This Project Assignment picks up the discussion of truth in the Week 3 Discussion by asking you to compare and contrast the modern and postmodern approaches to truth and art. In a 3-4 page paper, discuss the following:
Explain the idea that art represents reality by discussing Plato and/or Aristotle’s view of art. Discuss a work of art that you think illustrates this idea. For example, you might discuss a character/narrator/subject in a work of art (novel, poem, film, graphic novel, short story, television show, song, painting, etc.) who you think captures the idea that we have an essential, shared human nature and that art reflects this reality for us.
• Explain the idea that art is truth by discussing Schelling, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and/or Heidegger. Discuss a work of art that you think illustrates this idea. For example, you might discuss a character/narrator/subject in a work of art (novel, poem, film, graphic novel, short story, television show, song, painting, etc.) who you think captures the artichoke/post-modern idea.
You might also consider the following in developing your paper:
Is art mimesis/representation (as in Platonism and Aristotelian aesthetics) or is it a means of transforming the self and reality? Might it be aspirational, allowing us to achieve catharsis, as Aristotle suggests? Consider, too, how the idea of art as representation is akin to the avocado view while the idea of art as transformative is more like the artichoke view.
What is the relationship between art and philosophy? Do you agree with Plato and Descartes that philosophy is the best means of achieving certainty about reality and existence, or do you think that art is the ultimate expression of truth? How is the postmodern view of art a rejection of the natural standpoint we see adopted by empiricism and rationalism and rejected by phenomenology?
