Philosophy 280: Aesthetics
Schedule of Assignments
Hettinger, Spring 2006

1. Jan 9: Introduction
2. Jan 11: Robert Stecker, Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art: An Introduction (hereafter "Stecker"), Preface & Introduction, 1-10
Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature and Aesthetic Experience
3. Jan 13: Rolston, "Evaluating Aesthetic Nature," from Rolston's Environmental Ethics (1987), available on library's ereserves (course: Aesthetics; password: hettinger)
4. Jan 18: Allen Carlson, "Appreciation and the natural environment" in Alex Neill and Aaron Ridley, Arguing About Art (hereafter "Arguing"), 155-166
5. Jan 20: Noel Carroll, "On being moved by nature: between religion and natural history," Arguing 167-186
6. Jan 23: Same as above
7. Jan 25: Stecker, Environmental Aesthetics: Natural Beauty, 13-33
8. Jan 27: Same as above
9. Jan 30: Stecker, Conceptions of the Aesthetics: Aesthetic Experience, 34-56
10. Feb 1: Same as above
Better and Worse Music?
11. Feb 3: Roger Scruton, "The decline of musical culture," Arguing 119-134
12. Feb 6: Theodore Gracyk, "Music's worldly uses, or how I learned to stop worrying and to love Led Zeppelin," Arguing 135-147
13. Feb 8: Same as above
Realism and anti-realism in aesthetics
14. Feb 10: Stecker, Conceptions of the Aesthetic: Aesthetic Properties, 57-80
15. Feb 13: Same as above
Can Food be Art?
16. Feb 15: Elizabeth Telfer, "Food as art," Arguing 9-27
17. Feb 17: Stecker, What is Art?, 83-107
18. Feb 20: Same as above
19. Feb 22: Stecker, What Kind of Object is a Work of Art?, 109-126
20. Feb 24: Same as above
What is wrong with forgery?
21. Feb 27: Alfred Lessing, "What is wrong with a forgery?" Arguing 87-99
22. Mar 1: Midterm exam
Are artistic intentions relevant?
23. Mar 3: Stecker, Interpretation and the Problem of the Relevant Intention 127-142
Spring Break
24. Mar 13: Same as above
Why be moved by fiction?
25. Mar 15: Alex Neill, "Fiction and the emotions," Arguing, 250-266
**Paper proposal due: Thurs, Mar 16, 3pm, 14 Glebe Mailbox
26. Mar 17: Same as above
27. Mar 20: Stecker, Representation: Fiction and Depiction, 143-163
28. Mar 22: Same as above
29. Mar 24: Stecker, Expressiveness in Music and Poetry, 164-182
30. Mar 27: Same as above
Public art
31. Mar 29: Two readings: (1) Various contributors, "Transcript of a hearing to decide the future of Tilted Arc," Arguing 429-435 and (2) Gregg Horowitz, "Public art / public spaces: the spectacle of the Tilted Arc controversy," Arguing 446-456
32. Mar 31: Michael Kelly, "Public art controversy: The Serra and Lin cases," Arguing 457-469
33. Apr 3: Allen Carlson, "Is Environmental Art An Aesthetic Affront to Nature?" Canadian Journal of Philosophy (1986) available on library's ereserves (course: Aesthetics; password: hettinger)
34. Apr 5: Stecker, Artistic Value, 183-206
**Paper due: Thurs, Apr 6, 3pm, 14 Glebe Mailbox
35. Apr 7: Same as above
Is ethics relevant to aesthetics?
36. Apr 10: Kendall Walton, "Morals in fiction and fictional morality," Arguing 339-357
37. Apr 12: Same as above
38. Apr 14: Stecker, Interaction: Ethical, Aesthetic, and Artistic Value, 207-223
39. Apr 17: Same as above
What is wrong with being sentimental?
40. Apr 19: Anthony Saville, "Sentimentality," Arguing 315-319
Architecture
41. Apr 21: Stecker, The Value of Architecture, 224-236
42. Apr 24: Stecker, Conclusion 237-239
Final exam: Friday, April 28, 12-3