Aesthetics
Code
711031054
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Filosofia
Credits
6
Teacher in charge
João Pardana Constâncio
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
1. To understand the specificity of Aesthetics within the realm of philosophical reflection, as well as the specificity of its subject-matter and the concepts it uses.
2. To acquire knowledge of the fundamental problems of Aesthetics by reading and analyzing texts that belong either to the tradition or to contemporary authors, including poets and artists in general.
3. To develop a critical method of understanding and analyzing works of art, both literary and non-literary, and either from an historical or a non-historical perspective.
Prerequisites
Not applicable
Subject matter
The theme of the course is the relation between art and nihilism in Nietzsche´s philosophy as it emerges from on a reflection on his critique of Kant´s and Schopenhauer´s aesthetics.
The main moments of the course are the following:
(a) the main ideas of Kant´s aesthetic thought, especially his conception of the aesthetic judgment as presented in the \"Analytic of the Beautiful\";
(c) the main ideas of Schopenhauer´s aesthetic thought, especially his reinterpretation of Kant´s conception of the aesthetic judgment and the way he connects his own conception of the aesthetic experience (as \"desinterested contemplation\") with the themes of \"pessimism\", \"the riddle of the world\" and \"the will\";
(d) the relationship between these themes and Nietzsche´s conception of nihilism and of art (especially of tragic art) as a \"counter-movement\" in the \"battle against nihilism\".
Bibliography
-CONSTÂNCIO, J./ BRANCO, M.J.M., (eds.), As the Spider Spins: Essays on Nietzsches Critique and use of Language, Berlin/ Boston, de gruyter, 2012
-CONSTÂNCIO, J., Arte e niilismo. Nietzsche e o enigma do mundo, Lisboa, tinta-da-china, 2013
-CONSTÂNCIO, J./ MARTON, S./ BRANCO, M.J.M. (org.), Sujeito, décadence e arte. Nietzsche e a modernidade, Lisboa e Rio de Janeiro, tinta-da-china, 2014
-KANT, I., Kritik der Urteilskraft, in: Akademie Textausgabe V, Berlin, Walter de Gruyter,1968
-NIETZSCHE, F., Kritische Studienausgabe, Colli, G./ Montinari, M. (ed.), Berlin, Walter de Gruyter, 1980, 15 vols.
Teaching method
(a) most classes are \"expositive\", (b) several of them work as a \"seminar\" (with reading, commentary, and analyses of texts, e.g. of Kant´s Critique of Judgment), (c) other classes (so-called \"practical\" classes) consist in critical discussions with the students about previously presented themes and problems.
Evaluation method
(a) students are evaluated by a mandatory written test; (b) students are also encouraged to write a 12 pages essay, but this is optional; (c) a positive participation in the classes is valued; (d) the final mark results from the assessment of (a), (b), and (c).