Notes on Truth, Beauty, and Goodness -- Phil A231

William Jamison - Instructor

Form

Link to "The Battle of San Romano" http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/work?workNumber=NG583

Some comments by Hanslick on music: site removed 

Why pick Wagner as an example? especially with regard to Murray?

Beauty -- the most beautiful

   A. We have already covered the theories that the beautiful is representation (imitation) and expression. Now we look at the concept of form.

Plato -- the ideas (the forms) the form of the Good. For a great description of Platonism see Gerson who

"sets out the following core claims for Platonism: (1) the universe forms a systematic unity; (2) this systematic unity forms an explanatory hierarchy within which the simple and the intelligible are both ontologically and conceptually prior to the complex and the sensible; (3) the divine constitutes an irreducible explanatory category and, (4) so does the psychological; (5) persons belong to this systematic hierarchy, and happiness for them consists in a return to a position that they have lost; (6) moral and aesthetic valuation follows the hierarchy in such a way that the higher a thing is in the hierarchy the better and more beautiful it is; and (7) the epistemological order is included in the metaphysical order (pp. 32-4)." Lloyd P. Gerson, Aristotle and Other Platonists reviewed by Dirk Baltzly

Kant -- the categories of the understanding and judgment

Quiz question on Detroit?

The moral and ethical as beautiful: is our intuitive response a categorical imperative for all in that situation?

Phi and Pi and other mathematical forms -- is beauty mathematical?

Less certain: weekend issue of the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson -- what impact will this have on the Episcopal Church? Note that the church is growing but growth is primarily fundamental -- low church. (Biographical note on EDS and General versus Virginia)

"Bishop Spong may not be wrong"

Question for Spong and others -- drag the whole church along with your changing perspective? This seems to have cost the church membership. Note churches that are growing are fundamental -- the narrative is more concrete. This means that the growing majority of people are reaching only a lower level of reflective thinking.

This brings up the connection between reflective thinking and the most beautiful: If there is such a thing as the most beautiful then it must be context appropriate. (Wouldn't Wittgenstein point out the grammatical mistake we are making in thinking of something as "the most beautiful" without stipulating the context? The most beautiful candidate -- or piece of music in the concert -- or the saddest literature -- or happiest.... That I have read. Stories my children have written etc.

If we try to think of the "most beautiful" in all contexts we must be working within a language game that is comparative of multiple language games. We could be confused here. Can we create a game that includes all games? Imagine a soccer, basketball, football, baseball, tennis, ice hockey, horse race, marathon game..... It is clear that while games may be perfect wholes a perfect game of all games would be chaos. Further, if we are just thinking we can determine the best game for all circumstances -- football? We are simply fundamentalists believers in that particular game and not really viewing all games from a "higher" perspective. But there certainly is a game we can play that has a set of rules and vocabulary that is pertinent to "perfection" and "the most beautiful" -- that is the language game of metaphysics. Which connects this issue -- is there a "most beautiful" to ethics and narrative construction. Metaphysics seems the narrative frame work for answering such questions as are posed this way.

Bibliography

Stephen Croddy on Modern Art: http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Aest/AestCrod.htm

To accompany Dr Croddy’s essay

1505-7 St Catherine Raphael 

Young piper  Edouard Manet

Gauguin

Cezanne

Matisse

Braque

Suprematist Composition Kazamir Malevich

Britney Spears

http://www.youtube.com/user/britneytv?blend=5&ob=4

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVhJ_A8XUgc  

Madonna

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS088Opj9o0&feature=related F

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N6KqgMj8o8&feature=artistob&playnext=1&videos=EbUiHEK6SLs PDP

Marilyn Monroe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWk62WlpT1c&feature=related LBY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZtGybjFjOU DGBF

Goldie Hawn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIA1VS2bDa4 with Dean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzta9XU-CEA&feature=related on LI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b7BGBa6MTI&feature=related time

Bjork "All is Love"

This page is maintained by William S. Jamison. It was last updated August 14, 2012. All links on these pages are either to open source or public domain materials or they are marked with the appropriate copyright information. I frequently check the links I have made to other web sites but each source is responsible for their own content.