The Aesthetics Seminar Week 5 HT17
The Death of Socrates
Speaker: Alison Hills (University of Oxford)
Title: Aesthetic testimony, understanding and virtue
Abstract: Much of what we learn about the world comes from testimony. But in certain domains, including aesthetics, trusting testimony seems problematic; there is, at least, a puzzle about its status. I argue for an explanation of the puzzle in terms of the importance of understanding and of virtue. This requires sketching appropriate conceptions of aesthetic understanding and aesthetic virtue. I draw some conclusions about the similarities (and differences) between ethics and aesthetics.
Organising department: Faculty of Philosophy
Convenors: James Grant (University of Oxford), Yuuki Ohta (University of Oxford)
Part of: The Aesthetics Seminar
