PHIL 23.01 Ethics and the Arts

From novels, films, and television to painting, sculpture, and symphonies, the influence of art on our character, our values, and how we see the world is pervasive. This raises a number of important philosophical questions at the intersection of ethics and the philosophy of art. Do both moral properties like goodness and aesthetic properties like beauty exist only "in the eye of the beholder", or are one or both of them more objective? Can we learn things about what is good and right, or how to be better people from reading great literature or seeing important paintings? How might the moral character of a work of art affect its aesthetic merit? Is Birth of a Nation, for example, a worse film because of its racism?

Prerequisite

One Philosophy course, or permission of the instructor.

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:TMV

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.