Art and Ethical Criticism

A timely and philosophically significant contribution to modern aesthetics featuring some of the best contemporary work in philosophical studies of literature, moral beliefs, and thinking in art.

– Reflects the importance of a moral life of engagement with works of art

– Forms part of the prestigious New Directions in Aesthetics series, which confronts the most intriguing problems in aesthetics and the philosophy of art today

Garry L. Hagberg currently holds a Chair in the School of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, and has for some years served as the James H. Ottaway , Jr., Professor of Philosophy and Aesthetics at Bard College. He has published widely, including books such as Art as Language: Wittgenstein, Meaning, and Aesthetic Theory; and Meaning and Interpretation: Wittgenstein, Henry James, and Literary Knowledge. He has also recently published Describing Ourselves: Wittgenstein and Autobiographical Consciousness.

Contents

Notes on Contributors
Foreword: Garry L. Hagberg (University of East Anglia)
Part I: Historical Foundations:
1. Is Ethical Criticism a Problem? A Historical Perspective: Paul Guyer (University of Pennsylvania)
Part II: Conceptions of Ethical Content:
2. Narrative and the Ethical Life: Noël Carroll (Temple University)
3. A Nation of Madame Bovarys: On the Possibility and Desirability of
Moral Improvement through Fiction: Joshua Landy (Stanford University)
4. Empathy, Expression, and What Artworks Have to Teach: Mitchell Green (University of Virginia)
Part III: Literature and Moral Responsibility:
5. "Solid Objects," Solid Objections: On Virginia Woolf and Philosophy: Paisley Livingston (Lingnan University)
6. Disgrace: Bernard Williams and J. M. Coetzee: Catherine Wilson (City University of New York)
7. Facing Death Together: Camus's The Plague: Robert C. Solomon
Part IV: Visual Art, Artifacts, and the Ethical Response:
8. Staying in Touch: Carolyn Korsmeyer (University at Buffalo, State University of New York)
9. Susan Sontag, Diane Arbus, and the Ethical Dimensions of Photography: David Davies (McGill University)
10. Ethical Judgments in Museums: Ivan Gaskell (Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University)
Part V: Music and Moral Relations:
11. Così's Canon Quartet: Stephen Davies (University of Auckland)
12. Jazz Improvisation and Ethical Interaction: A Sketch of the Connections: Garry L. Hagberg (University of East Anglia)
Index