“We have art so that we do not perish of the truth.” - Nietzsche
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” - Margaret Wolfe Hungerford.
Intro
What is aesthetics and philosophy of art?
Introduction
Aesthetics is the exploration of the cognitive/affective effect of sensuous images on our appreciation and understanding of our experiences. While sight and sound may dominate, we also consider the effects of smells (perfumes, flower scents, etc.), tastes (fine foods) and tactile sensations (feel of fine fabric, soft fur on a cat, etc.) Why do we enjoy, perceive as pretty or beautiful or pleasurable some sensations over others? Why are we repelled by others?
Our daily experiences are full of aesthetic judgments: how you decorate your bedroom, what clothes you choose to wear, the look and “feel” of your school—all these are examples of aesthetic experiences about which you judge, sometimes overtly and openly, other times subconsciously. Nature can be a powerful stimulus for aesthetic experiences. Think of a beautiful sunset, the ocean during a storm, a mountain, bird song. These “events” evoke feelings and often ideas in us as we savor their beauty or consider their awesomeness. Immanuel Kant claimed that nature often represented the sublime—a feeling of smallness in the face of some enormous almost holy presence. So aesthetics is a broader form of inquiry than philosophy of art and merits some attention on its own.
Activity:
Make a chart or write each sense modality on the board and compile a list of examples.
Which experiences are positive or negative aesthetic experiences?
Which are shared by many?
Are some particular to one person?
Can anything be the subject of an aesthetic experience?
Does every experience have an aesthetic component?
Show the Beautiful or Ugly Powerpoint
Show the "Is it Art" video.
Questions of Art:
Does our appreciation of beauty make us better / moral human beings?
Is art a human thing?
(Ontology) What makes an object an art object? Where/what is the work of art in music, literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, dance?
Is a copy of a great work of art, itself, a great work of art? (hidden axiomatic question, does the artist's motivation become a part of the work? Does the effort become a part of our decision?)
How do artists create? (Is it from within or divinely inspired, from without)
Do they know what they mean in their works? What role does intention play?
Is artistic genius a gift or can it be acquired, learned? What is artistic creativity?
Do we need art?
Philosophers
Edmund Burke
Estella Lauter
Georg Hegel
Freidrich Schiller
Monroe Beardsley
Iris Murdoch
Arthur Danto
Jacques Ranciere
“We have art so that we do not perish of the truth.” - Nietzsche
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” - Margaret Wolfe Hungerford.
What is aesthetics and philosophy of art?
Introduction
Aesthetics is the exploration of the cognitive/affective effect of sensuous images on our appreciation and understanding of our experiences. While sight and sound may dominate, we also consider the effects of smells (perfumes, flower scents, etc.), tastes (fine foods) and tactile sensations (feel of fine fabric, soft fur on a cat, etc.) Why do we enjoy, perceive as pretty or beautiful or pleasurable some sensations over others? Why are we repelled by others?
Our daily experiences are full of aesthetic judgments: how you decorate your bedroom, what clothes you choose to wear, the look and “feel” of your school—all these are examples of aesthetic experiences about which you judge, sometimes overtly and openly, other times subconsciously. Nature can be a powerful stimulus for aesthetic experiences. Think of a beautiful sunset, the ocean during a storm, a mountain, bird song. These “events” evoke feelings and often ideas in us as we savor their beauty or consider their awesomeness. Immanuel Kant claimed that nature often represented the sublime—a feeling of smallness in the face of some enormous almost holy presence. So aesthetics is a broader form of inquiry than philosophy of art and merits some attention on its own.
Activity:
Make a chart or write each sense modality on the board and compile a list of examples.
Which experiences are positive or negative aesthetic experiences?
Which are shared by many?
Are some particular to one person?
Can anything be the subject of an aesthetic experience?
Does every experience have an aesthetic component?
Show the Beautiful or Ugly Powerpoint
Show the "Is it Art" video.
- Are the following art, crafts or something else?
- A quilt
- A fork and knife
- A garden
- A sushi dinner
- A dress designed by Calvin Klein
- A can of Campbell’s soup
- A snow sculpture
Questions of Art:
Does our appreciation of beauty make us better / moral human beings?
Is art a human thing?
(Ontology) What makes an object an art object? Where/what is the work of art in music, literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, dance?
Is a copy of a great work of art, itself, a great work of art? (hidden axiomatic question, does the artist's motivation become a part of the work? Does the effort become a part of our decision?)
How do artists create? (Is it from within or divinely inspired, from without)
Do they know what they mean in their works? What role does intention play?
Is artistic genius a gift or can it be acquired, learned? What is artistic creativity?
Do we need art?
Philosophers
Edmund Burke
Estella Lauter
Georg Hegel
Freidrich Schiller
Monroe Beardsley
Iris Murdoch
Arthur Danto
Jacques Ranciere
“We have art so that we do not perish of the truth.” - Nietzsche
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” - Margaret Wolfe Hungerford.
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An argument for rationalism and objective beauty
When we think about what Hungerford said: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” We feel that it is true.
But it can not be denied that there are some mathematical principles in nature which we can say are beautiful, both empirically, and rationally.
But it can not be denied that there are some mathematical principles in nature which we can say are beautiful, both empirically, and rationally.