Aesthetics: Philosophy of Art

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Aesthetics Philosophy of Art

• Plato art imitates reality. By focusing
  on mere appearances, art distracts us from the
  truth and appeals to socially destructive
  emotions. It provides no real knowledge and
  undermines personal and social well-being
• Aristotle art does not imitate particular
  things rather it identifies universal
  ideals and values. It also purges us of
  our erotic and aggressive passions (catharsis)

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Other Views of Art

• Romanticism art expresses or evokes feelings
  it embodies the creativity of reality by
  expressing emotions
• Art as form the significance of a work depends
  on the form or order of its parts.
• Abstract art develops aesthetic sensibilities
• The disinterested pleasure of experiencing such
  order is the experience of beauty

B. Croce
Clive Bell
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Still Other Views of Art

• Institutional theory of art the designation of
  something as art is based on decisions by the
  artworld (George Dickie)
• The End of Art conceptual art (e.g.,
  by Marcel Duchamp) is less concerned now with
  representation or expression as it is
  with questioning what art itself is

Arthur Danto