Module 2 // Videos and Article

Aesthetics: Philosophy of the Arts

The branch of philosophy that studies that appreciation and nature of art and beauty has roots back to the Ancient Greek philosophers of Plato and Aristotle. In fact the word "aesthetic" derives itself from the greek word "aisthetikos" which translates to "of sense perception".

Throughout history, there have been many key figures whose ideas have changed our perception and idea on the understanding of aesthetics. From the earlier writings of Plato and Aristotle (whose piece "The Poetics" is considered to be valuable and a masterpiece on art theory) to Renaissance and Enlightenment era philosophers such as Kant and Hutcheson and even contemporary critics all have contributed their own ideas and understanding of aesthetic considerations.

Although many important examples of philosopher's contributions to aesthetic theory was shown in the video I found Kant's ideas to be particularly important. Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a prominent philosopher during the enlightenment era and is considered a central figure in modern philosophy. He provided rich accounts of judgement on beauty and the aesthetic, especially in his work "The Critique of Judgement" (1790) which explores the four possible aesthetic reflective judgements (the agreeable, the beautiful, the sublime and the good). His work was very influential and his ideas have been expanded upon by other philosophers including Friedrich von Schiller who believed art makes us more human and is necessary for any social order based on freedom.

I think it is very interesting that there could very possibly be a neurological basis to the human experiences associated with aesthetics, creativity and artistry. I think I agree with Changeux's assertion that artists attempt to share their conception of the world through creative expression and that "art makes us aware of oneself as another". When I view certain pieces of visual art I do sometimes find myself thinking what it would be like to be in the world of that painting. Such as a painting depicting battle, war and suffering or even simply a painting of a bygone era.

Ramachandran stated that most do not see an intersectionality between art and the sciences, but he believes that science and art are in fact intertwined, and that is in the human brain. He stated he wondered why works of art can produce such a profound effect on the human mind. Two questions prominent throughout his lecture were if there are artistic universals and how does the brain respond to art. I found his eight universal laws of art to be very intriguing and informative, I learned that these things such as contrast, isolating an area to draw attention and symmetry were found almost universally.

The two videos and the CNN article definitely helped to compliment the readings in the text (Chapters 1-3). The first video provided ideas from influential philosophers throughout history who have contributed to the understanding of the aesthetics. The second video and the article focused on our brains perception of art and how specific aspects and details of art like symmetry can be considered appealing universally.

The first video on Aesthetics was very helpful to my understanding of the topic as a whole, reading chapter two which discussed the idea of aesthetics I felt I had a better grasp of the information. The article and the second video was also helpful to my understanding of the text. I found both videos informative, but I found Ramachandran (the second lecturer in the second video) to be particularly enjoyable.