Standards of writing WAS:Etiquette

[Bart Lidofsky]

No: HPFGUIDX 142915

lupinlore wrote:
> Absolutely and completely incorrect.  There is NO objective standard of 
> good writing.  There are simply standards which have been politically 
> agreed upon for the sake of the convenience of certain communities, and 
> even those shift constantly.  Writing is by its very nature completely 
> subjective, and therefore all judgments thereof are completely 
> subjective.

Bart:
That's a view which is necessary for certain politics to be valid. 
However, scientific testing has been increasingly showing this to be 
invalid; that there are certain characteristics which are hardwired into 
the human brain and nervous system, and many aspects of art are 
considered to be "good" or "bad" based on those characteristics.

Or, more precisely, would Harry Potter have the near-universal appeal it 
appears to have if ideas of art were culturally imposed?

This is not to say that there is one universal standard of good and bad 
writing; more that there are guidelines which point the way.

Virtually all human societies end up with one or more people in 
authority. Therefore, a major theme underlying the Harry Potter novels 
(that of following the rules vs. doing what is right in spite of rules 
against it) is universal, as well as the concept of doing what is right.

Bart