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From Tim Footman Sir: Roger Scruton's invocation of Manet in

his attempt to demonstrate the existence of the soul is flawed (What it means to be human', 20 March). 'Bar at the Folies Bergere"is' a young woman only in the sense that the viewer, familiar with the conventions of Western representational art of the 19th century, puts that interpretation on it. As Magritte pointed out, 'Ceci West pas une pipe.' It is, rather, we who translate the artist's efforts into a woman, a pipe, sunflowers, etc.

Similarly, 'the soul' exists within human existence only to the extent that believers interpret existence thus. The idea that a work of art is 'real' and the idea that God is 'real' rely on the same intellectual and emotional characteristic — suspension of disbelief.

Tim Footman

Bangkok, Thailand

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