After our in class discussion/explanation of transhumanism and the questions that arose from this discussion, I couldn't help but remember this TEDtalk I had watched. 

     One of the questions that was presented was the question of at what point do human beings cease to differ from computers? Are we able to replicate the human brain to the point that there is no difference in the capabilities of a human being vs. a computer (e.g. Watson on Jeopardy)? Can we program computers to replicate the responses of human beings to the point that their reactions are indiscernible from the reactions and emotions we would have? Can computers one day have emotion?

    From these sort of questions the topic of creativity and art came up. Some of the class argued that art/creative ability and the ability to appreciate art was something unique to human beings. Others argued that this sort of creativity could one day be mimicked by computers programmed with creativity, that works of art such as the Mona Lisa or a symphony by Beethoven were bound to be created as human beings evolved and refined their creative abilities. 

     This TEDtalk, by Dennis Dutton, approaches the idea of beauty and art from a Darwinian perspective. Dutton proposes that beauty, natural and artistic, are not "in the eye of the beholder" but that tastes for beauty that transverse cultures and time are proof that there is universality in beauty. According to Dutton, this universality can be explained by a evolutionary refinement of aesthetic and artistic taste. "For moderns, virtuoso technique is used to create imaginary works in fiction and movies and to express intense emotions in movies painting and dance, but still one fundamental trait of the ancestral personality persists in our aesthetic cravings--- the beauty we find in skilled performances. Human beings have a permanent innate taste for virtuoso displays in the arts; we find beauty in something done well." ---Basically, great art is reflective of desirable traits such as skill, intelligence and ability.
     It is beneficial for us to be attracted to a great work of art because it is representative of the artist's ability. Our ability to appreciate and create works of art is merely an evolutionary development; one that helps us select a suitable mate or environment to live in.