The British Journal of Aesthetics - recent issues

NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

2009-04-08

Dodd on the 'Audibility' of Musical Works

Davies, D. — 2009-04-08

Julian Dodd has argued that the type–token theory in musical ontology has a ‘default’ status because it can explain the repeatability and audibility of musical works without the need for philosophical reinterpretation. I present two challenges to Dodd's claims about audibility. First, I argue (a) that a type–token theorist who, like Dodd, adheres to Wolterstorff's doctrine of analogical predication must grant that musical works themselves are hearable only in an ‘analogical’ sense; and (b) that alternative musical ontologies are able to explain the latter just as well as the type–token theory. Second, I argue that Dodd cannot evade this objection by claiming that what matters in musical ontology is accounting for audibility ‘in a derivative sense’, since the latter also allows of explanation by a range of musical ontologies.

The Role of Empathy in Gregory Currie's Philosophy of Film

Vaage, M. B. — 2009-04-08

Although Gregory Currie is often presented as a strong defender of empathic simulation as part of spectator engagement, this paper questions the importance of empathy in Currie's philosophy of film. Currie's account of the imagination is too propositional, and his account of a more sensuous and experiential kind of imagining is found wanting. While giving a convincing account of impersonal imagining in relation to fiction film, Currie does not sufficiently explain what empathy is, and what relation it has to other forms of imagining. Simulation is primarily defined as impersonal, and perhaps more importantly, as conceptual and propositional in Currie's writings. This is perhaps most evident in his critique of personal imagining, where imagining seeing or imagining being becomes a self-reflexive form of imagining where the spectator also conceptualizes ‘I’ and ‘see’. This paper discusses the relation between personal imagining and empathy in Currie's account, and argues that he fails to show how empathy is of secondary importance for engagement in fiction film.

Pictorial Experience and Seeing

Newall, M. — 2009-04-08

This paper proposes that pictorial experience, the experience that pictures give rise to when we understand them, involves the non-veridical experience of seeing the picture's subject matter. Using phenomenological analysis and material from philosophy of mind and perceptual psychology, it argues that both pictorial experience lacking awareness of the picture surface, such as illusion, and pictorial experience that includes this awareness, i.e. seeing-in, should be understood in this way.

Defining Depiction

Blumson, B. — 2009-04-08

It is a platitude that whereas language is mediated by convention, depiction is mediated by resemblance. But this platitude may be attacked on the grounds that resemblance is either insufficient for or incidental to depictive representation. I defend common sense from this attack by using Grice's analysis of meaning to specify the non-incidental role of resemblance in depictive representation.

Continuity and Discontiuity in the Concept of Art

Shiner, L. — 2009-04-08

In ‘Is Art Modern? Kristeller’s "Modern System of the Arts" Reconsidered’ (BJA, 49.1 (2009), pp. 1-24), James I. Porter sets out to discredit Kristeller’s ‘modern system of the arts’ on the curious assumption that if Kristeller is right, one is somehow prohibited from investigating the ancients’ understanding of aesthetics. Unfortunately, Porter's paper misrepresents Kristeller's central aim, misses the real shortcomings of Kristeller's essay, and often obscures substantive issues behind simplistic dichotomies. Because the unwary reader might be taken in by some of Porter's exaggerations and omissions, I will identify a few of these before addressing the issue of continuity and discontinuity in the concept of art, particularly with respect to the ancient world.

Reply to Shiner

Porter, J. I. — 2009-04-08

Larry Shiner has risen to an impassioned defence against my criticisms of an iconic figure, claiming that I have ‘misrepresent[ed] Kristeller's central aim’ and therefore missed ‘the real shortcomings of Kristeller's essay’ and ‘obscure[d] substantive issues behind simplistic dichotomies’. These, and a series of disagreements over countless small details, take up the first part of his reply. He then proceeds to summarize his own book's achievements in correcting Kristeller's shortcomings. Shiner acknowledges difficulties in Kristeller's formulations, but accepts their purport and actually expands the reach of Kristeller's thesis. Whatever else one might wish to say about these charges (which are quite impressive as a list but each disputable taken in turn), Shiner remains an unrepentant exponent of Kristeller's views. I realize that dogmas die hard, and it is only to be expected that if one challenges the central tenets of a legacy one will meet with entrenched reactions. Given the word-limit I have been allotted for my counter-reply, I will confine myself to the more substantive issues as these concern Kristeller's arguments, reserving for a possible future occasion any difficulties I may have with Shiner's own theses. My response will take the form of a series of questions followed by my own proposed answers.

Ontologese and Musical Nihilism: A Reply to Cameron

Predelli, S. — 2009-04-08

In a recent essay in this journal, Ross Cameron presents a novel solution to the problem of musical creation.1 The solution is of the ‘using a sledgehammer to crack a nut’ variety, since side by side with a dissolution of the problem of musical creation, his approach, if successful, would yield a swift answer to pretty much every central question in the ontology of art, and, for that matter, to a wide variety of perennial metaphysical difficulties. Nothing of this magnitude should be nonchalantly swept aside. Unfortunately, Cameron's approach does not survive close scrutiny.

Art, Emotion and Ethics

John, E. — 2009-04-08

Humans in the Land: The Ethics and Aesthetics of the Cultural Landscape

Cooper, D. E. — 2009-04-08

Everyday Aesthetics

Wilkinson, R. — 2009-04-08

Language and History in Theodor W. Adorno's 'Notes to Literature'

Robinson, J. — 2009-04-08

Books Received

2009-04-08

Journals Received

2009-04-08

EDITORIAL

Hyman, J. — 2009-01-09

Notes on Contributors

2009-01-09

Is Art Modern? Kristeller's 'Modern System of the Arts' Reconsidered

Porter, J. I. — 2009-01-09

Kristeller's article ‘The Modern System of the Arts: A Study in the History of Aesthetics’ is a classic statement of the view, now widely adopted but rarely examined, that aesthetics became possible only in the eighteenth-century with the emergence of the fine arts. I wish to contest this view, for three reasons. Firstly, Kristeller's historical account can be questioned; alternative and equally plausible accounts are available. Secondly, ‘the modern system of the arts’ appears to have been neither a system nor an agreed upon entity, but only a historical construct of Kristeller's own making that matches up with no known historical reality. Thirdly, while the concept of the fine arts existed in the eighteenth century, the assumption that it had an impact on the rise of aesthetic theory remains unproven and unnecessary. A more satisfactory account of aesthetic thought in antiquity can be given, once the ‘fine-arts’ objection has been cleared away.

On the Very Idea of 'Outsider Art'

Davies, D. — 2009-01-09

There has been little serious philosophical reflection on whether, and in virtue of satisfying what conditions, ‘Outsider Art’ is art, as is standardly assumed. I critically examine a number of responses to this question implicit in curatorial practice and the critical literature. I argue that none of these responses carries conviction, and propose, on the basis of broader considerations in the philosophy of art, that the arthood of ‘Outsider’ pieces must be settled by reference to their individual provenance. This supports a parallel approach to questions about the artistic status of ‘primitive’, ‘tribal’, and more generally non-Western visual art.

Dismantling the Frame: Site-Specific Art and Aesthetic Autonomy

Gaiger, J. — 2009-01-09

This paper examines the assumptions underpinning one of the constitutive elements of the modern concept of art: the idea of aesthetic autonomy. I argue that the orientation of recent art practice towards what has come to be termed ‘site-specificity’ is best understood as a progressive relinquishment of the principle of aesthetic autonomy. I develop this position through a close analysis of the work of Miwon Kwon. The paper is intended as a case-study that investigates the problematic relation between historical and philosophical enquiry.

Joint Attention to Music

Cochrane, T. — 2009-01-09

This paper contrasts individual and collective listening to music, with particular regard to the expressive qualities of music. In the first half of the paper a general model of joint attention is introduced. According to this model, perceiving together modifies the intrinsic structure of the perceptual task, and encourages a convergence of responses to a greater or lesser degree. The model is then applied to music, looking first at the silent listening situation typical to the classical concert hall, and second the noisy listening situation typical to rock or jazz concerts.

Goldie on the Virtues of Art

Gomes, A. — 2009-01-09

Peter Goldie has argued for a virtue theory of art, analogous to a virtue theory of ethics, one in which the skills and dispositions involved in the production and appreciation of art are virtues and not simply mere skills. In this note I highlight a link between the appreciation of art and its production, and explore the implications of such a link for a virtue theory of art.

The Philosophy of Motion Pictures

Wartenberg, T. E. — 2009-01-09

The Re-enchantment of the World: Art versus Religion

Winters, E. — 2009-01-09

Fiction and the Weave of Life

Harold, J. — 2009-01-09

Philosophers on Music: Experience, Meaning, and Work

Trivedi, S. — 2009-01-09

Books Received

2009-01-09

Journals Received

2009-01-09

Musical Works and Orchestral Colour

Davies, S. — 2008-09-26

In music ontology, ‘pure’ formalists regard musical works as ‘colourless’ sound structures. One alternative, known as timbral sonicism, accepts that a musical work's orchestral colour is a factor in its identity, but denies that the use of the specified instruments is required for an authentic rendition of the work provided that sounds as of those instruments are achieved. This position has been defended by Julian Dodd. In arguing against his view, I appeal to empirical work showing that composers, musicians, and listeners typically hear through music to the actions that go into its production. In this respect, musical listening reflects the standard account of ‘ecological hearing’; we appreciate sounds as providing information about their sources rather than for their intrinsic qualities. On this basis, I suggest that musical instruments are not merely means to the production of the sounds of performances. Their use is mandated if such performances are to be properly formed. More specifically, when composers are able to make the instrumentation of their compositions central to the identity of those compositions, accurate performances must involve the appropriate use of the specified instruments.

Values of Art and the Ethical Question

Lillehammer, H. — 2008-09-26

Does the ethical value of a work of art ever contribute to its aesthetic value? I argue that when conventionally interpreted as a request for a conceptual analysis the answer to this question is indeterminate. I then propose a different interpretation of the question on which it is understood as a substantial and normative question internal to the practice of aesthetic criticism.

Art as Scales of Forms

Allen, R. T. — 2008-09-26

The Subjective Universality of Aesthetic Judgements Revisited

Vandenabeele, B. — 2008-09-26

When we are touched by the beauty of something, we cannot help judging that the experienced feeling of pleasure ought to be shared by others. In Kantian terms, a pure judgement of taste requires or demands everyone else's assent. I examine some of the major intricacies of Kant's account and aim to correct some distorted views of it. I argue that the autonomy (or ‘heautonomy’) of the judgement of taste is not presupposed but made possible by the modal requirement as such, i.e. by the ‘subjective necessity’ to be universally shared—a necessity that is not moral, as several commentators hold, but strictly epistemological.

The Methodology of Musical Ontology: Descriptivism and its Implications

Kania, A. — 2008-09-26

I investigate the widely held view that fundamental musical ontology should be descriptivist rather than revisionary, that is, that it should describe how we think about musical works, rather than how they are independently of our thought about them. I argue that if we take descriptivism seriously then, first, we should be sceptical of art-ontological arguments that appeal to independent metaphysical respectability; and, second, we should give ‘fictionalism’ about musical works—the theory that they do not exist—more serious consideration than it is usually accorded.

Humean Critics, Imaginative Fluency, and Emotional Responsiveness: A Follow-Up to Stephanie Ross

Guyer, P. — 2008-09-26

In ‘Humean Critics: Real or Ideal?’ (BJA 48 (2008): 20-28), Stephanie Ross argues that four of Hume's five criteria for qualified critics in "Of the Standard of Taste’, namely practise, comparison, freedom from prejudice, and good sense, should be understood as conditions for improving the basic constituent of taste, namely delicacy of perception, in real critics whose judgments can be canonical or guiding for the rest of us, but that delicacy of perception needs to be supplemented by what she calls imaginative fluency and emotional responsiveness to provide a fuller conception of the basic constituents of taste. I support Ross's approach by showing that Hume's immediate successors in Scottish aesthetics Alexander Gerard and James Beattie understood his conception of the qualifications of good critics and supplemented his conception of the basic constituents of taste in precisely the same way that Ross does.

Defining Art, Creating the Canon: Artistic Value in an Era of Doubt

Davies, D. — 2008-09-26

Music, Philosophy, and Modernity

Dammann, G. — 2008-09-26

Everyday Aesthetics: Prosaics, the Play of Culture and Social Identities

Saito, Y. — 2008-09-26

The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture

Konecni, V. J. — 2008-09-26

Natural Beauty: A Theory of Aesthetics Beyond the Arts

Heyd, T. — 2008-09-26

The Images of Time. An Essay on Temporal Representation

Frigg, R. — 2008-09-26

Artworld Metaphysics

Cooke, B. — 2008-09-26

Books Received

2008-09-26

Journals Received

2008-09-26