Art, Emotion and EthicsArt, Emotion and Ethics is a systematic investigation of the relation of art to morality, a topic that has been of central and recurring interest to the philosophy of art since Plato. Berys Gaut explores the various positions that have been taken in this debate, and argues that an artwork is always aesthetically flawed insofar as it possesses a moral defect that is aesthetically relevant. Three main arguments are developed for this view; these involve showing how moral goodness is itself a kind of beauty, that artworks can teach us about morality and that this is under certain conditions an aesthetic merit in them, and that our emotional responses to works of art are properly guided in part by moral considerations. Art, Emotion and Ethics also contains detailed interpretations of a wide range of artworks, including Rembrandt's Bathsheba and Nabokov's Lolita, which show that ethical criticism can yield rich and plausible accounts of individual works. Gaut develops a new theory of the nature of aesthetic value, explores how art can teach us about the world and what we morally ought to do by guiding our imaginings, and argues that we can have genuine emotions towards people and events that we know are merely fictional. Characterised by its clarity and sustained argument, this book will be of interest to anyone who wants to understand the relation of art to morality. |
Contents
1 The Long Debate | 1 |
Basic Concepts | 26 |
3 A Conceptual Map | 49 |
4 Autonomism | 67 |
5 Artistic and Critical Practices | 90 |
6 Questions of Character | 107 |
The Epistemic Claim | 133 |
The Aesthetic Claim | 165 |
9 Emotion and Imagination | 203 |
10 The Merited Response Argument | 227 |
253 | |
263 | |
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Common terms and phrases
actions actual aesthetic merit aesthetic value aesthetically relevant affective amused appeal argued argument artistic artworks aspect assessment attitude audience autonomist Bathsheba beauty believe chapter character claim cognitive complex concerns consider contextualism correct criticism defects defended directed discussion distinct emotions employed ethical ethical criticism evaluative example existence experience expression fact fear feel fictional flawed formulated given grounds holds humour imagination immoral important insights instance interest invited irrational issue judgements kind knowledge literary literature manifested matter means merely merit moral motivation nature noted notion novel object one’s painting particular person philosophical pleasure position possess possible practices prescribed present principles properties qualities question rational reason relation Rembrandt requires respect responses seems sense simply situation someone sometimes Suppose talk teach theory things thought true truth understanding virtue wrong