Learning outcomes

This course is designed to introduce students to the main questions concerning beauty and art. What is beauty? Why does beauty fascinate and captivate us so much? Is it a reality present in the 'beautiful' object (the brilliance, as it were, of its perfection) or is it a judgement that the subject makes about the object when looking at it? Is there a natural beauty and if so why? And does art still have to do with beauty? And if not, why not? By the end of the course, students will have learned about the different forms of aesthetic judgment (about beauty and art) that have been proposed throughout history. By analysing objects, especially from the visual arts, they will have learned to recognize and formulate an aesthetic judgment. They will also have learned how this same judgment has influenced artistic production and its artefacts over time.

Goals

The main objective of the teaching unit is to help the student understand the meaning and value of aesthetic judgment and the way in which man has always tried to think about beauty in relation to art

Content

The Philosophy of Art teaching unit aims to provide students with an introduction to the philosophical and aesthetic approach to the work of art. The course presents a general overview of the major aesthetic theories from Plato to the present day, in order to provide a better understanding of the nature of beauty and the function of art in the different periods of human thought. The course also aims to help the student understand how and why philosophy has always felt the need to reflect on the artistic production of man and the nature of beauty, by drawing a parallel between the artistic tradition and philosophical reflection on that tradition. In this way, it seeks to answer one of the questions that every human being asks: why can man experience beauty? What is the nature of this experience? Finally, does what is beautiful please because it is beautiful, or is it beautiful because it pleases? In the academic year 2022-2023 the course will be taught by Professor Brigitte Van Wymeersch (UCLouvain). The course will deal with the philosophy of music, placed in the more global context of the philosophy of art. Nevertheless, this course does not require any prerequisites in music history, art history or music technique. Students will read texts by philosophers, art and music theorists. Musical extracts and visual examples will illustrate the course. Bibliographical references and course materials will be posted on the UNamur webcampus site

Assessment method

Oral examination with a presentation (interpretation and commentary) of a work of art of the student's choice.

Sources, references and any support material

Course notes and a collection of annotated illustrations are available to the student. Reference manual: L'atelier d'esthétique, Esthétique et philosophie de l'art, Louvain-la-Neuve, De Boeck, 2014 Small Reference Bibliography Reference manual: L'atelier d'esthétique, Esthétique et philosophie de l'art, Louvain-la-Neuve, De Boeck, 2014 (revised and expanded edition) Secondary literature: BAYER Raymond, Histoire de l'esthétique, Paris, Armand Colin, 1961. CASSIRER Ernst, Essay on Man, trans. N. MASSA, Paris, Minuit, 1975. FERRY Luc, Homo Aestheticus. L'invention du goût à l'âge démocratique, Paris, éd. Grasset & Fasquelle (Le livre de poche, biblio- essais), 1990. GILSON Etienne, Peinture et Réalité, Paris, Vrin, 1972. HAAR Michel, The Work of Art. Essay on the ontology of works. Paris, Hatier (Coll. Optiques), 1994. HEIDEGGER Martin, Paths to nowhere, trans. W. Brokmeier, Paris, Gallimard, 1980. HEIGEDDER Martin, Nietzsche, trans. P. KLOSSOWSKI, Paris, Gallimard, 1971, 2 vols, T.1, p. 75-89. JIMENEZ Marc, Qu'est-ce que l'esthétique, Paris, 1997.KUHN Thomas S., La structure des révolutions scientifiques, trans. L. Mayer, Paris, Flammarion, 1972. LENOIR Béatrice, L'œuvre d'art. Textes choisis et présentés par..., Paris: GF Flammarion (Corpus), 1999. PANOFSKY Erwin, Idea. Contribution to the history of the concept of the old theory of art, trans. H. Joly, Paris, Gallimard, 1983. PLATO, Hippias Major, trans. A. CROISET, Paris, Les Belles Lettres, 1972. SHERRINGHAM Marc, Introduction à la philosophie esthétique, Paris: Payot (Petite Bibliothèque Payot, 123), 1992. SOURIAU Etienne, L'avenir de l'esthétique : essai sur l'objet d'une science naissante, Paris, Alcan, 1929. SOURIAU Etienne, Vocabulaire d'esthétique, Paris: P.U.F. (collection Quadrige, 300) 1999.

Language of instruction

Français