Western Philosophy of Art

This lecture series will examine the interpretative significance of art from a Western standpoint, drawing upon examples from visual, musical, and literary artistic practices. The philosophical discipline known as hermeneutics will be explored as it addresses questions of interpretation. Artworks act as carriers of meaning, conveying particular values that we perceive; hermeneutics seeks to understand the process by which such values are recognised. What messages do artworks communicate, and in what ways do we receive them? Do we find meaning within the artwork, or do we discover it? Which interpretative method should we employ to either uncover or construct meaning? To address these questions, the course will introduce the philosophical hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002). 

The course will also critically examine a range of approaches to interpreting art. For instance, Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) believed that art could reveal a unique form of truth, while Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1907-1961) emphasised artistic experience as being fundamentally embodied and pre-objective. Additional interpretative perspectives will be considered, including gender (Simone de Beauvoir, 1908-1986); the socio-political dimension of art as theorised by Marxism (Georg Lukacs, 1885-1971; Herbert Marcuse, 1898–1978); art as language to be analysed (Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1889-1951); art as an autonomous set of aesthetically pleasing forms (Clive Bell, 1881-1964); art as expression (Suzanne Langer, 1895–1985); the imaginative dimension of art (Jean-Paul Sartre, 1905-1980); and the stylistic qualities of art (Richard Wollheim, 1923-2003). The lectures will further address issues of taste and value judgement: should such judgements be regarded as entirely subjective, or might they be universal? Is there a standard of taste? Students will therefore be introduced to the aesthetics of David Hume (1711-1776) and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). 

Lectures

1. Introductory Lecture: How can philosophy teach us something about art?

2. The standard of taste: David Hume (1711-1776)

3. Art and judgement: Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)

4. Art, form, and formalism: Clive Bell (1881-1964)

5. Form and expression: Suzanne Langer (1895-1985)

6. Marxist ways of thinking art: The Frankfurt School and others

7. The ontological question of art between being and truth: Martin Heidegger (1889-1976)

8. Meaning, art, and the hermeneutical question: Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002)

9. Art and experience, an embodied nature: Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1907-1961)

10. Art and Imagination: Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980)

11. Art, existence, and gender: Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986)

12. Analysing the language of art: Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951)

13. Style in art and the art of style: Richard Wollheim (1923-2003)