Descartes might, however, point out that it does not matter which forms or symbols are used so long as direct knowledge is acquired. Furthermore, it would be impossible to completely separate the artist from the form; or even the viewer from the form. Mathematics is a purer means of representing reality than painting or language.

Both Descartes and Langer would surrender to the inevitability of symbolic communication. Even mathematics involves the use of symbols. Langer points out that thought "begins and ends with language; without the elements, at least, of scientific grammar, conception must be impossible," (88). As they recognize familiar structures and forms as well as colors in their works of art, Langer and Descartes would also discover that all symbols -- elements of language or not -- have a certain type of structure. What makes language meaningful is its structure, its linearity, and its discursiveness. Language does at...
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