Korsmeyer, Carolyn : State University of New York at Buffalo
Carolyn Korsmeyer is Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She is the editor
(with Peggy Zeglin Brand) of Feminism and Tradition in Aesthetics (1995) and (with Hilde Hein) Aesthetics
in Feminist Perspective (1993) and the author (with Dubois, Kelly, Kennedy, and Robinson) of Feminist Scholarship:
Kindling in the Groves of Academe (1985).
Summary
An anthology that paired the strongest evidence in favor of the tradition with the strongest evidence against
it would have obvious appeal for many teachers of aesthetics, especially those of us who remain genuinely ambivalent
about the tradition. That anthology does not yet exist, at least to my knowledge. In the meantime, the next best
thing may be to pair this provocative collection with one of its more traditional competitors." James Shelley,
American Society for Aesthetics
Philosophers have considered questions raised by the nature of art, of beauty, and critical appreciation since
ancient times, and the discipline of aesthetics has a long tradition that stretches from Plato to the present.
Aesthetics has also been the subject of a number of theoretical challenges that investigate the conceptual frameworks
customarily assumed by theories of art.
This collection of essays assembles classic and contemporary texts to present both the tradition of aesthetic theory
and the kinds of questions and challenges that it confronts today, both from other cultural traditions and from
theoretical movements such as feminism and postmodernism.
Table of Contents
Part I : What is Art? :
Preface: John Dewey.
The Live Creature: Richard L. Anderson, from Calliope's Sisters.
The Artworld: Arthur C. Danto.
Crafty Women and the Hierarchy of the Arts: Roszika Parker and Griselda Pollock.
Zen and the Art of Tea: D. T. Suzuki.
Dressing Down Dressing Up: The Philosophic Fear of Fashion: Karen Hanson.
Part II : Experience and Appreciation: How Do We Encounter Art? :
Preface.
A.
A Contested Term: What is "Aesthetic"?
The Aesthetic Attitude: Jerome Stolnitz.
Locating the Aesthetic: Marcia Eaton.
From Truth and Method: Hans Georg Gadamer.
B.
How is Art Presented to the Public?
Artistic Dropouts: Kevin Melchionne.
Museums: From Object to Experience: Hilde Hein.
The MoMA's Hot Mamas: Carol Duncan.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Arthur Danto.
Part III : Aesthetic Evaluation: Who Decides? :
Preface.
Of the Standard of Taste: David Hume.
From Distinction: Pierre Bourdieu.
Disinterestedness and Political Art: Peggy Zeglin Brand.
High and Low Thinking About High and Low Art: Ted Cohen.
Part IV : Can We Learn from Art? :
Preface.
From The Republic: Plato.
The Sovereignty of Good: Iris Murdoch.
From Love's Knowledge: Martha Nussbaum.
Carnage and Glory, Legends and Lies: Michael Norman.
Paintings and Their Places: Susan L. Feagin.
Part V : Tragedy, Sublimity, Horror: Why Do We Enjoy Painful Experiences in Art? :
Preface.
A:
Tragedy: Sophocles, Choral Ode from Oedipus at Colonus.
From the Poetics: Aristotle.
From The Birth of Tragedy: Friedrich Nietzsche.
B:
Sublimity.
Descent into the Maelstrom: Edgar Allen Poe.
From A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful: Edmund Burke.
From The Critique of Judgement: Immanuel Kant.
C:
Horror.
From The Philosophy of Horror: Noel Carroll.
Realist Horror: Cynthia Freeland.
Part VI: Where is the Artist in the Work of Art?:
Preface.
A:
Genius and Creativity.
From Critique of Judgement: Kant.
Gender and Genius: Christine Battersby.
B:
Interpreting the Artist in Society.
What is an Author?: Michael Foucault.
Truth and other Cultures: Michael Baxandall.
Musical Thinking and Thinking About Music: Bruno Nettl.
