Final (Terms) Flashcards
Mimeticism
Aesthetics: describes the creation of works that aim to replicate or imitate the visual appearance of objects, people, and scenes from the real world
Plato and Aristotle: In classical philosophy, mimesis was used by Plato and Aristotle to describe the process of imitation or representation of reality in art and literature. Plato viewed mimesis with some skepticism, believing that art could only ever be a shadow of the real world and could potentially lead people away from truth. Aristotle, on the other hand, saw mimesis as a natural human inclination and a means of learning and understanding the world, particularly through poetry and drama.
Encoding
Encoding: x encodes φ if and only if x is non-metaphorically φ, but is has none of the features associated with φ-
things
❖ Said of a trio of blueprints on an architect’s desk:
❖ ‘This building is . . . a church,’ . . . a synagogue,’ . . . a school.
Message Encoding: In communication, encoding is the process by which a sender converts thoughts, ideas, and feelings into a message in a particular format or language that can be understood by the receiver. This involves selecting appropriate symbols (words, gestures, images) to convey the intended meaning.
Exemplifying
Effective exemplification involves using relevant, clear, and varied examples that resonate with the learners’ experiences and prior knowledge. It aids in comprehension and retention of information.
Autonomism
It basically states that works of art stand outside moral evaluation.
Clive Bell is a good example ‘It is good in the sense that a means to be goods states of mind”
Moralism
A work of art is always aesthetically flawed insofar as it possesses an aesthetically relevant ethical flaw.
Why would one want to be a moralist?
On behalf of Moralism:
❖ (i) In some cases, in poetry in particular, the cognitive content of a work of art is inextricably connected to
the aesthetic value of a work; (ii) the best or only explanation of the aesthetic merit of such cases is
Moralism; so, (iii) we should be Moralists about aesthetic value.
❖ (i) The failures of some works of art (some horror films, some comedies, some tragedies) are often best
explained by their moral shortcomings (sexism, racism, gratuitous cruelty is not, for instance, funny—so
comedies relying on these features are not funny); (ii) the merited responses to such works of art is an
aesthetic response; (iii) the best or only explanation of the aesthetic merit of such cases is Moralism; so, (iv)
we should be Moralists about aesthetic value
Gender Essentialism
there are fixed, intrinsic, innate qualities to women and to men; these
qualities are different, unavoidable, and inescapable
This essence specifying definition would deny one claiming they are not their sex. A lot of problems with ‘queer theory’ here.
Anti-Gender Essentialism
the claim that neither women nor men have fixed, intrinsic,
innate qualities as women or as men.
Beauty nihilism
The notion that there is essentially no beauty. No objective properties exists, so therefore beauty does not.
Disinterest
artistic experience requires ‘disinterestedness’—that is, aesthetic
judgment must proceed detached from judgments of function. Common view held by Kant or Hume, that to be good judges, we have to ‘detach’ ourselves from art/
The fallacy of division
The fallacy of division is a logical error that occurs when one assumes that what is true of a whole must also be true of its parts
Artwork as a Whole vs. Individual Elements:
Whole Artwork: Suppose a painting is regarded as beautiful or a masterpiece.
Individual Elements: One might fall into the fallacy of division by assuming that every single brushstroke or every small section of the painting is also beautiful or a masterpiece on its own.
Reality: While the overall composition, use of color, and thematic unity of the painting contribute to its beauty, individual elements might not hold the same aesthetic value when isolated
Intention-enmeshed
A work of art always has intent behind its creation
Beauty disjunctivism
Another reason to be doubtful of the definability of beauty is that, perhaps,
beauty is non-univocal.
❖ One prima facie reason for supposing this: perhaps artistic beauty and
natural beauty are just different kinds of things.
❖ In that case, there will be no single essence-specifying definition of the
form:
❖ Beauty =df φ
