This week we will be looking at the kind of philosophy that deals with art and creativity. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that asks questions such as: What is the beautiful? What makes good art good? What kind of cognitional or epistemic processes are going on in the act of creativity?
Aesthetics, however, is not merely limited to understanding the mechanics of artistry but also the ways it works in the world and in our lives. What is the difference between a work of art and a work of propaganda? What are the ethics of art? Can art change our lives? Does good art make us better people?
These are the kinds of questions to keep in mind when we begin to dig deeper into the philosophy of art. Along with thinking about these questions, there is a particular kind of project that philosophers do regarding works of art: Cultural Exegesis. This is to say, philosophers tend to take one or two works of art and examine them philosophically, explaining what presuppositions are at work in the piece(s) and cashing out the implications of the work.
We will be doing cultural exegesis as our final project for the class and putting them together into a magazine of sorts. As a result, we need to get to work on them right away.
Your assignment, then, is to watch at least 4 of these PBS Off Book documentaries and 3 of these Idea Channel clips and answer the following questions about each of them:
-What ethical assumptions are being made by the subject covered?
-What are the political ideas discussed in the clip?
-What makes the subject beautiful? Ugly? Interesting?
After you have finished these videos and answering the questions about all four, read 2 of the following articles:
Mammies, Matriarchs, and Other Controlling Images--Patricia Hill-Collins
Critique of Aesthetic Judgment—Immanuel Kant (pgs. 16-33)
Aesthetics and Hermeneutics (pgs. 181-186) (The link works, just look for the article name)
Life in Search of Narrative--Paul Ricoeur
Eye and Mind—Maurice Merleau-Ponty
This is Not a Pipe—Michel Foucault
On Truth and Lies in an Extra Moral Sense—Nietzsche
Encountering the Other: Aesthetics, Race, and Relationality-Mickaella Perina
If you have finished reading these two pieces then try to think of a work of art or cultural practice that you would like to exegete and which philosopher(s) you think you would like to use for that project. After drafting a proposal, come see either Madeleine or JB to discuss it.
Aesthetics, however, is not merely limited to understanding the mechanics of artistry but also the ways it works in the world and in our lives. What is the difference between a work of art and a work of propaganda? What are the ethics of art? Can art change our lives? Does good art make us better people?
These are the kinds of questions to keep in mind when we begin to dig deeper into the philosophy of art. Along with thinking about these questions, there is a particular kind of project that philosophers do regarding works of art: Cultural Exegesis. This is to say, philosophers tend to take one or two works of art and examine them philosophically, explaining what presuppositions are at work in the piece(s) and cashing out the implications of the work.
We will be doing cultural exegesis as our final project for the class and putting them together into a magazine of sorts. As a result, we need to get to work on them right away.
Your assignment, then, is to watch at least 4 of these PBS Off Book documentaries and 3 of these Idea Channel clips and answer the following questions about each of them:
-What ethical assumptions are being made by the subject covered?
-What are the political ideas discussed in the clip?
-What makes the subject beautiful? Ugly? Interesting?
After you have finished these videos and answering the questions about all four, read 2 of the following articles:
Mammies, Matriarchs, and Other Controlling Images--Patricia Hill-Collins
Critique of Aesthetic Judgment—Immanuel Kant (pgs. 16-33)
Aesthetics and Hermeneutics (pgs. 181-186) (The link works, just look for the article name)
Life in Search of Narrative--Paul Ricoeur
Eye and Mind—Maurice Merleau-Ponty
This is Not a Pipe—Michel Foucault
On Truth and Lies in an Extra Moral Sense—Nietzsche
Encountering the Other: Aesthetics, Race, and Relationality-Mickaella Perina
If you have finished reading these two pieces then try to think of a work of art or cultural practice that you would like to exegete and which philosopher(s) you think you would like to use for that project. After drafting a proposal, come see either Madeleine or JB to discuss it.