The Interrelation of Art, Science, and Technology from a Cognitive Dimension: Art as a Way of Knowledge and the STEAM Methodology as the Answer

Abstract

The interrelation between art and science can be understood as a dialogue that emerges from the process of knowledge construction, and consequently, it also defines the human being. The idea may be legitimated from a cognitive perspective. What if we consider this dialogue on the art/science split not as a model of knowing in itself, but as a constructed concept? Thinking as a construct, the advent of technology could have supposed an element to accentuate the divide in this dialogue, as an emerging techno-society may have deepened this separation. However, there is a need to explore the arts -and humanities- trying to find some answers to the challenges posed by the digital paradigm. For this reason, the inclusion of the letter “A” of Arts in the STEM dialogue, resulting in STEAM, is not accidental. From this approach, the entrance of the STEAM methodology into educational models is going to be addressed from the cognitive dimension of art, as a consequence of the conceptual, social, and cultural changes that give it meaning. For that purpose, the issue is addressed through the art cognitive dimension as the theoretical and conceptual foundation supporting it and that leads to the analysis of the named methodology and its contemporary necessity.