TOPICS ON PHILOSOPHY OF ART

I. Art as Imitation

 Representation, not imitation

 Fidelity after the invention of photography
 Depiction vs. portrayal

II. Analysis of Representation

 Role of abstraction
 Representation in literature
 Representation in the mixed arts, inc. temporal vs. spatial
 Representation in music
 The nature of representation
 Art as a transformation of reality

III. Subject Matter

 Representational content
 Subject matter in painting
 Theme or underlying idea as subject matter

IV. Symbols in Art

 What makes a symbol?

 Conventional vs. natural
 Combination of conventional vs. natural
 Symbolism through a vital basis (history and tradition)

V. Meaning

 The meaning of “meaning” – the most general sense

 Meaning in literature
 Meaning of the question on whether a work of art has a meaning
 “Meaning” as ultimately a confusing and not-so-useful term

VI. Art as Expression

 Meaning of the phrase, “art as expression” – expression of what?

 Ambiguity of “express” and “expression”

VII. Expression in the Creation of Art

 Meaning of creation
 Creation as an expressive process
 Links with Romanticism
 Expressing a feeling in art and in ordinary life
 One description of the emotional expression in art
  Relevance of the artist’s emotions to the actual creation
 Differences between the processes involved in art and in craft
 Open-ended process and theory of expression
 Any true generalization of the creative process
 Difficulties about making conclusions about the creative process in art

VIII. The Expressive Product

 Expressive properties of art

 What does it mean to say art has expressive properties
 Analysis of expressiveness in art
 How can an emotional quality be in a work of art

IX. Art as Form

 The formalist position

 The wrong application or use of art
 What is relevant?
 Formalist appreciation of visual art
 Formalist appreciation of music
 Formalist appreciation of literature

X. Formal Principles in Art – organic unity

XI. Complexity, or diversity: not just unity, but diversity integrated into a unity

XII. Theme and thematic variation: central themes and variations

XIII. Development, or evolution

XIV. Balance

 Contrast and balance

 Conclusion – general agreement on the principle of forms
 Reason/origin of forms
 Vagueness
 Not complete in describing what is good/bad; accepted even by non-formalists

XV. Pragmatic Theories of Art – art as a means beyond itself

 Hedonistic theories of art

 Hedonists’ function of art
 Implications in judging
 Amended definition of “pleasure”
 But that means art is not a means, but an end in itself
 Art is not merely hedonistic

XVI. Art as a Means to Truth and Knowledge

  Cognitive function – means to the acquisition of knowledge
 Can truth/knowledge be found in art
 Truth and knowledge in literature
 Does it matter?
 Other statements that matter
 Truth or falsity of statements still matter
 Implicit statements
 But do they need to be accepted as true?
 True to human nature
 Is being true to human nature aesthetically relevant?
 Other works of art
 Is it the only criterion of excellence

XVII. Art as a Means to Moral Improvement

 Three views of art as a means to moral improvement

 Morality: moral, especially subversive effects of art
 Criterion of approval of moralists
 Plato’s views on art
 Tolstoy’s views on art
 Moralistic view held by the masses

XVIII. Aestheticism

 The opposite view: the experience of art is paramount

 A not-so-extreme view; acknowledgment of other values

XIX. Mixed positions

 “Interactionism”
 Literature’s capacity to teach
 How does literature teach?
 Literature’s chief moral potency and its effects
 Literature’s effects on human beings
 What literature describes: human beings in action
 Imagination and morality
 The leavening effect of art on morality
 Influence of art: Examples from ancient Greece and other eras
 “Great art is never obsolete.”
 Moral effects in other arts
 Aristotle theory of catharsis
 Effects of art
 Failure of this effect due to non-aesthetic appreciation/anesthetic effect