By Robert Mayhew
Could there have been a Romantic school of art if not for the ideas of Aristotle? These three classes address this intriguing question.
Plato, the first philosopher with a theory of esthetics, believed that art is the product of irrationality, and is dangerous because it is emotionally evocative. Aristotle, in his Poetics, offers a brilliant reply to Plato which -- after a brief look at Plato's dismissal of art -- Dr. Mayhew examines at length.
The course covers a wide range of topics including: the rationality of art; art as the representation of things as they might be and ought to be; the nature and importance of plot; art and education; art and emotion.
Dr. Mayhew identifies Aristotle's (unrecognized) influence on Romanticism, and his influence on Classicism (which has been historically exaggerated). Throughout the course, Aristotle's views are compared to and contrasted with those of Ayn Rand.
(MP3 download; 4 hrs. 30 min., with Q & A, 171 MB)
