Philosophia

, Volume 35, Issue 2, pp 117–127 | Cite as

The Ethical Criticism of Art: A New Mapping of the Territory

Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The goal of this paper is methodological. It offers a comprehensive mapping of the theoretical positions on the ethical criticism of art, correcting omissions and inadequacies in the conceptual framework adopted in the current debate. Three principles are recommended as general guidelines: ethical amenability, basic value pluralism, and relativity to ethical dimension. Hence a taxonomy distinguishing between different versions of autonomism, moralism, and immoralism is established, by reference to criteria that are different from what emerging in the current literature. The mapping is then proved capable of (1) locating the various theories that have been proposed so far and clarifying such theories’ real commitments, (2) having the correct relationship with actual art making and art criticism practices, and (3) showing the real weight of the alleged counter-example to a moralist position of a work that succeeds artistically because of its immorality.

Keywords

Ethical criticism Art criticim Literary criticism Autonomism Moralism Immoralism Noël Carroll Berys Gaut Matthew Kieran Daniel Jacobson 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Jerrold Levinson, Owen McLeod, and an anonymous referee for their comments and suggestions.

References

  1. Anderson, J., & Dean, J. (1998). Moderate autonomism. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 38, 150–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Bell, C. (1987). Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Reprint, originally published in 1914).Google Scholar
  3. Booth, W. (1988). The company we keep: An ethics of fiction. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
  4. Carroll, N. (1996). Moderate moralism. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 36, 223–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Carroll, N. (1998a). Art, narrative, and moral understanding. In J. Levinson (Ed.), Aesthetics and ethics: Essays at the intersection (pp. 126–160). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  6. Carroll, N. (1998b). Moderate moralism versus moderate autonomism. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 38, 419–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Carroll, N. (2000). Art and ethical criticism: An overview of recent directions of research. Ethics, 110, 350–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Gass, W. (1993). Goodness knows nothing of beauty: On the distance between morality and art. In J. Fisher (Ed.), Reflecting on art (pp. 108–116). Mountain View: Mayfield. (Originally published in 1987).Google Scholar
  9. Gaut, B. (1998). The ethical criticism of art. In J. Levinson (Ed.), Aesthetics and ethics: Essays at the intersection (pp. 182–203). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  10. Gaut, B. (2001). Art and ethics. In B. Gaut & D. M. Lopes (Eds.), The Routledge companion to aesthetics (pp. 341–352). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  11. Gautier, T. (1981). Mademoiselle de Maupin. (J. Richardson, Trans.). Harmondsworth: Penguin. (Originally published in 1835).Google Scholar
  12. Giovannelli, A. (2004). Artistic and ethical values in the experience of narratives. Dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park.Google Scholar
  13. Giovannelli, A. (2005). Review of J. L. Bermúdez & S. Gardner (Eds.), Art and Morality. (London Routledge, 2003). Mind, 114, 119–123.Google Scholar
  14. Isenberg, A. (1973). Aesthetics and the theory of criticism: Selected essays of Arnold Isenberg. (W. Callaghan et al., Eds.), Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  15. Jacobson, D. (1997). In praise of immoral art. Philosophical Topics, 25, 155–199.Google Scholar
  16. Jacobson, D. (2006). Ethical criticism and the vice of moderation. In M. Kieran (Ed.), Contemporary debates in aesthetics and the philosophy of art (pp. 342–355). Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
  17. Kieran, M. (1996). Art, imagination, and the cultivation of morals. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 54, 337–351.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Kieran, M. (2003). Forbidden knowledge: The challenge of immoralism. In J. L. Bermúdez & S. Gardner (Eds.), Art and morality. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  19. Wilde, O. (1974). The picture of Dorian Gray. (I. Murray, Ed.), London: Oxford University Press. (Originally published in 1891).Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.PhilosophyLafayette CollegeEastonUSA

Personalised recommendations