Aesthetics

Course Objectives: The course aims to provide an introductory background for the philosophy of art and art appreciation. It introduces basic conceptual tools regarding the philosophical relevance of aesthetic experience. It also aims to reflect on the cultural, social, and universal significance and communicability of aesthetics.

Course Content: This course aims to familiarize the students with the meaning of aesthetic theory and basic aesthetic approaches. We will follow both a historical and a theoretical perspective in our inquiry. We start with analyzing the concept of art and the philosophy of art. We will examine Plato’s views on art and move on analyzing aesthetic theories of representationalism, formalism and expressionism. In the second half of the course, through the readings of philosophers and art theorists (Leo Tolstoy, Collingwood, Hume and Kant), we will discuss the relevance of art appreciation to social and cultural context and the significance of artistic production for human communities