Does the highlighted "this" mean "what is art" or "why these particular works are art"?
Context:
As art historian Nigel Warburton has pointed out: "Given the brevity of life, if we are going to ask the question [what is art?] at all, it is better to focus on particular works, ask why they are art, and why this might matter to us."
I take it to mean "why these particular works are art".
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