AESTHETICSPART FOUR

EDUCATION IN THE ARTS

• Introduction

• Key Questions

• Some effects of art

BERNSTEIN: ON EDUCATION

• The Problem

• America’s built-in distrust of the arts

• In the days of the depression

• The problem still exists

• Solution

• Undercutting the attitudes

• Education

• Music

• Proposal

• Conclusion

ART, MORALITY & CENSORSHIP

• Introduction

• Key questions

• Arguments for and against censorship

• Plato

• LaBossiere

• Wilde

PLATO’S EPISTEMOLOGY & METAPHYSICS

Introduction Knowledge & Opinion

Argument against relativism (Theatetus) Relative

Self Refuting

Protagoras

First Problem of the Senses: Change Changing world

Cannot have certainty

Appear at a specific time

Source of knowledge

Senses cannot be a source of knowledge

PLATO’S EPISTEMOLOGY & METAPHYSICS

Second Problem of the Senses: Definitions Objects of knowledge must be universal & unchanging

Unchanging definitions are necessary

Language would not work

Perfect Standard Argument Physical things fall short

Knowledge of something perfect

Knowledge cannot come from senses

Knowledge is Not Right Opinion Right opinion (true belief) vs. knowledge

True opinion

Account

Rational justification

PLATO’S EPISTEMOLOGY & METAPHYSICS

• Knowledge is

• Objective

• Not obtained by the senses

• Universal

• Changeless

• Based in reason

• The Forms & Ideas

• Particulars (tokens) & categories (types)

• Universal/form

• Eternal

• Changeless

• Perfect

PLATO’S EPISTEMOLOGY & METAPHYSICS

• Participation

• Idea

• The Doctrine of Recollection (Meno)

• Meno’s Paradox

• Acquiring knowledge

• Communing with the forms

• Forgetting

• Doctrine of Recollection

PLATO’S DIVIDED LINE

a

The Line

D

Ideas: Reason

C

Mathematics: Intelligence

B

Physical Phenomena: Belief

A

Images: Imagination

•Visible World of Opinion: A+B•Intelligible World of Knowledge: C+D•The Good

PLATO’S EPISTEMOLOGY & METAPHYSICS

• Plato’s Metaphysics• The Forms

• Real, objective, independent, unchanging

• Not spatial or temporal

• Participation problem

• Change

• Paradox of Change

• Heraclitus

• Parmenides

• Platonic compromise

• Particulars: changing, imperfect, object of opinion

PLATO’S EPISTEMOLOGY & METAPHYSICS

• Particulars

• Reality comes in degrees

• The forms are causes of particulars

• Particulars resemble the forms

• Particulars participate in the forms in varying degrees

• The forms group particulars into types, making them intelligible.

PLATO’S ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE

a

Four Levels of Knowledge

Fully Liberated PersonsReason: Understanding the ideas as connected to theGood (the Sun: the Good).

Semi-Liberated Persons (beyond the cave)Intelligence: Understanding the ideas not seen asconnected to the Good (mathematics)

Dividing Wall Dividing Wall

(cave entrance)

People unbound in the caveBelief: Sense perception (Fire: the sensible Sun).Images of Ideas: natural and artificial.

People in chainsImagination: Images, sensations.The World of Illusion.People are in chains and confuse shadows and echoswith reality.

World ofKnowledge

World ofOpinion

The Realm of theIntelligible

REALITY

The Sunlight

The Realm of theSensible

THE WORLD OFAPPEARANCE

The Cave

PLATO’S REPUBLIC

• Introduction• Characters

• Claims

• Imitation• Ideas/Forms

• Artist

• The Painter

• The Three Beds

PLATO’S REPUBLIC

• Arts & Imitation• Makers & Imitators

• The Painter

• Knowledge

• Homer• A question must be put to Homer

• Argument against the claim about Homer

• The Poet is like a painter

PLATO’S REPUBLIC

• The Imitator• Appearances

• Three Arts

• The Imitator

• Principles• Imitation

• Illusions

• The rational principle & the inferior principle

PLATO’S REPUBLIC

• Poetry• Goal

• Imitation & Unity

• The Good Man

• The Higher Principle

• Imitation

• The Poet

• Analogy

PLATO’S REPUBLIC

• The Power to Corrupt• The Power of Poetry

• The Effect of Tragic Poetry

• The Ridiculous

• Lust & Anger

• Homer

• The Ancient Quarrel

• The Return of Poetry

LABOSSIERELIGHTS, CAMERA, BLOOD

• Introduction• Motivation

• Objectives

• Background

• Arguments for Censorship• Introduction

• First Argument: Normalization

• Second Argument: Curriculum

LABOSSIERELIGHTS, CAMERA, BLOOD

• Argument Against Censorship• First Argument-Part One: Dilemma

• First Argument-Part Two: Learning

• Objection: Other types of works should be censored

• Reply to Objection: Lessons

LABOSSIERELIGHTS, CAMERA, BLOOD

• Concerns• Less than satisfying

• Assumption of moral lesson

• Limited protection

• Response• First Reply: Plausibility

• Second Reply: None or sanitized

LABOSSIEREVIRTUAL VIOLENCE & MORAL PURPOSE

• Plato’s Argument & GTA• Plato’s censorship argument

• Video Games

• GTA III

• Violence with a Moral Purpose• The difference

• The difference in Aristotelian terms

• Conclusion

WILDEPREFACE FROM THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

• Wilde• Beauty

• Critcism

• Morality & Books

• 19th Century

• Morality

• Artists

• Arts