198. Is Music Alive?
Most of my life I have been playing and appreciating music. Over the decades I have to admit there are times when I think music is alive. I feel the presence of a subject rather than an object. Some works… Read more ›
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184. Some Common Grounds for Moral Duty and Beauty
Our experiences of beauty and duty appear to be very different. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), in his book Critique of Judgment, argued that judgments of the beautiful must be “disinterested.” This means that we make these judgments (1) without concern for the truth; (2) without… Read more ›
182. John Dewey’s Philosophy of Art
Since ancient times art has been used as an integral part of religious ritual and as a political tool of propaganda. It has been used as a means to maintain social order, teach some lesson worth learning, mark a rite of… Read more ›
176. Have an Easter moment with Franz Liszt
Enjoy this beautiful musical analogue of death and resurrection from Franz Liszt: At the Grave of Richard Wagner (1883) performed by the Kronos Quartet and Aki Takahashi on piano. Happy Easter!
159. An Overview of the Kantian Sublime
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) Introduction We sometimes refer to experiences, things, and even people as sublime. In doing so we try to convey something exalted, overwhelming, astonishing, and even infinite about them. We may also try and express feelings of delight… Read more ›
156. In Praise of my Mother on Mother’s Day
In life we often have to fit in. We need to conform to certain roles in order to make friends, get a job, and be successful. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, a sense of belonging is integral to our… Read more ›
150. John Dewey on Imagination
In his writings the American philosopher John Dewey (1859-1952) presents some very interesting thoughts on the imagination that connect it to creativity, art, consciousness, perception, mind, and the projections of wholes that offer context for everything from navigating our local… Read more ›
149. Why Ugliness in Art?
Umberto Eco, in his book On Ugliness (Rizzoli, 2007), provides a helpful way to categorize our experience of ugliness. There is (1) Ugliness in itself which gives rise to a visceral, negative reaction. Here we can think of feces, a rotting animal,… Read more ›
145. The Cognitive and Moral Worth of Halloween
A still from Ingmar Bergman’s thoughtful horror film The Hour of the Wolf Aesthetic expressions of horror are produced and enjoyed by people all over the world. But some bemoan such horror and do their best to avoid it. However,… Read more ›
143. Solitude and Education, Part 5: Thoreau on Nature and Virtue
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), in his book Daybreak (1881), wrote: “On Education. – I have gradually seen the light as to the most universal deficiency in our kind of cultivation and education: no one learns, no one strives after, no one… Read more ›
142. Solitude and Education, Part 4: Schopenhauer on Contemplation and the Sublime
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), in his book Daybreak (1881), wrote: “On Education. – I have gradually seen the light as to the most universal deficiency in our kind of cultivation and education: no one learns, no one strives after, no one… Read more ›
141. Solitude and Education, Part 3: Harold Bloom on Reading for Greatness and the Sublime
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), in his book Daybreak (1881), wrote: “On Education. – I have gradually seen the light as to the most universal deficiency in our kind of cultivation and education: no one learns, no one strives after, no one… Read more ›
138. Ingmar Bergman’s Metaphysical Reduction, Part 3: The Silence
In May 1963, the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) retrospectively described his films Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, and The Silence as a trilogy with a theme: “The theme of these three films is a ‘reduction’ – in… Read more ›
137. Ingmar Bergman’s Metaphysical Reduction, Part 2: Winter Light
In May 1963, the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) retrospectively described his films Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, and The Silence as a trilogy with a theme: “The theme of these three films is a ‘reduction’ – in… Read more ›
136. Ingmar Bergman’s Metaphysical Reduction, Part 1: Through a Glass Darkly
In May 1963, the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007) retrospectively described his films Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, and The Silence as a trilogy with a theme: “The theme of these three films is a ‘reduction’ – in… Read more ›
131. A Truly Wonderful Thing About Music
It is important not to overlook how listening to music is compatible with so many human activities. Some music, of course, is incompatible with study, conversation, relaxation, etc. But in so many cases we can listen to music while doing… Read more ›
130. Some Notes on the Expression Theory of Art
In past posts I have considered two popular theories of art, namely, the imitation theory (here) and formalism (here and here). In this post I want to take a look at the expression theory of art and some of its possibilities. Consider Leo Tolstoy’s… Read more ›
126. Losing Art to Subject Matter
The more the form and material of a work are disregarded in favor of its subject matter the more we seem to lose a work of art. So, suppose we are listening to a folk musician with a compelling political… Read more ›
120. Philosophy and the Sublime
Many of our efforts at self-examination presuppose at least a sense of things we don’t know. We sense our life is inadequate and take steps to acquire more knowledge to remove our ignorance. We widen our scope, gain new perspectives, and… Read more ›
110. A Note on Understanding Art
Many think we criticize works of art to find out which ones are better than others—to discover excellence and then, in reference to some overarching standard, rank works from the best to the worst. However, this view might overvalue value… Read more ›
97. Eros vs. Thanatos, Part 4: Symmetry
Die Fahne Hoch! Frank Stella, 1959 In previous posts we have seen ways in which Eros (love) can imply, lead to, or be thwarted by Thanatos (death). Here is yet another example of a relation between the two that focuses… Read more ›
96. Beauty: Desire-Generating or Desire-Killing?
In Plato’s Symposium we learn that love is the desire for the continued possession of the Good (206a-b) and that the Good is ultimately eternal Being that is timeless and always “the same in every way” (208b). Thus the goal… Read more ›
93. Is Art Just Imitation?
The imitation theory of art is the oldest philosophy of art we have in the Western philosophical tradition. The theory has its philosophical roots in ancient Greece with Plato and Aristotle and continues to be one very popular way to… Read more ›
83. Musical Consistency and Personality?
An ideal many philosophers have pursued is a belief system characterized by logical consistency. Such a belief system, far from being just an objective goal existing apart from the self, would be integral, if not identical, to the self. In… Read more ›
81. Plato on the Immortality of the Soul: Republic X, Part 3
In the last two posts I considered Plato’s argument for the immortality of the soul that appears in book X of his dialogue Republic. Now I would like to say a few words about how the theme of immortality can… Read more ›
76. End and Goal
In his book The Wanderer and His Shadow (aphorism #204), Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “End and Goal: Not every end is a goal. The end of a melody is not its goal; but nonetheless, if the melody had not reached its… Read more ›
72. Beauty and Freedom
Is there a relationship between beauty and freedom? If we accept some central ideas about beauty from Immanuel Kant we can say that there is. In this essay I want to show how, given Kant’s analysis, we can discern some… Read more ›
66. Dracula, Part 3
‘Existentialism’ is a term that usually refers to philosophies that revolve around general and fundamental notions like authentic selfhood (or lack thereof), responsibility, choice, anxiety, death, commitment, and passion. Existential philosophers usually avoid discussing impersonal issues and issues in an… Read more ›
65. Dracula, Part 2
In the previous post we saw how aspects of Stoker’s Dracula can be interpreted through the psychoanalytic lens. This led us to consider symbols of unconscious drives, fears, wishes, and defense mechanisms. We also saw how sadism, masochism, and repression… Read more ›
64. Dracula, Part 1
In 1897 Bram Stoker wrote his novel Dracula and, in doing so, set the archetype for the modern vampire. Vampire legends had been around since at least the ancient world[1] and the term ‘vampire’ was in circulation since at least… Read more ›
62. Kierkegaard’s Problem and Solution, Part 2
In the first part of my overview of Soren Kierkegaard’s philosophy, I argued that his fundamental problem is the wide-spread distintegration of the self or inauthenticity. Kierkegaard’s answer to the problem of inauthenticity can be simply stated: we must develop… Read more ›
53. Can Art Be Truly Oringinal?
J.R. Pierce gives an argument against originality in music, an argument that can be generalized to the other arts. He writes: “If a human being finds monotonous that which is mathematically most various and unpredictable, what does he find fresh… Read more ›
52. Art and the Decline of Civilization?
There is certainly something wonderful about people expressing themselves without any formal training. For example, the punk movement included many young people who just decided to form a band and THEN learned a little bit in order to be heard.… Read more ›
50. Why Do People Want to Assassinate Beauty?, Part 2
Tristan Tzara, in his Dadaist Manifesto of 1918, argued that Dadaists were out to “assassinate beauty”. But why would anyone want to assassinate beauty? In the previous post in this series (go here) I discussed, with reference to Plato’s Symposium,… Read more ›
49. Why Do People Want To Assassinate Beauty?, Part 1
For centuries it was understood that if something was art then it was beautiful. However, in the 19th and 20th centuries many artists turned their backs on beauty. Here we could think of various works created within the romantic movement… Read more ›
37. Aesthetics and Education, Part 2
In part one of this series we saw how aesthetics can play a role in global education (see here). Let’s continue by looking at some other ways aesthetics can help us learn. In his book The Aesthetic Understanding, Roger Scruton points… Read more ›
25. Memes
What is an idea? According to Peter A. Angeles’ Dictionary of Philosophy we have the following candidates: Idea: (Gk., idea, “concept,” “class,” “kind,” “idea,” “mode,” “sort,” “species,” “form,” “nature,” “from eidos, “visual appearance,” “form,” and idein, “to see,” “to grasp conceptually”). 1. Anything that is… Read more ›
23. Aesthetics and Education, Part 1
Many Enlightenment philosophers, such as G.W. Leibniz (1646-1716) and Christian Wolff (1679-1754), had argued aesthetic experience was potentially intellectual. They argued that the sole difference between sensation and thought is that thought is distinct and sensation is confused. In order… Read more ›
22. The Demonic, Part 2: Demonic Music
The Danish proto-existentialist philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) put forth an intriguing account of the demonic in chapter 4 of his eccentric work The Concept of Anxiety (see the Princeton edition translated by the Hongs). Kierkegaard claims the demonic person has “anxiety about the… Read more ›
21. The Uncanny, Part 3
The surrealists[1] were very influenced by Freud’s naturalistic approach to the mind as well as occult phenomenon. But they tried to distance themselves from both influences by, on the one hand, trying to probe the unconscious without using reason as… Read more ›
20. The Uncanny, Part 2
In the last post I defined the uncanny as follows: The uncanny is an unsettling, even terrifying, experience of the familiar suddenly becoming unfamiliar at the same time (or the unfamiliar suddenly becoming familiar at the same time). The experience… Read more ›
19. The Uncanny, Part 1
The aesthetic category of the uncanny became popular in late romanticism (late 1800s), Gothic fiction, and a variety of art movements including surrealism, dadaism, and symbolism. This category is just as illuminating as the beautiful and the sublime, but it is… Read more ›
18. Romanticism
Romanticism was a philosophical, literary, and artistic movement that began in the late 1700s and ended at the end of the 1800s.[1] The movement was essentially a reaction to the Enlightenment movement and was therefore essentially a reaction to (1)… Read more ›
14. Beauty and Mystery?
In Japanese aesthetics yūgen refers to those moments when we feel as if we have had a partial glimpse into a hidden reality. Such a glimpse is felt to be profoundly mysterious. It is also experienced as beautiful. According to… Read more ›
9. Beauty and Form
Plato’s pupil Aristotle claimed that the “chief forms of beauty are order and symmetry and definiteness, which the mathematical sciences demonstrate in a special degree”. For many, THE chief form of beauty is the golden ratio. Two quantities are in the… Read more ›
8. Measure, Virtue, and Chaos
Many of us think that virtue is connected with measure. Vice arises when people are excessive or deficient with regard to their emotions and actions. For example, a character disposition to get excessively angry at the wrong time, toward the… Read more ›
5. Kierkegaard’s Demonic Fashion Designer
Soren Kierkegaard The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) put forth an intriguing account of demonic evil in chapter 4 of his 1844 work The Concept of Anxiety. There Kierkegaard claims the demonic person has “anxiety about the good” which means he is… Read more ›
4. Why Melody at All?
In his book Human, all too Human, Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) wrote: Without Melody: There are people who repose so steadily within themselves and whose capacities are balanced with one another so harmoniously that any activity directed towards a goal is… Read more ›