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Aesthetics: Contemporary Theories

Aesthetics: Contemporary Theories. Aims of the Course. To provide an introduction to Contemporary Aesthetics To discuss a range of topics that are relevant to the judgment and appreciation of art To think about a range of topics in relation to works in Tate Modern. Further Information.

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Aesthetics: Contemporary Theories

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  1. Aesthetics: Contemporary Theories

  2. Aims of the Course • To provide an introduction to Contemporary Aesthetics • To discuss a range of topics that are relevant to the judgment and appreciation of art • To think about a range of topics in relation to works in Tate Modern

  3. Further Information • See www.artandallusion.com • My email: nigelwarburton@aol.com

  4. Week by Week • 1) Against Definition • 2) The Institutional Theory • 3) Identifying Art (change!) • 4) Aesthetic Concepts • 5) Artists’ Intentions • 6) Style and Personality

  5. Traditional Aesthetic Theories • Define art • Give its essence • Spell this out in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions

  6. WEITZ • Focus not on ‘What is Art?’ • But on “What sort of concept is ‘Art’?”

  7. Necessary Conditions • = pre-requisites • E.g. necessary condition of being a fox that a mammal • E.g. necessary condition of being a student that you are studying something

  8. Sufficient Conditions • = guarantees • E.g. sufficient condition of being a student that you are studying at Oxford University • E.g. sufficient condition of being on this course, that you have a ticket.

  9. Art and Nec. And Suff. Conditions • According to Clive Bell a work of art is • 1) An Artifact (necessary but not sufficient) • 2) Has Significant Form (necessary and sufficient)

  10. Weitz on the attempt to define art…. • ‘a logically vain attempt to define what cannot be defined’ (p.411). = treating art as a closed concept when it is an open one…

  11. Open Concepts • Derived from Ludwig Wittgenstein on games – in Philosophical Investigations • No common essence of ‘game’ • Open concepts require a decision with new cases; closed, can state nec. and suff. conditions

  12. Sub-concepts of Art • E.g. is this work a sculpture? • Answer isn’t given by reference to nec. and suff. conditions but by decision of whether or not to extend concept of art to cover it.

  13. Summary (p.413) • ‘the very expansive, adventurous character of art, its ever present changes and novel creations, makes it logically impossible to ensure any set of defining properties.’ • Can close the concept…

  14. BUT… • What is Weitz’s evidence? • 1) Past failures of definitions • 2) Plausibility of family resemblance notion. • Does it follow that it is ‘logically impossible’?

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