PHIL 109Aesthetics

3 credits · Philosophy · Penn State

Aesthetics is the philosophical study of our experience of certain natural and artistic objects that incite pleasure or displeasure in us, and which we judge to be beautiful, ugly, or sublime. Aesthetics asks: What makes something beautiful? Are our judgments of beauty universal? What counts as art? What are the relations between beauty, morality, and truth? The objective of this course will be to provide students with a survey of historical and contemporary perspectives on these questions. The students should leave the course with a good grounding in aesthetic theory as well as an understanding of how the theoretical considerations apply in art criticism.