Assignment #3: Tolstoy

1. Read: Tolstoy "What is Art?"

Questions for consideration and discussion:

1. What is the source of Tolstoy's dissatisfaction with some art, including, for example, opera?

2. What is his view of the relationship between beauty and art? (And how might he respond to Nehamas?)

3. What is the significance of his food analogy for understanding art (that is, seeing pleasure as the purpose of food)?

4. How does he define art?

5. What determines the "infectiousness" of art?

6. What role does Tolstoy assign the "religious perception of [his] time"?

7. What are the limitations of his theory of art?

8. Anything else you want to discuss...

Assignment #2: Beauty (A. Nehamas)

Things to do (or have done):

1. Review the syllabus and handout CPE; raise any questions in our next class. 

2. Purchase/access the Cahn and Meskin text.  (Reminder: I have placed a copy -- albeit an older version -- of our text on reserve at the library; you may also copy my chapters as the semester proceeds.) 

The first chapter we will read from the text -- once we are prepared to do so -- will be chapter 24, "What is Art?" (Tolstoy).

In the interim, let's read and discuss Alexander Nehamas' "An Essay on Beauty and Judgment":

https://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/nehamas_w00.html

Assignment #1: Defininitions, handout CPE, syllabus

Things to do:

1. Research the terms "philosophy" and "aesthetics." Find definitions that strike you as inclusive, interesting, or instructive and bring them to class in a dedicated (section of a) notebook.

2. Read Handout CPE; review the syllabus. Raise any questions about these documents in our next class.

3. Purchase a copy of the text (or let me know if there is a problem obtaining one).  I have also placed a copy of the text on reserve in the library.