Assignment
Choose one of the following alternatives. (Suitable length of the paper: 2000-3500 words.)
A. Discuss some aspect(s) of the question of how art has meaning (broadly construed). Suitable topics include, but are not restricted to:
– Kinds of meaning in the arts.
– Art and intention.
– Meaning as category-dependent (Walton) or history-dependent (Danto).
B. Discuss some aspect(s) of the question of how art may yield knowledge. Suitable topics include, but are not restricted to:
– Schopenhauer on art and knowledge.
– Goodman on "worldmaking."
– HeideggerÕs notions of "world" and "earth."
C. Discuss some aspect(s) of the question of how art is related to the emotions. Suitable topics include, but are not restricted to:
– Wollheim and Collingwood on expression.
– Collingwood on the distinction between arousing and expressing emotions.
– Schopenhauer on the aesthetic state.
D. Choose an actual interpretation of an artwork (critical or scholarly) and discuss it in light of some theoretical aspect(s) of aesthetic interpretation. Questions for consideration include, but are not restricted to:
– What kind of meaning (broadly construed) is ascribed to the artwork?
– What, in CarlshamreÕs terminology, is the "reading"?
– What, in CarlshamreÕs terminology, is the "claim"?
– What, if any, is the justification for the claim?