If one is willing to grant this position even if only by way of temporary experiment one will see that there follows a conclusion which is at first sight surprising In order to understand the meaning of artistic products we have to forget them for a time to turn aside from them and have recourse to the ordinary forces and conditions of experience that we do not usually regard as aesthetic We must arrive at the theory of art by means of a detour For theory is concerned with understanding and insight It is of course quite possible to enjoy flowers in their coloured form and delicate fragrance without knowing anything about plants theoretically But if one sets out to understand the flowering of plants one is committed to finding out something about the interactions of soil air water and sunlight that condition the growth of plants 