Philosophy of Art

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course is an introduction to philosophical engagement with the arts, in particular music and painting. The first half of the course will be about the philosophy of music (taking the Bach keyboard suites---Partitas, English Suites and French Suites---as a focal set of examples), and the second half of the course will be about the philosophy of painting (taking as focal a set of Renaissance and Baroque paintings which are easily accessible from ND's London and Rome Gateways). In the philosophy of music portion, we will inquire into the peculiar causality, intelligibility and value of music, as well as the roots of music in dance and song. Why do we speak of musical "movement", and what exactly is the "content" of a piece of music? Can music be said to represent or is it merely expressive? And what is the relationship--if any--between musical judgment/appreciation and our ethical, political and religious formation? In the philosophy of painting portion, we will discuss analogous questions concerning depiction. Readings will include excerpts from works by Plato, Aristotle, Schopenhauer, Adorno, Wittgenstein, Anscombe, Podro, Maritain, Gilson, Wolheim and Scruton.