Tolstoy argues that humans have two forms of communication: language and art. Language is used to communicate thoughts. Art is used to communicate emotions. It is possible, to some extent, to communicate emotions with language; I can say "I am sad". It seems that, though this statement technical communicates my emotions, it translates the concept of the emotion rather than the emotion itself. Art, rather than explaining emotion, evokes a similar emotion in the viewer, causing a shared experience instead of an understanding of a concept. As humans have only two forms of communication, art is the best outlet for sharing our emotions.
Still, let us suppose that humans had other ways of communicating. Consider the various science fiction and fantasy movies and books in popular culture. Many of them give characters supernatural abilities, such as empathy, the emotional counterpart to telepathy. An empath can read emotions, just like a telepath can read minds. A relevant example of different methods of communication is seen in the movie Avatar. In the film, the aliens communicate with many of the plants and animals by "plugging" directly into them. This joins there minds so that they are, in a sense, one being. This link allows the pair to share both thoughts and emotions. The emotional communication here is more efficient than communication through art, because the emotion is directly communicated; there is no doubt that the emotion expressed is the emotion understood. This ability seems to erase the need for art, because the aliens have a better way to communicate emotion.
In a society where beings can communicate emotions directly, such as one where all of the members are empathic, would art exist?
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