Aesthetics and the Imagination

Catalog description

This course aims to provide an overview of both central themes in aesthetics and more recent work on the imagination and aesthetic experience. We will begin by focusing on the question “What is Art” and then discuss the nature of taste and aesthetic judgement. We will next focus on several puzzles concerning the connection between imagination and aesthetic response. How is it the case that we can experience strong emotions from fiction while simultaneously believing that the characters and events depicted in these fictional works do not exist? Why do we find seeing unpleasant or grotesque events depicted in horror pleasurable? Can or should we separate morally problematic artists from their aesthetic creations? In addition to reading historical and contemporary works on aesthetics, we will also look at films, literature, and works of visual art that illustrate relevant philosophical themes.