The Arts

Do the disciplines in the arts diverge from one another more fundamentally than disciplines within other areas of knowledge?

Does new knowledge in the arts always build on what is already known?

How have new technologies changed the nature and scope of the arts as an area of knowledge?

Are the arts best seen as a system of knowledge, a type of knowledge or a means of expressing knowledge?

Is artistic knowledge something that cannot be expressed in any other way?

Is the relationship between “knowing how” and “knowing that” different in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge? Does art enlarge what it is possible for us to think and know?

Is there such a thing as “obsolete” knowledge in the arts?

Can a work of art have meaning of which the artist themselves is unaware?

How does knowing more about the social, cultural or historical context of a work of art have an impact on our knowledge of the work itself?

Can art change the way we interpret the world?

What are the justifications for, and implications of, claiming that there are absolute standards for “good art”?

Who determines what art is valued, and on what criteria?

Should your judgments about art be given the same weight as those of an expert?

What role does the history of an artform play in evaluating present work?

Does convention play a different role in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge?

Does sense perception perform a radically different role in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge?

If the language of an art form is non-verbal, does this free it from being limited to propositional knowledge?

Can some knowledge in the arts only be gained through experience? How does the medium used change the way that knowledge is produced, shared or understood?

To what extent are the methods of justification different in the arts compared to other areas of knowledge?

In what ways are moral judgments similar to, or different from, aesthetic judgments?

Do the arts play a role in the development of our personal value systems?

How important is the study of literature in our individual ethical development?

Is the production and enjoyment of art subject to ethical constraints?

On what criteria could it be decided if the state has the right to censor art that is deemed immoral or blasphemous?

Do the arts have the power to challenge established moral values?

Are moral and aesthetic judgments more a matter of taste than a matter of truth?

Can we separate the moral character of the artist from the value of the artwork?