PHIL 185.001 – Introduction to Aesthetics

Instructor: Susan Wolf. This course meets MW 9:05 – 10:20 a.m. in CW 213.

The course will survey a range of topics in aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Most readings will be 20th -21st century. Central questions include: What is art? How is art related to pleasure and beauty? Is there an objective standard of taste? Other topics include the role of intention in determining aesthetic meaning, emotional responses to fictional events, the relation of aesthetic value to moral value, the aesthetics of nature, the status of forgeries.