Philosophy 334MA - Topics in Ethics: 'Immoral Art'

From Plato's attacks on Homer's poems to the protests against D.W. Griffith's racist film The Birth of a Nation to the recent spotlight cast by the #metoo movement, it is clear that the relationship between art and morality is a difficult one. Are some works of art inherently immoral? If so, why? What should we say about works of art that are created by immoral artists? Or works that have morally troubling social effects? What is the relationship between an artwork's moral status and its value as a work of art? Are moral and aesthetic judgments objective? How are they related? We will survey the current state of the philosophical debate over the conflict between moral and aesthetic value.

Prereq: 8 credits from the Philosophy department.