DAAZX87 Chapters in philosophy

Theatre Faculty
Winter 2023
Extent and Intensity
2/0/2. 2 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Jan Horský, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Petr Francán
Timetable
Mon 16:15–17:45 106
Prerequisites
High school knowledge of philosophy and the fundamentals of social sciences.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This two-semester course in philosophy aims to introduce students to how art, especially narrative art, has been and is reflected upon intellectually by philosophers, anthropologists, psychologists, historians, and other scholars. Students will be introduced to key concepts of art reflection, through which they will learn about an intellectual tradition of thinking about and exploring art that stretches from Plato and Aristotle to contemporary evolutionary biologists. In doing so, students will be guided to think through and answer age-old questions using new tools, whether it is with the aid of a new conceptual apparatus or functional MRI. The goal of the course is to awaken the intellectual curiosity of the audience to think through the broader context of art making, and to convey both a traditional philosophical-aesthetic perspective and the latest empirical research illuminating why art affects us as members of the species Homo sapiens in ways that can be observed in auditoriums across the globe. Students are encouraged to view consumers of art not as disembodied angelic beings, but as recipients of flesh, bone, and neurons.
Learning outcomes
After completing the two-semester course, students will be able to: - master the basic philosophical and aesthetic categories of Western reflection on art - both the classical ones (e.g. art as a booster of group identity and cohesion, art as an indicator of proficiency, art as a reservoir of information, etc. analyze and interpret the founding texts of the Western aesthetic tradition (especially Aristotle's Poetics); - reflect on the deeper, psychological-biological assumptions of the reception of a work of art on the part of the viewer (the role of empathy, social cognition and the internal opioid system in the perception and experience of a work of art), know examples of artistic work that thematizes these insights about human nature (e.g. Ian McEwan), and work with them in their own work.
Syllabus
  • (1) Introduction of the lecturer, the subject, the terms of completion + introductory lecture "Who cares about art?: Reflecting on Art in the 21st Century" (2) Art as Imitation: the Concept of Mimesis (3) Art as Mental Catalyst: the Concept of Catharsis (4) The Role of the Poet in (Ancient) Society (5) The Origin and Function of Art (6) Defining Art (7) Art and Ethics I: A Philosophical-Anthropological Perspective (8) Art and Ethics II: The Role of Empathy and Social Cognition in Art (9) Art and Ethics III. The role of positive (the phenomenon of moral elevation) and negative (the phenomenon of imaginative resistance) moral emotions in shaping the spectator's experience (10) Art and Ethics IV: The role of endorphins in shaping the spectator's experience (11) Art and Epistemology (12) Art and Ontology (13) Philosophical-Scientific Reflection in the Works of Selected Authors
Literature
  • ARISTOTELES. Poetika. Praha: OIKOYMENH, 2008; PLATÓN. Ústava. Praha: OIKOYMENH, 2017; CIPORANOV, D. & KULKA, T. Co je umění? Praha: Pavel Mervart, 2011; DAVIES, S. The Philosophy of Art. Malden: Blackwell, 2006.
Teaching methods
* Regular teaching * Number of hours of contact teaching per week: 2 * Number of hours of independent student work per week: 2 Lectures, interpretation seminars, text analysis, discussion methods, independent student work.
Assessment methods
Graded credit in both semesters is the sum of three grades earned in a given semester: (1) a final test that verifies knowledge of the material covered (60%); (2) the presentation of a short reflection in a final workshop that demonstrates the potential impact of the knowledge presented in the course on the student's own artistic production (20%); (3) active performance in lectures and seminars (20%).
Language of instruction
Czech
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 2022.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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