Philosophy 80: Aesthetics
Curtis Bowman
Logan Hall 464
cubowman@nous.phil.upenn.edu
http://www.phil.upenn.edu/~cubowman
Course Description
Aesthetics concerns itself with philosophical questions which arise when we reflect upon the nature of art and our experience of it, as well as with our experience of nature itself. What makes something a work of art? What is the relationship between artists and their artworks? Can we give reasons for our judgments about artworks, or are they simply expressions of what we like and dislike? What is the ontology of the work of art? Is art a special form of insight? These are some of the questions that we will consider in this course.
Our readings shall be drawn from the history of Western aesthetics. Thus we shall begin with Plato and Aristotle and then work our way up to the present day. No knowledge of art history is required, although it is certainly helpful, since innovations in aesthetics are often responses to innovations in the arts themselves.
Required Texts
R. G. Collingwood, The Principles of Art (Oxford)
Arthur C. Danto, After the End of Art (Princeton)
G. W. F. Hegel, Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics (Penguin)
Russell & Winterbottom (eds.), Classical Literary Criticism (Oxford) [Abbreviated as CLC]
Leo Tolstoy, What is Art? (Hackett)
Readings
Ancient Aesthetics: Art as Imitation
1. Plato: Ion and selections from Republic (CLC, pp. 1-50)
2. Aristotle's Poetics (CLC, pp. 51-90)
Art and the Absolute
Hegel, Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics (pp. 3-61, 76-97)
Art as Expression
1. Tolstoy's What is Art? (Chapters 1, 5-20)
2. Collingwood's The Principles of Art (Introduction, Books I & III)
The Contemporary Artworld
1. Clement Greenberg on Modernism: "Modernist Painting" (photocopy)
2. Danto's Thesis of the End of Art: After the End of Art
Course Requirements
Students will write two papers (5-10 pages each). There will also be a comprehensive exam at the end of the semester. Each assignment will count for one-third of the course grade.
Policies concerning papers
(1) Any student requiring an extension should arrange for one at least three days in advance of handing in the paper. A paper without an extension will be considered late and penalized accordingly. A letter grade will be deducted from the paper grade for every full week or fraction thereof that the paper is late.
(2) Papers must be printed when they are handed in. E-mail attachments will not be accepted.
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This page last modified on January 5, 2002.