Art and Philosophy

Though a field often thought far from the center of contemporary philosophy, philosophy of art—perhaps more than any other field similarly situated—nevertheless enjoys extensive overlap with and points of exchange at that center. The last decade has seen a marked resurgence of interest in aesthetics and philosophy of art from those working outside these areas, and a reciprocal resurgence of interest in other subfields from philosophers of art. Art and Philosophy brings together twenty-one original essays at the intersection of art and philosophy. These essays are intersectional in two respects. Firstly, the authors draw meaningful connections between art and philosophy, using artworks to motivate, support, and shape their views. Secondly, the authors draw connections between the theoretical discipline of aesthetics and philosophy of art, on the one hand, and the rest of philosophy, on the other. Some chapters explore philosophical matters by examining art and other aesthetic objects, whilst others bring together contemporary thought and research in aesthetics and philosophy of art with important developments in other areas of philosophy. The chapters are organized into ten sections. These ten sections represent the current issues best exemplifying the productive and informative exchanges that exist at these intersections. The topics range from metaphysics and philosophy of language to creativity and love. By placing the connection to art at the forefront, Art and Philosophy is a testament to the myriad ways art and the philosophy of art intersect and overlap with issues that lie at the core of contemporary philosophy.

Alex King is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Simon Fraser University. She has written widely on issues in aesthetics and ethics. Her work in aesthetics primarily concerns aesthetic normativity, reasons, and value. In ethics, her work in has focused on the 'ought implies can' principle. She is author of What We Ought and What We Can (Routledge, 2019), which provides an overview of the principle and an extended argument against it.