Philosophy 273

The Philosophy of Art

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 This course will focus on philosophic issues raised by art and the arts. We will begin with a look at historical attempts to define art, asking whether this is a project that makes sense. We will consider how the different definitions of art reflect their historical contexts. The next topic will be comedy. We will consider with some endeavors that theorists have made to explain laughter and jokes, moving on to consider a comic film by the Marx Brothers. The unit will conclude with an in-depth discussion of comic books. We’ll then move on to comedy’s anti-thesis, tragedy. After canvassing some classic discussion of it, we will see a performance of Othello at U-Mass and then consider the philosophic significance of the play as an instance of tragedy. After a consideration of the grounds for evaluating art, the course will end with a reflection on the role that art plays in society as well as the lives of individual human beings.  
 
Professor Tom Wartenberg