Chapter 15 - Introducing Aesthetics (1)

Chapter 15 – Introduc-ing Aesthetics

Eun Jie, Eun Young, Janelle, Ruth, JosePhilosophy E.I.S

Aesthetics comes from the word “es-thetics”

Aesthetics is the study of beauty or philosophy of art

Tries to explain how people perceive and access the meaning, importance and purpose of art

What is Aesthetics?

Traditional Aesthetics Today’s Aesthetics

Focused on nature of beauty, relationship be-tween:

When is something a work of art?

What role do emotions play in appreciating art?

What is taste? When is art beneficial? When is art destruc-

tive? Can ugly art be good

art? Etc.

Philosophers examine the connection between people’s senses, emotions and reason.

Aesthetic triad

Artist

Perceiver Art Object

Personal Aesthetics: people’s own principles of taste and appreciation of beauty

Personal Aesthetics affects the way on how people ex-perience the world and the choices they make every day.

So aestheticians do not attempt to find exact, perma-nent standard. They look for tendency and correlations.

“I like it because it’s filled with images. It reminds me of what I see in the real world.”

“This is the worst

music I’ve ever

heard. How can

you even listen to

it? It’s definitely

not art…”

“It’s good because it makes me feel connected with my world. I re-spond emotionally. That’s why it’s art…”

Aristotle believed that art can be studied and analyzed in the same way as natural phenomena. In Poetics he identifies stan-dards of art forms.

Knowledge of art can be used for good and bad purpose so contemporary aesthetics includes questions about whether and how art and knowledge of art can be used to achieve the best possible ends.

Role of Artist is also important: ac-cording to Aristotle, the act of creat-ing art brings out a sense of cathar-sis, an emotional purging that artist experience as an intuitive signal that a work is complete.

Artists express themselves or their feelings in art, conveying a message in emotional and aesthetic level.

Audience must be open and capable of responding aesthetically to the message.

So, attitude and ability plays a big role in defining how art is per-ceived.

Had a strict routine Born in Konigsberg 1724 Worked as a private tutor for

nobles and clergy Completed PhD in physics

and metaphysics His ideas were twice rejected

by chair of philosophy in uni-versity

Most important works: “Cri-tique of Pure Reason” , “Cri-tique of Practical Reason”, “Critique of Judgement”

Died of dementia

IMMANUEL KANT

Aesthetic attitude: disinterest (unpartial) approach that en-ables someone to contemplate an object on its own terms, re-gardless of the use to which it may be out and the emotions it may arouse.

Objectivity refers to judgements based on certain qualities or relations that are believed to be part of the object itself.

Subjectivity refers to judgements based on emotions-the amount of pleasure or displeasure the perceiver feels when ex-periencing an object.

Morality and art are often connected· Kant linked aesthetic experience with moral goodness

People can’t really understand aesthetic experience w/o moral connection

Human nature has 2 sides: sensous (aesthetic) and rational (moral)

Art discussions : morality refers to ability to live according to widely accepted codes of virtous behaviour.

How philosophers have said it…

Aesthetics is everywhere; aesthetic experiences dif-fer throughout cultures, values, backgrounds.

Aesthetic experience richer when subtleties of works are understood

Aesthetic attitude helps people become more aware of sensory experi-ences and this leads to heightened perception of life and opens mind to learning.