Philosophy of Art
PHIL 230-03 | CRN#
11189 | TR 10-11:50 | Clarke Science 210 | Fall 2013
Course Syllabus
Instructor: Dr. Aaron Smuts
| asmuts@ric.edu
Description
The course covers both the nature
of art and its value. It is a topically oriented survey of the area. We will
confront philosophical problems and evaluate arguments about the nature of art
and its value. The class will enter debates with contemporary philosophers,
historians, and critics, as well as important thinkers from the past. But this
is not a historical survey; rather, it is an engagement with live issues: What
is art? Is there a difference between high and low art? Can we learn from
fiction? Are aesthetic judgments objective? Do the intentions of artists matter
when evaluating art? Is it irrational to feel fear and pity for merely
fictional characters and events?
http://tinyurl.com/asmuts-philart-f13
Texts
There are three required books for this course:
- Peter Lamarque and Stein
Haugom Olsen (eds.). Aesthetics and
the Philosophy of Art. (Blackwell) [AA] (Buy a used copy on
Amazon.)
- Colin Wilson. Let's Talk about Love: A Journey to the
End of Taste (Continuum, 2010). [LT] [buy]
- Noël Carroll. A Philosophy of Mass Art. (Oxford, 1998). [MA] (Buy a used copy
on Amazon.)
There are four optional books:
- Andrew Lawrence Roberts. The Thinking Student's Guide to
College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education. University Of Chicago
Press, 2010. ISBN-10: 0226721159.
- Stephen Davies. The Philosophy of Art (Blackwell,
2006). [PA]
- Noël Carroll. The Philosophy of Art: A Contemporary Introduction [PACI]
- Noël Carroll. The Philosophy of Horror: Or, Paradoxes of the Heart
(Routledge, 1990). [PH]
Most of the readings will come from articles posted on Blackboard
[BB].
Coursework
There will be two different forms
of coursework: (best 20 out of 26) daily quizzes and three take-home examinations. I will give a short quiz at the beginning of
each class that will require one or two sentence answers. The quizzes are closed-book, but
open-note. The bulk of your grade comes
from the take-home exams. All assignments must be completed to pass the course.
Quizzes (10%) + first exam (30%) + late-term exam (30%) +
final exam (30%).
I encourage students who are
doing well to write a term paper in place of the final exam. If you chose this
option, please let me know two weeks before Thanksgiving. I'll help you refine
your topic and develop an outline. You must give me an abstract and a rough
outline one month before the final exam period. I will not accept a term paper
otherwise.
Attendance Policy
Although I record every class
meeting, attendance is required. If you miss 6 or more classes, you will
receive a 0 for your quiz grade. If
you miss 12 or more classes, you will receive an F for the course. (There
are no excused or unexcused absences. But please talk to me if something major
comes up that dramatically effect your attendance.)
Tardiness Policy
If you are more than 5 minutes late, I will not accept your daily quiz
and you will be marked absent. Come to class on time. If you are more than 10
minutes late, you will not be admitted to class.
Leaving Early Policy
No matter the reason, if you leave early, I will not accept your daily
quiz and you will be marked absent. It doesn't matter if you have a court date,
a doctor's appointment, or if you have to get to work. If you leave early, you
will be marked absent.
Classroom Etiquette Policy
Pay attention; don't have distracting side conversations with other
students; don't read newspapers or do crossword puzzles in class; don't sleep;
don't text; don't sigh loudly with displeasure. This kind of behavior is
disruptive. Be civil. Be courteous. This isn't high school. If your behavior is
disruptive, I will ask you to leave. If I have to ask you to leave twice,
you will receive an F in the class.
Laptop Policy
Laptop use is prohibited. The same
goes for tablet computers and smartphones. Consider this rehab for Facebook
addiction. You should print the articles posted on Blackboard and bring them to
class.
Academic Honesty
Plagiarism—claiming someone else’s
ideas or written work as your own—will not be tolerated. The tests are not
collaborative. All sources must be cited. Anyone caught cheating will be
given a failing grade in the course. I am also required to report you to the
Vice President of Academic Affairs. But
I would report you even if it was optional. Plagiarism is a serious offense.
Class Schedule
* The
readings for each class are nested under the date. You should do the readings before class. There will be a quiz every class.
Topic I: What is Art?
- Week
1
- C1 (T: 9/3) Introduction
and Overview
- Readings
- Carroll,
Introduction to PACI [BB] (pp. 2-13)
- Further Reading
- Lamarque and Olsen, "General Introduction" [AA]
- C2 (R: 9/5) Aesthetic Theories
- Readings
- Beardsley,
"An Aesthetic Definition of Art" [AA]
- Further
Reading
- Carroll, PACI Ch.4 "Art and Aesthetic Experience" [BB]
- Davies, PA Ch.2 "Defining Art" [BB]
- Dickie, "The Myth of the
Aesthetic Attitude" [BB]
- Stolnitz, "The Aesthetic
Attitude" [BB]
- Week
2
- C3 (T: 9/10) Aesthetic Experience
- Readings
- Carroll, PACI Ch.4 "Art and Aesthetic Experience" [BB] (Part I, pp.156-182)
- Further Reading
- Carroll, "Beauty and the Genealogy of Art Theory" [BB] (*pp.35-40)
- Carroll,
"Four Concepts of Aesthetic Experience" [BB]
- C4 (R: 9/12) Open Concept Theories
- Readings
- Weitz,
"The Role of Theory in Aesthetics" [AA]
- Davies
"Weitz’s anti-essentialism" [AA]
- Further Reading
- Carroll, PACI Ch.5 "Art, Definition, and Identification" [BB] (part I)
- Week
3
- C5 (T: 9/17) The Cluster Account
- Readings
- Gaut,
"The Cluster Concept" [BB]
- C6 (R: 9/19) Identifying Art
- Readings
- Carroll,
"Identifying Art" [BB]
- Further
Reading
- Danto
"Art as Theory" [AA]
- Dickie
"Art as Institution" [AA]
- Levinson, "Defining Art Historically" [AA]
Topic II: Popular
Art
- Week
4
- C7 (T: 9/24) The Massification Argument
- Readings
- MacDonald,
"A Theory of Mass Culture" [BB]
- C8 (R: 9/26) A Reply
- Readings
- Carroll,
Mass Art, ch. 1, pp. 1-30 [MA]
- Week
5
- C9 (T: 10/1) The
Passivity and Formula Arguments
- Readings
- Greenberg,
"Avant-garde and Kitsch" [BB]
- Further Reading
- Collingwood,
excerpts from The Principles of Art [BB]
- C10 (R: 10/3) Replies
- Readings
- Carroll,
Mass Art, ch. 1, 31-70 [MA]
- Week
6
- C11 (T: 10/8) The
Freedom, Susceptibility, and Conditioning Arguments
- Readings
- Carroll, Mass Art, ch. 1, 70-89 [MA]
- Further Reading
- Adorno
and Horkheimer, "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment and Mass
Deception" [BB] (selected pages: 124-127, 137, 144, 157-158)
- Adorno, "Culture Industry Reconsidered" [BB]
- C12
(R: 10/10) Accounting for Resistance
- Readings
- Carroll,
Mass Art, ch. 1, 89-109 [MA]
Topic III: Taste and The Value of Art
- C13 (T: 10/15) The Pluralistic Category Approach
- Readings
- Carroll,
PMP Ch.7, "Evaluation" [BB]
- Further
Reading
- Daniel
Kaufman, "Normative Criticism" [BB]
- C15 (T: 10/22) Taste
- Readings
- Further Reading
- Hume, "Of the Standard of Taste" [BB]
- Bender, "Sensitivity, Sensibility, and Aesthetic Realism" [BB]
- Goldman, selections from Aesthetic Value [BB]
- C17 (T: 10/29) Liking Better Things
- Readings
- Cohen, "Liking What's Good: Why Should We?"
Topic IV: Art and Emotion
- C18 (R: 10/31) The Paradox of Fiction
- Readings
- Radford, "How Can we be Moved by the Fate of Anna Karenina?"
- Week
10
- C19 (T: 11/5) The Paradox of Fiction
- Readings
- Walton, "Fearing Fictions" [AA] (read pp.5-10, 13-14, 18, and 23-24; you can skip the rest.)
- Further
Reading
- Berys
Gaut, selection from Art,
Emotion, and Ethics [BB
- C20 (R: 11/7) The Paradox of Fiction
- Readings
- Further Reading
- Noël Carroll, The
Philosophy of Horror, pp. 59-88. [BB]
- Alex Neill, "Empathy and (Film) Fiction"
[BB]
- Deborah Knight, "In Fictional Shoes: Mental
Simulation and Fiction" [PFMP]
- Week
11
- CXX (T: 11/12) **NO CLASS - Monday
Classes Meet**
- C21 (R: 11/15) The
Paradox of Horror
- Readings
- Noël
Carroll, The Philosophy of Horror,
Ch. 4 [BB]
- Further
Reading
- David Hume, "Of Tragedy" [BB]
- Week 12
- C22 (T: 11/19) The Paradox of Painful Art
- Readings
- Aaron Smuts, "Art and Negative Affect"
[BB]
- Further Reading
- Aaron Smuts, "Why Do We Listen to Sad
Songs?" [BB]
- Susan Feagin, "The Pleasures of Tragedy"
[BB]
Topic V: Art and Knowledge
- C23 (R: 11/21) The Problem of Triviality
- Readings
- Stolnitz, "On the cognitive
triviality of art" [BB]
- Further Reading
- Wilson, "Art and Knowledge"
[BB]
- Week
13
- C24 (T: 11/26) Art and Knowledge
- Readings
- Gaut, "Art and Cognition"
[BB]
- Further Reading
- Lamarque and Olsen, "Literature,
Truth, and Philosophy" [BB]
- CXX
(R: 11/28) *NO CLASS -
THANKSGIVING
Topic VI: Art and
Morality
- Week
14
- C25
(T: 12/3) Sympathy for the Devil
- Readings
- Carroll, "The Wheel of
Virtue" [BB]
- Further Reading
- Carroll, "Sympathy for
Soprano" [BB]
- C26
(R: 12/5) Immoral
Pleasure
- Readings
- Smuts, "Pleasurably Regarding
the Pain of Fictional Others" [BB]
- Further Reading
- "How to Defend Response
Moralism" [BB]
Topic VII:
Authorial Intention
- Week
15
- C27
(T: 12/10) The Intentional Fallacy
- Readings
- Beardsley,
"Intentions and Interpretations" [AA]
- C28 (R: 12/12) Actual Intentionalism
- Readings
- Carroll,
"Art, Intention, and Conversation" [BB]
- Further
Reading
- Levinson,
"Intention and Interpretation" [AA]
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