Welcome to our new philosophical saga: Aesthetics!
We move onto another branch of philosophy that is a little more fun, in my opinion, than the previous ones we've explored (epistemology and ethics, which you can view on the 'Articles' page of my website).
Aesthetics is summarised as the "critical reflection of art, culture, and nature". It is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste and tries to answer the question of why we think some things are beautiful and others are not.
Aesthetics covers both natural and artificial sources of experiences and how we form a judgment about those sources. It considers what happens in our minds when we engage with objects or environments such as viewing visual art, listening to music, reading poetry, experiencing a play, watching a fashion show, movie, sports or even exploring various aspects of nature.
The philosophy of art specifically studies how artists imagine, create, and perform works of art, as well as how people use, enjoy, and criticise art. Both aesthetics and the philosophy of art try to find answers for what exactly is art, artwork, or what makes a good work of art.
One of the people who did not like art so much was Plato, the 'father of reason'. Plato believed that art plays to our emotion, and according to his idea of 'The Tripartite Soul' (the three parts of the soul being the rational, spirited, and appetitive), he thought that the rational part of the soul should always be in charge. Plato was so concerned about the danger of art causing our spirited or emotional to lead that he even advocated for its censorship altogether. This reaction have been a little dramatic, but it does stir up a rather interesting question: what is art even good for?
Fast forward 2000 something years when 20th century philosopher R.G. Collingwood said that art is 'frequently used as an escape from life, a simple amusement, a distraction. But the art that really matters is that that changes the way in which we experience the world.' He distinguished two types of art:
(1) Amusement art, which helps the audience escape the world.
(2) Magic art, which helps the audience better interact with reality.
Collingwood felt we should spend our time engaged with magic art (rather than say watching meaningless TikToks for hours on end).
But some people feel this distinction breaks down quickly: who decides what is amusement vs. magic art? The same TikTok might be seen as a short clip of entertainment for one person, but for another it might teach them how to form more meaningful relationships, organise their study, snowboard down a mountain, or make a Green Goddess salad. In other words, everyone's experience of art is different.
One of the first people to consider the philosophical implications of art was Aristotle. He believed, unlike his teacher, Plato, that art can be used to experience a range of emotions, which our bodies need to find catharsis. But this theory brought up what philosophers called The Problem of Tragedy and the Paradox of Fiction: why can we be moved by things that aren't real? Ie. why do we cry when we watch a sad movie? Is this because the emotions we experience in response to it also aren't real? Or can we have real emotional responses to fictional situations?
This is where I'll stop for today as if we keep going we'll end up further down the rabbit hole. Feel free to explore yourself. In the next few weeks, we'll explore a few other aspects of Aesthetics to understand it all better together.
