What follows is a visitor submit by Brandon Well mannered (Knox Faculty).
In my YouTube collection, Well mannered Conversations: Philosophers Focus on the Arts*, I interview philosophers about their work in aesthetics and the philosophy of artwork. We sometimes focus on a specific journal article or public philosophy piece (together with some items from Aesthetics for Birds), diving into their views and exploring their implications for anyplace from 15 to 40 minutes. The goals of this collection are twofold. The primary is that I need to showcase the cool and progressive work that’s taking place within the area of aesthetics proper now, each to the broader philosophical neighborhood and to most of the people. There may be some actually wonderful work being achieved in our area, and extra individuals ought to learn about it!
The second purpose is pedagogical. Attending to see philosophers doing philosophy collectively is usually a actually eye-opening expertise for college students. To that finish, these movies can be utilized as a approach to deepen your college students’ insights right into a textual content you’ve assigned them to learn, which is how I take advantage of them. Alternatively, a number of might be used rather than readings if, say, they’re too superior for an introductory-level course. I’ve painstakingly edited the captions—together with generally highlighting key phrases and phrases—to make them accessible to those that need or want them. As instructing instruments, the movies are compliant with the People with Disabilities Act.
No matter your causes for watching the collection, I hope that the episodes will function springboards for additional thought and dialogue. And be looking out for a second collection of episodes this summer time!
Beneath, you’ll discover every video accompanied by a short description, key points and themes mentioned, and related readings. Subscribe to my YouTube channel to see all of them and sustain as extra are launched.
*Hat tip to Matt Strohl for serving to me with the identify.
Series 1
Series 2
Collection 1
Ep. 01: Outdated City Highway: Nation or Hip Hop? | A Dialogue with John Dyck
Description: With the intention to consider a murals correctly, you first have to know what style it belongs to. On this episode, John Dyck (Auburn College) and I focus on whether or not Lil Nas X’s “Outdated City Highway” is healthier categorized as a rustic track or a hip hop track. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- What function did race play in how “Outdated City Highway” was initially, and continues to be, obtained?
- In what methods does “Outdated City Highway” match inside nation music’s historical past?
- How a lot (or little) does “Outdated City Highway” sound like a rustic track?
- How ought to we outline musical genres?
Key themes: Evaluating Artwork, Genres, Nation, Hip Hop, Race and Music, Appreciating Music
Related studying: John Dyck, “The Aesthetics of Nation Music” (Philosophy Compass, forthcoming)
Ep. 02: The Metaphysics of Bands: Spherical 1 | A Dialogue with Ley Cray
Description: Within the first a part of this episode, Ley Cray (Texas Christian College) and I focus on the character of bands, significantly their identification and individuation situations. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- Can two distinct bands share precisely the identical members?
- Can bands survive line-up adjustments?
- Does altering the style of music they play have an effect on a band’s identification?
- Can a single individual be in a number of one-person bands on the similar time, or would this merely be a case of a single band with a number of names?
Among the many bands we contemplate are: GWAR and RAWG, Black Sabbath and Heaven & Hell, and Kiss.
Key themes: Bands, Metaphysics, Id, Individualization, Genres, Musical Personas
Related studying: Wesley D. Cray, “Fightin’ Phrases: Sabbath Doesn’t Want the Ozzman,” in William Irwin (ed.), Black Sabbath and Philosophy: Mastering Actuality (Wiley, 2012), pp. 126–139.
Ep. 02: The Metaphysics of Bands: Spherical 2 | A Dialogue with Ley Cray
Description: Within the second a part of this episode, Ley Cray (Texas Christian College) and I focus on the character of bands, significantly their persistence situations. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- Can a band survive the alternative of all of its unique members?
- Are sure members in a band extra important to its identification than others?
- Might a one-person band presumably survive a line-up change?
Among the many bands we contemplate are: Napalm Demise, Gorgoroth, Alice in Chains, The Lifeless Kennedys, Black Flag and FLAG, and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Key themes: Bands, Metaphysics, Id, Persistence, Musical Personas
Related studying: Wesley D. Cray, “Fightin’ Phrases: Sabbath Doesn’t Want the Ozzman,” in William Irwin (ed.), Black Sabbath and Philosophy: Mastering Actuality (Wiley, 2012), pp. 126–139.
Ep. 03: Disagreeing About Artwork on the Web | A Dialogue with Matt Strohl
Description: On this episode, Matt Strohl (College of Montana) and I focus on our first Aesthetics for Birds piece on disagreeing about artwork on-line. (Half 2 hadn’t but been written.) Among the many points we contemplate are:
- What’s it that we’re disagreeing about once we disagree about artwork?
- Why are disagreements about artwork so liable to hostility after they happen on-line?
- How would possibly we disagree about artwork on-line in a extra productive method?
Key themes: Aesthetic Disagreement, Evaluating Artwork, Productive Disagreements, On-line Hostility, Aesthetic Communities, Private Id
Related readings:
Ep. 04: Having fun with Dangerous Artwork | A Dialogue with John Dyck
Description: On this episode, John Dyck (Auburn College) and I contemplate what it’s about some unhealthy artworks that makes us take pleasure in them a lot. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- What makes some artworks “so unhealthy they’re good”?
- Is the enjoyment we get from viewing unhealthy artwork ever brought about (or constituted) by our enjoyment of the truth that the artists have failed?
- Is the enjoyment we get from viewing unhealthy artwork ever brought about (or constituted) by our need for the artist to succeed?
Among the many examples we contemplate are: Tommy Wiseau’s The Room (2003) and Ed Wooden’s Plan 9 from Outer House (1959).
Key themes: Evaluating Artwork, Aesthetic Enjoyment, Excessive Tradition v. Low Tradition, Dangerous Artwork, So Dangerous It’s Good Artwork
Related studying: John Dyck and Matt Johnson, “Appreciating Bad Art” (Journal of Worth Inquiry, 2017)
Ep. 05: Aesthetic Subtlety and Heavy-Handedness | A Dialogue with Alex King
Description: On this episode, Alex King (Simon Fraser College) and I focus on whether or not subtlety is all the time an aesthetic advantage and whether or not simplicity, boldness, and different types of heavy-handedness are all the time an aesthetic vice. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- Can heavy-handedness ever be an aesthetic advantage?
- What can be lacking out on if we weren’t attuned to, or had little interest in, subtlety?
- What’s unsuitable with liking “low” issues sarcastically?
Key themes: Aesthetic Appreciation, Evaluating Artwork, Excessive Tradition v. Low Tradition, Hipsters, Taco Bell
Related studying: Alex King, “The Virtue of Subtlety and the Vice of a Heavy Hand” (British Journal of Aesthetics, 2017)
Ep. 06: The Metaphysics of Fictional Characters: Pt. 1 | A Dialogue with David Friedell and Ley Cray
Description: Within the first a part of this episode, David Friedell (Union Faculty), Ley Cray (Texas Christian College), and I focus on fictional characters which have accrued inconsistent properties over time and throughout tales, and whether or not this impacts their identities. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- What do fictional characters and precise individuals have in frequent?
- Might there ever be a narrative about, say, Batman wherein he has none of his frequent attributes?
- Might an creator ever secretly make a narrative a couple of given character with out anyone ever realizing it?
- When, if ever, may an creator fail to make a narrative a couple of given fictional character?
Key themes: Fiction, Fictional Characters, Id, Authorial Intention, Batman
Related readings:
Ep. 06: The Metaphysics of Fictional Characters: Pt. 2 | A Dialogue with David Friedell and Ley Cray
Description: Within the second a part of this episode, Davidel Friedell (Union Faculty), Ley Cray (Texas Christian), and I focus on the connection between authorial intentions and the identities of fictional characters. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- Can an creator ever unintentionally produce a brand new character?
- Are sure properties important to a personality’s identification?
- Are characters that seem in fanfiction genuinely the identical as those who seem within the canonical supply materials?
- Can fandoms reclaim characters and fictional worlds from their authors?
- What’s the nature of canon, and the way vulnerable is it to vary?
Key themes: Fiction, Fictional Characters, Id, Authorial Intention, Fanfiction, Canonicity
Related readings:
Ep. 07: When Is a Work of Artwork Completed? | A Dialogue with Darren Hudson Hick
Description: On this episode, Darren Huson Hick (Furman College) and I focus on the ontology of artwork, significantly the query of when artworks are completed. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- What number of work can exist on the identical canvas on the similar time?
- Can one and the identical bodily object ever be quite a few, distinct artworks over time?
- What’s the ontological standing of appropriation artwork and comparable artworks?
Key themes: Ontology of Artwork, Work Completion, Appropriation Artwork, Evaluating Artwork, Indecisive Artists
Related studying: Darren Hudson Hick, “When Is a Work of Art Finished?” (The Journal of Aesthetics and Artwork Criticism, 2008)
Ep. 08: The Aesthetic Appreciation of Ruins | A Dialogue with Elizabeth Scarbrough
Description: On this episode, Elizabeth Scarbrough (Florida Worldwide) and I focus on the aesthetics of ruins and associated phenomena. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- What’s concerned in appreciating ruins?
- How ought to we determine whether or not to protect sure ruins or enable them to develop into rubble?
- How do ruins enable us to really feel in contact with the previous?
- How ought to we admire outdated battle websites?
Key themes: Aesthetic Appreciation, Ruins, Battlefields, Monuments, Preservation
Related readings:
Ep. 09: Monuments, Music, and Artwork Addressed to Teams | A Dialogue with C. Thi Nguyen
Description: On this episode, Thi Nguyen (College of Utah) and I focus on monuments, memorials, road artwork, and music, and the way they’ll (or would possibly) be addressed to teams and utilized by teams to deal with themselves. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- How does artwork handle group brokers (similar to neighborhoods, cities, and nations)?
- How do group brokers create artwork?
- How do group brokers use monuments, memorials, and road artwork to deal with themselves?
- How would possibly group brokers equally use music as a type of self-address?
- Why would possibly some teams not need “their music” to go mainstream?
Key themes: Monuments, Memorials, Avenue Artwork, Public Artwork, Music, Group Company, Collective Id, Aesthetic Communities, Aesthetic Appreciation, Evaluating Artwork
Related readings:
Ep. 10: Artwork on the Avenue: Graffiti, Busking, and Flash Mobs | A Dialogue with Sondra Bacharach
Description: On this episode, Sondra Bacharach (Victoria College of Wellington) and I focus on her account of road artwork. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- Can mere graffiti ever depend as road artwork?
- Are buskers producing road artwork, public artwork, or another sort of artwork?
- What social and political roles can road artists and buskers carry out, particularly in business areas?
- Are flash mobs ever transgressive sufficient to depend as road artwork?
Key themes: Avenue Artwork, Public Artwork, Graffiti, Busking, Flash Mobs, Anti-Business Artwork, Aesthetic Appreciation, Evaluating Artwork
Related studying: Sondra Bacharach, “Street Art and Consent” (British Journal of Aesthetics, 2015)
Ep. 11: Disagreeing About Artwork | A Dialogue with Elizabeth Cantalamessa
Description: On this episode, Elizabeth Cantalamessa (College of Miami) and I focus on aesthetic settlement and disagreement, and the assorted types they’ll take. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- What are we doing once we disagree about (a) whether or not one thing is artwork, (b) what style an art work belongs to, and (c) how we must always consider given artworks?
- How will we account for widespread settlement inside sure communities about which artists and artworks are good, unhealthy, and so forth.?
- What’s “cheesiness,” and is Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” tacky?
Key themes: Evaluating Artwork, Aesthetic Disagreement, Conceptual Negotiation, Aesthetic Communities, Genres, Cheesiness, Bon Jovi
Related readings:
Ep. 12: Meals, Music, and Nostalgia | A Dialogue with Shen-yi Liao
Description: On this episode, Shen-yi Liao (College of Puget Sound) and I focus on his account of meals nostalgia, and the way it may be prolonged to account for music nostalgia. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- How ought to we perceive the excellence between meals which can be nostalgic for a person and meals which can be nostalgic for a tradition or group?
- What function does the creativeness play in our expertise of nostalgia?
- How do meals and music join us to our pasts, each individually and collectively?
- What function does nostalgia for meals, music, and different kinds of aesthetic objects play within the development of each private identification and cultural identification?
Key themes: Meals, Music, Nostalgia, Creativeness, Reminiscence, Private Id, Collective Id, Aesthetic Communities, Curler Rinks
Related studying: Shen-yi Liao, “Bittersweet Food” (Critica, forthcoming)
Ep. 13: Restoration, Architectural Id, and Notre-Dame | A Dialogue with Saul Fisher
Description: On this episode, Saul Fisher (Mercy Faculty) and I focus on his Aesthetics for Birds piece on the 2019 fireplace that broken Notre-Dame Cathedral and his abstractist account of the character of structure. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- How are architectural objects just like works of music?
- How ought to we perceive unbuilt constructions, “paper structure,” and “architectural ghosts”?
- Can architectural constructions stay the identical whereas present process substantive adjustments over time, together with by the use of restoration and conservation?
- Why ought to we be unhappy when a constructing is broken or destroyed if, as Fisher believes, it should live on (eternally) as an summary entity?
Key themes: Structure, Music, Id, Persistence, Summary Entities
Related readings:
Ep. 14: Fiction and the Limits of Creativeness | A Dialogue with Michel Xhignesse
Description: On this episode, Michel Xhignesse (Capilano College) and I focus on contradictions and different not possible issues that we’d encounter in works of fiction and whether or not we will really think about them. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- Why do most philosophers of literature suppose we will think about fictional contradictions?
- Are there limits to what we will think about?
- How will we cope with contradictions and different intra-work impossibilities once we acknowledge them in works of fiction?
- How is studying fiction just like listening to music?
Among the many examples of fictional contradictions and inconsistencies we contemplate are these present in: the Harry Potter collection, the Ant-Man films, and Time Machine 2: Seek for Dinosaurs.
Key themes: Fiction, Creativeness, Aesthetic Appreciation, Evaluating Artwork, Music
Related readings:
Collection 2
Ep. 15: Why It’s OK to Benefit from the Work of Immoral Artists | A Dialogue with Mary-Beth Willard
Description: On this episode, Mary-Beth Willard (Weber State College) and I focus on whether or not it’s ever okay to benefit from the work of immoral artists. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- What are a number of the sensible and ethical issues of trying to “cancel” artists on social media?
- To what extent can the function of an artist’s persona protect their immoral conduct?
- Why is it troublesome to cease ourselves from having fun with artwork that has meant a lot to us and performed essential roles in our lives? Ought to we cease ourselves?
- Is the usage of expertise to resurrect useless artists moral?
Among the many examples we contemplate are: James Gunn, Louis CK, Aziz Ansari, Invoice Cosby, Chris D’Elia, and Michael Jackson.
Key themes: Immoral Artists, Cancel Tradition, Evaluating Artwork, Aesthetic Enjoyment, Private Id, Moral Consumption
Related studying: Mary-Beth Willard, Why It’s OK to Enjoy the Work of Immoral Artists (Routledge, 2021)
Ep. 16: Dangerous Artwork, Aesthetic Worth, and the Mere Publicity Impact | A Dialogue with Aaron Meskin
Description: On this episode, Aaron Meskin (College of Georgia) and I focus on Meskin’s co-authored analysis on how mere publicity impacts how we consider artworks. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- To what extent would possibly the mere publicity impact clarify how sure artworks cross the check of time?
- What makes unhealthy artwork unhealthy? Additional, why do some individuals however discover unhealthy artwork to be good?
- How does continued publicity to unhealthy artwork result in better dislike?
- How would possibly initially off-putting objects, similar to Scotch, wine, and occasional, develop into extra likable with repeated publicity?
Key themes: Mere Publicity, Dangerous Artwork, Aesthetic Appreciation, Evaluating Artwork, Aesthetic Enjoyment, Experimental Aesthetics, Psychology
Related studying: Aaron Meskin et al., “Mere Exposure to Bad Art” (British Journal of Aesthetics, 2013)
Ep. 17: Protest and the Arts | A Dialogue with Jonathan A. Neufeld
Description: On this episode, Jonathan A. Neufeld (Faculty of Charleston) and I focus on the place of protest within the arts. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- To what extent are adjustments in creative apply and artworlds ruled by democratic norms?
- Do audiences, along with artists, play a job within the path of creative practices?
- How would possibly aesthetic disobedience be utilized as a type of protest towards artists who espouse immoral views?
- Are explicit mediums, similar to literature or movie, extra proof against aesthetic disobedience than others?
Key themes: Creative Follow, Civil Disobedience, Aesthetic Protest, Aesthetic Appreciation, Evaluating Artwork, Immoral Artists
Related studying: Jonathan A. Neufeld, “Aesthetic Disobedience” (Journal of Aesthetics and Artwork Criticism, 2015)
Ep. 18: Drawing the Line on Immoral Artists | A Dialogue with Erich Hatala Matthes
Description: On this episode, Erich Hatala Matthes (Wellesley Faculty) and I focus on whether or not it’s ever okay to benefit from the work of immoral artists. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- Can an artist’s immoral beliefs or conduct result in their works being aesthetically worse?
- As moral artwork shoppers, is it essential to generally have interaction with morally troubling artworks?
- Is trying to cancel explicit artists or their followers ever worthwhile?
- Do artists owe something to their followers?
Key themes: Immoral Artists, Cancel Tradition, Moral Consumption, Evaluating Artwork, Aesthetic Enjoyment
Related studying: Erich Hatala Matthes, Drawing the Line: What to Do with the Work of Immoral Artists from Museums to the Movies (Oxford College Press, 2021)
Ep. 19: Neighborhood and Aesthetic Worth | A Dialogue with Nick Riggle
Description: On this episode, Nick Riggle (College of San Diego) and I focus on the central function that neighborhood performs in each aesthetic discourse and our aesthetic valuing practices. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- Why shouldn’t we purpose at getting our judgments to converge when speaking about artwork with each other?
- Why ought to “vibing” with each other be the purpose of aesthetic discourse, i.e, mutually appreciating one another’s individuality?
- How does Riggle’s conception of aesthetic valuing relate to his work on awesomeness?
- What function do non-public aesthetic experiences play in Riggle’s communitarian account?
Key themes: Aesthetic Communities, Aesthetic Appreciation, Mutual Appreciation, Evaluating Artwork, Private Id, Vibing
Related readings:
Ep. 20: What Do Artists Owe Us? | A Dialogue with Mary-Beth Willard & Erich Hatala Matthes
Description: On this episode, Mary-Beth Willard (Weber State College), Erich Hatala Matthes (Wellesley Faculty), and I focus on what artists owe us each morally and artistically. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- How do artists’ personas have an effect on how we reply to their artwork?
- To what extent does the sort of work an artist makes have an effect on whether or not we’re keen to permit them to vary?
- Can artists ever unsuitable their followers by altering instructions of their careers?
Among the many examples we contemplate are: Invoice Cosby, Louis CK, Woody Allen, the Jonas Brothers, Mötley Crüe, Clay Aiken, Bryan Cranston, Harrison Ford, Timothy Olyphant, Miley Cyrus, Anne Rice, and Stephen King.
Key themes: Immoral Artists, Artist’s Personas, Aesthetic Appreciation, Aesthetic Enjoyment, Evaluating Artwork
Related readings:
Ep. 21: The Aesthetics Web Memes | A Dialogue with Anthony Cross
Description: On this episode, Anthony Cross (Texas State College) and I focus on the aesthetics—in addition to the metaphysics, ethics, and politics—of Web memes. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- What’s the ontology of Web memes? To what extent can they be likened to people music and jokes?
- To what extent does the anonymity and pseudonymity of Web tradition have an effect on how memes are created, propagated, and appreciated?
- What are a number of the implications of Web memes as a basically appropriative cultural kind?
- Who counts as members of on-line communities?
Key themes: Web Memes, Web Tradition, NFTs, Ontology of Artwork, Appropriation Artwork, Evaluating Artwork
Related readings:
Ep. 22: The Aesthetics of Fragrance | A Dialogue with Madeline Martin-Seaver
Description: On this episode, Madeline Martin-Seaver (Auburn College) and I focus on the aesthetics of fragrance. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- How does fragrance perform as each a self-regarding and other-regarding aesthetic apply?
- How would possibly creating preferences for explicit perfumes match into the bigger mission of cultivating one’s sense of self?
- To what extent can one get a full appreciation of a fragrance’s aesthetic properties?
- What’s the etiquette of perfume-wearing and perfume-smelling, and the way ought to or not it’s negotiated?
Key themes: Fragrance, Olfactory Aesthetics, Aesthetic Appreciation, Aesthetic Enjoyment, Private Id, Embodiment, Kant
Ep. 23: Fact, Fiction, and True Crime | A Dialogue with Hannah Kim
Description: On this episode, Hannah Kim (Macalester Faculty) and I focus on the character of True Crime as a style of common nonfiction. Among the many points we contemplate are:
- How does True Crime relate to fictional retellings of true occasions?
- The place does True Crime land on the spectrum of genres most to least beholden to “the reality”?
- How ought to we distinguish fiction from nonfiction?
- Why do individuals eat and revel in works of True Crime?
Key themes: True Crime, Fiction/Nonfiction Distinction, Ontology of Artwork, Aesthetic Appreciation, Aesthetic Enjoyment, Mockumentaries
Related studying: Hannah Kim, “A New Class of Fictional Truths” (The Philosophical Quarterly, 2022)
Brandon Polite is an Affiliate Professor of Philosophy at Knox Faculty. His analysis focuses primarily on the philosophy of music and on aesthetic expertise and appreciation as collective endeavors. Observe him on Twitter @BrandonPolite2.
