Directions For A New Aestheticism

The idea of a new aestheticism is now explicit in both philosophical aesthetics and cultural theory with the publication of Gary Iseminger's The Aesthetic Function of Art and an anthology of essays edited by John Joughin and Simon Malpas critiquing the anti-aestheticism of literary theory. Both are significant in marking a wider trend reacting to, broadly speaking, intellectualised and historicised accounts of art, refocusing on the idea of appreciation itself, and working away from the emphasis on ideology and disregard for the particularity of works in, especially, literary theory. This broader context also includes renewed debates running within philosophical aesthetics about non-perceptual aesthetic properties and the aesthetic experience of conceptual artworks, and about beauty in art, considerations that have engaged two philosophers normally identified by their commitment to art theoretical and historical (and by extension, non-aesthetic) accounts of artistic making and viewing, namely Noël Carroll and Arthur Danto. So Carroll acknowledges that what's at stake is an aesthetic theory of art that is potentially 'back in business', while Danto's 'surprising' theoretic re-engagement with the concept of beauty has been noted by Diarmuid Costello

Peculiarities of Wilde`s poem “Endymion (For Music)” in the context of Aestheticism and difficulties of translation into Ukrainian.

Peculiarities of Wilde`s poem “Endymion (For Music)” in the context of Aestheticism and difficulties of translation are investigated. Transforming the character's image of the wellknown mythological plot about Endymion, rethinking such “eternal values” as Love and Beauty and creating his famous paradoxes the writer thereby expresses a protest against the Victorian morality. A decorative style, a semantic color function, synesthesia are researched as features of Aestheticism in the poem. The hypothesis about the impact of literary model of Wilde`s Endymion on the writer`s fate is of particular interest. This article is believed to be the first step to investigate an artistic originality of Wilde`s poem “Endymion (For Music)” and difficulties of translation into Ukraimian and opens the prospects for further consideration of Wilde`s literary heritage

Nietzsche's aestheticist claim: on the relation between art and truth

Nietzsche's controversial "aestheticist" claim that existence and the world are only justifiable as aesthetic phenomena provides the motivation for this thesis. The aestheticist claim is summative of Nietzsche's characteristic aestheticism, which allows for a link between the typically distinct concepts of art and truth. Although the available literature includes analysis of Nietzsche's aestheticism, no full defence of it has previously been offered. The general view seems to be that aestheticism should be treated sceptically, and as such, it remains underdeveloped within contemporary Nietzsche studies. The chief aims of the thesis are therefore to respond to this relative neglect of the aestheticist view of the art/truth relation, and to develop and defend a standard account of aestheticism. Additionally, in so doing the thesis aims to offer implicit evidence of Nietzsche's philosophy as continuous in order to raise the question of the textual periodisation technique, which lends methodological weight to the sceptical attitude towards Nietzsche's aestheticism. The question of aestheticism is contextualised within the 'Two Cultures' debate on the relation between art, truth and science and the nihilistic crisis of values in modern culture. As such, the wider significance of defending Nietzsche's aestheticism is made appreciable. Following analysis of the available readings of aestheticism, key elements are considered and the features of a standard account are identified. However, three problems which turn on issues surrounding the art/truth relation in Nietzsche are also identified: the problems of metaphysics, ethics and common ontological ground. The thesis proposes solutions to each of these in turn. Nietzsche's aestheticism is therefore defended by appeal to an interpretative link between art and truth in the terms of Nietzsche's conception of being

Musil's idea of poetic mastership and responsibility or "Törless" as his first attempt to become a serious writer

Musil uses the word 'Dichter', 'poet', as a dignified title reserved for artists of great achievement (different from 'Schriftsteller', 'writer'). His use of the word emphasizes the importance of the specifically poetic qualities of literature (and of the poetic sensibility of criticism,) not as an idle objection to the contemporary merging of literary works with either pure sensation and feeling, or with other forms of discourse. Focusing on "Törless", as well as on Musil's notebooks and essays, this article shows how Musil understands the relationship between rational thinking and the latent ideas and thoughts that emerge within the poetic dimension (the 'other state of mind' or 'other condition.') This approach illuminates Musil's conception of "precision and soul" - the interlocking of sensitive perceptiveness and intellectual rigor - as a necessary pre-condition for valuable literature and valuable life.Musil costuma usar o termo 'Dichter', poeta, como um título de maior dignidade para grandes mestres (opondo esse termo à palavra mais contemporânea 'Schriftsteller', escritor). Esse uso sustenta a ideia das qualidades especificamente poéticas da literatura (e da sensibilidade poética da crítica), reagindo contra as tendências contemporâneas de fundir os discursos literários ou com a pura sensação, ou com outras formas discursivas. Partindo de "Törless" e de alguns ensaios de Musil, esse artigo mostra como Musil entende a relação entre o pensamento racional e as ideias latentes que emergem da dimensão poética (do "outro estado da mente" ou da "outra condição"). A abordagem ilumina a concepção musiliana de "precisão e alma", isto é, o entrelaçamento entre percepção sensitiva e rigor intelectual como uma condição para a busca de valores literários e existenciais

Function, understanding and assessment : a functionalist interpretation of the assessment of art : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Philosophy at Massey University

The purpose of this thesis is to develop a functionalist interpretation of the assessment of art. In the following chapters I will explore the idea that we can assess the value of art works in terms of the various functions that they serve. Rejecting the idea that the value of art works lies in some kind of metaphysical value, I suggest that art works are valuable because we value them. We value them, I argue, on account of the various artistic functions that they perform. The purpose of chapter one is to set the scene philosophically, by explaining in greater detail what is involved in a functionalist interpretation of the assessment of art. In this chapter I suggest that the primary objections to my framework of assessment derive from the idea that only aesthetic considerations are relevant to assessment. In response I argue that this idea, which is central to both modernism, aestheticism and formalism, is based upon an unacceptably narrow conception of the nature and purpose of art, and should be rejected. In chapters two to six, I discuss in detail five of the more important non-aesthetic functions of art, providing examples which help to illustrate their contribution to the value of art works. Together these functions help to show that the idea that only aesthetic considerations are relevant to the assessment of art is unacceptably restrictive. Chapter two is a discussion of the idea that a central function of art is to represent the objects of reality. I argue that the concept of representation as ordinarily construed has serious difficulties, and is based upon assumptions which we are better off abandoning. I suggest that it would be better to conceive of art as a vehicle in which we can present ideas, depictions, and conceptualizations of various aspects of our understanding and experience. Such 'presentations', I argue, can be valued for the way in which they provide insights into different aspects of the world, and thus contribute to our understanding. In chapter three, I show that an important dimension of the value of art can be the way in which art works function to express cultural and spiritual beliefs and values. In chapter four, I discuss the way in which art can function to act as a vehicle for the expression of social and political ideas. In chapter five, I show how the moral significance of an art work can contribute importantly to its value, and in chapter six, I discuss the relevance of the expression and arousal of emotion to the value of art works. In chapter seven, I return to discuss the importance of aesthetic considerations to the assessment of art. I suggest that although it would be difficult to sustain the argument that aesthetic merit is a necessary component of artistic value, it is nevertheless true that aesthetic considerations play a particularly important role in the assessment of art works

Ethics-Rorty-cultural studies : towards an understanding of the cultural production of solidarity : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Is cultural studies on the verge of an ethical turn? What role could the work of Richard Rorty play in such an ethical turn? Rorty may be considered as a cultural theorist whose work enables a productive articulation of cultural studies and that area of experience known as "ethics" – one's sensitivity and sense of responsibility to others in pain. Through an extended "misreading" of the dispersed texts Rorty has written on and around the topic, it is possible to formulate a Rortian account of ethics as solidarity, including such concepts as the moral subject, the other, moral identification, moral community, as well as the ethical implications of Rorty's theoretical ethnocentrism. This account, by virtue of its antifoundationalist and discursive theoretical position, holds much interest for a cultural studies concerned to understand the normative dimension of discursive meaning

Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered: Reflections on Art, Fundamentalism, and Democracy

This philosophical lecture explores the tension between art and morality, beginning with the opposing viewpoints—aestheticism and moralism—that one should trump the other. As exemplary case studies, several controversial art exhibits—works that fueled the culture wars of the 1980’s are examined to identify the concerns of advocates and critics. This leads to deeper reflections on the artistic assumptions of religious fundamentalism, the role of art in a democracy, and the possibility that artistic exploration can be a form of moral action