Introductory description

An in-depth introduction to one or more foundational texts in the tradition of philosophical aesthetics. Typically, one of the texts will be Kant’s Critique of Judgement and other readings will be drawn from subsequent major work in aesthetics and/or the philosophy of art by, for example, Schiller, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Dewey, Collingwood, Adorno, Benjamin, Freud, Lyotard. This year we spend the first 5 weeks on Kant’s Critique of Judgement, and after reading week turn to Heidegger’s Origin of the Work of Art and related essays.

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

WEEK 1: KANT AND CONCEPT OF REFLECTIVE JUDGEMENT
WEEK 2: ANALYTIC OF THE BEAUTIFUL (FIRST/ SECOND MOMENTS)
WEEK 3: ANALYTIC OF THE BEAUTIFUL (THIRD/ FOURTH MOMENTS)
WEEK 4: ANALYTIC OF THE SUBLIME, MATHEMATICAL/DYNAMICAL
WEEK 5: FINE ART, GENIUS AND AESTHETIC IDEAS
WEEK 6 READING WEEK
WEEK 7: HEIDEGGER’S CRITIQUE OF AESTHETICS
WEEK 8: ORIGIN OF THE WORK OF ART I (WORLD AND EARTH)
WEEK 9: ORIGIN OF THE WORK OF ART II (BEING & TRUTH)
WEEK 10: KANT AND HEIDEGGER RECONSIDERED

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the central arguments and substantive issues in the set texts and secondary literature
• Critically assess the key claims and arguments of the core texts, and later debates concerning the nature and scope of aesthetic theory to which they have given rise
• Articulate their own view of the relative merits of conflicting interpretations in the literature, and engage critically with other points of view;
• Demonstrate some understanding of the methodological issues raised by reading Kant’s third Critique and Heidegger’s artwork essay as contributions to debates in aesthetic theory and the philosophy of art;
• Articulate the significance of art and the aesthetic for cognition more generally, and their relation to other domains of value;
• Present their arguments and interpretations of the texts clearly both orally and in written form

Indicative reading list

There are three core texts for this course, one by Kant and Heidegger respectively,
plus a commentary on Kant.
i. There are two acceptable translations of Kant's Critique of Judgement. Students are
advised to purchase Werner S. Pluhar’s translation, Hackett Publishing Co., 1987. But
Paul Guyer and Eric Matthews, CUP, 2000, is also good.
ii. Students are advised to buy Christian Helmut Wenzel’s commentrary, An
Introduction to Kant’s Aesthetics: Core Concepts and Problems, Blackwell, 2005.
iii. Martin Heidegger, ‘The Origin of the Work of Art’ originally appeared in
Heidegger's Holzwege, now available as Off the Beaten Track, trans. J. Young & K.
Haynes, CUP 2002, which also includes ‘The Age of the World Picture’

Subject specific skills

i. Understand the key arguments of several core texts in the history of aesthetics;
ii. Grasp the relation and differences between aesthetics and the philosophy of art;
iii. Understand the significance of the beautiful and the sublime and their relation to art;
iv. Appreciate the role of normativity and truth in aesthetics and the philosophy of art.

Transferable skills

i. Develop skills of argument, analysis and textual interpretation;
ii. Develop a capacity for close reading of complicated historical texts;
iii. Be able to present ideas clearly in verbal and written form;
iv. Be able to assess the merits of very different philosophical starting points.