To anticipate our imminent return to studying aesthetics, Mark, Seth and Dylan newly introduce our very first episode in this area from way back in March 2010, featuring Mark, Seth and Wes discussing three chapters of Danto's The Philosophical Disenfranchisement of Art (1986): the title essay, "The Appreciation and Interpretation of Works of Art," and "The End of Art." What Continue Reading …
Philosophy of History XXVIII: Arthur Danto’s Narrative and Knowledge
Narrative structures penetrate our consciousness of events in ways parallel to those in which … theories penetrate observations in science. –Arthur Danto Arthur Danto (1924–2013) was an American artist and analytic philosopher who is best known for his work in the philosophy of aesthetics. He also made an important contribution to the philosophy of history, however, in his Continue Reading …
The Truth (and some lies) About Art
"A bad work of art is an oxymoron," Patrick Doorly says, "like bad skill." He thinks there's no such thing as bad art because the term does not refer to a class of objects or a category of activity. Art simply refers to excellence or to any "high-quality endeavor," a phrase he borrows from Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Doorly's new book, The Truth Continue Reading …
Danto Sitting Around With Some Chick
For the second entry in the New York Times's series of online philosophy discussions, our friend Arthur Danto has posted an article about the MoMA's ongoing display of veteran performance artist Marina Abramovic. It describes this odd piece of performance art, wherein Marina sits on a chair in the museum with an empty chair across from her, and patrons can sit for as long as Continue Reading …
Episode 16: Danto on Art (Citizens Only)
What effect should the avant garde have on our understanding of what art is? We read three essays by modern, first-rate American philosopher Arthur Danto, all published in The Philosophical Disenfranchisement of Art (1986): the title essay, "The Appreciation and Interpretation of Works of Art," and "The End of Art." I understand you may not have heard of Danto, and you may Continue Reading …
PREVIEW-Episode 16: Danto on Art
This is a 33-minute preview of a 2 hr, 13-minute episode. Buy Now Purchase this episode for $2.99. Or become a PEL Citizen for $5 a month, and get access to this and all other paywalled episodes, including 68 back catalogue episodes; exclusive Part 2's for episodes published after September, 2020; and our after-show Nightcap, where the guys respond to listener email and chat Continue Reading …