of values in hierarchies are correlated by clusters and groups of "centralization". In other words, any movement of values in the "survival" cluster correlates with innovative ones, and in the "self–expression" cluster with traditional ones, etc. 

Nevertheless, the research discourse, which examines traditional values, has developed its own approach in understanding them and identifying certain significant characteristics. We will note some key positions, which we will then compare with the theoretical and methodological perspective available in the WVS format. First of all, the identification of traditional values in the aspect of antiprostasy (human protection) attracts attention: Highlighting in this regard generally significant, cardinal, subcardinal and other groups of values, N.S. Rozov, in fact, correlates them with a cluster of survival values (presented in WVS) that meet certain conditions of human individual and collective existence ^{[11, pp. 143-144]}. The "conditions" set the prospects for the deployment of innovative values, but also for the preservation of traditional ones. In this regard, the authors consider the role of traditional values for ensuring the spiritual security of individuals, which, in turn, is correlated with both survival values and self-expression values registered within the framework of the WVS. For example, arguments are given in favor of the fact that traditionalism in culture and social relations provides spiritual security through a complex mechanism for distributing values from civilization to culture and back ^{[22, p. 10]}. This principle, as mentioned above, has been called the "centralization" of values and is used in summarizing the results of the WVS.

 Meanwhile, art in the WVS system refers both to the values of self-expression and to the values of survival. And this aspect of his existence seems rather curious, if we keep in mind that art is a rather delicate phenomenon of existence, which, although it has a social basis and is considered as one of the "forms of public consciousness" along with politics, mythology, law and others, is nevertheless extremely subjective and fickle in the assessments of individuals. As sociological research shows, recipients turn to art, forming their social capital ("a person who understands art" as a trend), to a lesser extent perceive it as a part of being, as a way to help look at the surrounding reality differently; an increasing number of respondents indicate the possibility of turning to art as a fashion for novelty and to form the image of an educated person who knows a lot about various spheres of life, including art ^[9]. However, art as a "new reality" still occupies a place in value hierarchies, being a traditional value. And although in science art is identified as a "form of social consciousness" or purposeful aesthetic activity of an individual, it is recognized by them as a value that is important for spiritual improvement and development.

The place of the value of art in the World Values Survey. According to P. Bourdieu, in art, like in no other phenomenon, intellectual centrism manifests itself, which is an unconditional contact of society with the beautiful and, as a result, contributes to the awakening of cognitive energy in every member of society ^[3]. From this point of view, the attribution of art to traditional values is not only justified, but also becomes an integral condition for the development of the individual and the formation of spirituality in society. However, "the recognition of art," in the words of Wu Jing, "is related to how individuals take care of their intellectual stock, realizing that art gives them an incentive to change their attitude to reality, to take a fresh look at the everyday world" ^{[19, p. 220]}. In fact, it should be recognized that the "recognition of art" corresponds to a person's claims to intellectualism and the fashionable trend of being picky in any narrow field of creativity, cognition or science. That is probably why art in the WVS format is identified both as the value of self-expression and as the value of survival. This situation, meanwhile, in some way changes the alignment of "forces" in value hierarchies. Let's turn to the specific results.

According to the second wave of the WVS, art as a traditional value does not occupy a leading position in the hierarchy of values of self-expression, it is assigned the 11th position, but even this, from the point of view of A. Hagen, can be considered quite high due to the fact that the actual "demand" for art as a value according to the results of randomized mass surveys conducted within the framework of the WVS (more than 33 thousand respondents with a cluster sample), increases "in the same way as the value of religiosity, sacredness and others increases" ^{[17, p. 10-11]}. Further, in the context of subsequent waves of the World Values Survey, the situation has changed markedly, but art has never lost so many points in the hierarchies of values to recognize its crisis, or more precisely: a critical attitude towards art and its role in society and for the development of individuals. For example, in 2014, the "drop" was 0.7 points, in 2015 – 0.79 points, in 2018 – 1.1 points, by 2023 – 1.24 points. As you can see, art did not fall into the "crisis zone" (2.5 points or more). Apparently, the explanation for this lies in the fact that traditional "intellectual values", to which it belongs in the cluster of values of self-expression, contribute to the formation of a person's intellectual status for him to occupy high positions in the future, improve personal economic well-being, etc. ^{[16, p. 299]}. In addition, there is a high probability of a "fashion for knowledge" of art. At the same time, of course, the key reason is still connected with the development of man, his spiritual world – according to a number of researchers, "art at all times ensured the unity of man with God, nature, space, the Universe, himself, society and humanity" ^{[13, p. 180]}. Therefore, it does not become meaningless, moreover, no new interpretations and attempts to call art any exaggerated or utilitarian objects of reality, "do not affect the existence of art at all – it is so self-sufficient that it does not depend on anyone's will and external forces" ^{[16, p. 300]}. I do not seek to discuss in this article the role of art in human existence, although it is quite difficult to refrain from this perspective, but due to other tasks set in the article, this aspect is only casually touched upon.

So, throughout the entire WVS monitoring, art did not fall into the "red zone" of crisis (critical perception and attitude to value). It is noteworthy that in the cluster of traditional values of self-expression, such as creativity, inspiration, vocation and others, the progress is more noticeable, but still they do not experience a significant transformation. Perhaps it is art that "cements" these indicators, being the foundation for the entire group of so-called traditional "intellectual values". There are some differences in the assessments of the role of art in people's lives according to quantitative monitoring and the qualitative level of research at WVS. Mass surveys focused on determining the role of art for human development, the preservation of traditionalism or the formation of innovations in culture, for educating an individual with a broad view of reality and individual thinking, but also set the task of identifying hedonism, impressions, emotions, the need to compare what is better or worse, etc. Such a survey, for example, conducted in 2020, demonstrated that respondents mainly evaluate art in two directions: (1) as a way to "look at the world through different eyes", "rethink everyday life", "overcome the routine of being", "spend time", etc.; these assessments mix the basic factors of attitude to art – the inclusion of the subject in the structures of everyday life and, on the contrary, exclusion from them; (2) as a criterion for differentiating traditional and innovative: "art is a classic", "for all time", "preservation of images"; "new style", "super art", etc. In fact, these data indicate that there is a fairly stable system of criteria in the perception of art and the formation of an appropriate attitude towards it. According to the researchers, "art as a form of social consciousness is, for all its subjectivity and multivariability in assessments, the most stable of all other forms, since it appeals not only to the depths of the soul, but also translates important social meanings and patterns" ^{[14, p. 449]}.

At the same time, qualitative research methods, among which expert interviews prevail at WVS (informants are employees and curators of museums, libraries, galleries and exhibition halls, art centers around the world, including the largest in America, Asia and Europe), demonstrate a slightly different nature of the results compared to mass surveys of respondents. For example, one of these studies in the framework of the sixth wave of the WVS showed that for three years at the distance of this study, the time spent by visitors in cultural institutions where works of art are publicly displayed was significantly reduced – on average it was 1.35 hours, which is 0.4 hours less; in addition, among visitors interested in art The number of children and adolescents, as well as families, has decreased (according to experts, by about 1.2 times). If a mass survey indicates the "demand for art" as a way to overcome routine life, then experts in their interviews identify a decrease in "demand", but are not ready to admit that significant reasons for such a situation may be an increase in the cost of visiting museums and exhibitions, as well as a decrease in such an opportunity due to high employment in labor and its intensification, leading to a reduction in time for leisure and recreational activities. Such results, meanwhile, cannot fully indicate the transformation of the value of art due to the non–compliance of the observed changes with the main criterion of crisis or deep systemic changes according to the results of the WVS, however, the transformations taking place in modern conditions affecting a number of key values – terminal and instrumental, values of self-expression or survival - may well affect the situation of such "intellectual" value, like art.  

Conclusion. The World Values Survey (WVS) allows you to look at the "position" of different values in hierarchies and groups (clusters), summarize assessments of perception and the formation of an appropriate attitude towards them. As for art, in this case we can see its fairly stable position in the system of traditional and innovative values – to be more precise, it occupies a middle position between these value structures. Apparently, in this regard, it can be assumed that such a "centered" position contributes to its stable position, which means that, as for many centuries, it will continue to play a major role in human development, the formation of his individuality, education and replenishment of intellectual power.