Page "belles_lettres" Paragraph 846

One of the most frequent views of the value of literature is the education of sensibility that it is thought to provide.

Sensibility is a vague word, covering an area of meaning rather than any precise talent, quality, or skill.

Among other things it means perception, discrimination, sensitivity to subtle differences.

Both the extent to which this is true and the limits of the field of perceptual skill involved should be acknowledged.

Its truth is illustrated by the skill, sensitivity, and general expertise of the English professor with whom one attends the theatre.

The limits are suggested by an imaginary experiment: contrast the perceptual skill of English professors with that of their colleagues in discriminating among motor cars, political candidates, or female beauty.

Along these lines, the particular point that sensitivity in literature leads to sensitivity in human relations would require more proof than I have seen.

In a symposium and general exploration of the field of Personal Perception and Interpersonal Behavior the discussion does not touch upon this aspect of the subject, with one possible exception ; ;

Solomon Asch shows the transcultural stability of metaphors based on sensation ( hot, sweet, bitter, etc. ) dealing with personal qualities of human beings and events.

But to go from here to the belief that those more sensitive to metaphor and language will also be more sensitive to personal differences is too great an inferential leap.