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Re: Where have all the aesthetics gone?
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There's Sussex, Southampton, ourselves at Nottingham ... and for books
try Kendall Walton, Jerry Levinson, Matthew Kieran, Dom Lopes, Peter
Kivy, Greg Currie, Roger Scruton, Robert Hopkins...etc. And that's just
off the top of my head ...
Sure, Aesthetics is not a mainstream topic, but twas ever thus.
best
nick
A M Artaud de la Ferriere wrote:
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I was talking with my tutor before the break about the lack of interest in XXth
century and contemporary philosophy for aesthetics. It's rather a surprising
thing in many ways given the amazing transformation of art and literature over
the last hundred years. He said he didn't have an explanation for the dwindling
interest in this area. And it leaves me unsatisfied.
Of course, on the 'continental' side there has been a profusion of work by
philosophers on the subject of art: Sartre, Barthes, Deleuze, Foucault,
Derrida... But if their work does look into art they are not thought of as
philosophers of the aesthetic. Indeed, the work of some is hard to classify as
philosophy. And where their work is most applied to art, it is has been
principally seen this side of the Channel (and much more so on the other side
of the Atlantic) as 'Theory', 'French Theory', 'cultural studies', or 'literary
critisism'. You would have more chance delving into their ideas in an English
department than in one of philosophy? And it's not for lack of fascinating
material that they are left aside. Then why?
As for home-grown philosophers in this domain I can't think of any that has
attained the status of those on the continetal side. It even seems that at
least when I think of the analytic tradition there isn't much room for
aesthetics. But when I flip through my reference book I am reminded that the
analytic approach has historically focused on 'logic, language, and conceptual
questions'. And somehow this can't be applied to aesthetics!?! But it hasn't or
seldom has. Today, according to the very limited research I've done and please
correct me if I'm wrong, a philosophy department is lucky to have 1 member of
faculty who specialises in aesthetics. I know there's York that offers a
masters in the field and is home to the journal, Aesthetics. But other than
that, none seem to brandish this field. Why?
I don't have an answer yet. But I'd love to hear someone else's view.
Alexis
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