Is Talent a Social Obligation?

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ESSAY 1 – IS TALENT A SOCIAL OBLIGATION?

Does a person born with natural talent for a particular activity have some sort of obligation to the rest of society to use that talent? Some might argue that an individual who possesses some sort of natural talent must absolutely utilize it, to contribute to the common good. Others believe that unless a person is passionate about what they are doing, no degree of natural talent will do them any good. Forcing Monet to paint when all he really wanted to do was write would have enslaved him to an activity he had no interest in. The paintings he would have produced would have been created begrudgingly, and his “natural talent” would not be enough to make the work great. Art is unique in that it requires a overarching purpose and vision if it is to become something great. Artists must be passionate about the vision, or their lack of interest will come through in their work. Because art is so personal, no individual should be forced into creating it if they have no desire to do so.

While there is no doubt that some people possess certain abilities that come naturally to them, if the person does not find these things enjoyable they will not be passionate about them. Passion is what drives people to become successful, and passion is what keeps them motivated to continue working and working on a project until they get it right. Most people see a beautiful work of art or hear a musician play a beautiful composition and assume that person must have been born with natural talent. In every other field, such as medicine, law, or accounting, the people who rise to the top as the most proficient in their fields do so not by any gifts given to them at birth, but rather through hard work, education, and experience. Mozart was once quoted as saying, “"People make a mistake who think that my art has come easily to me. Nobody
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