Philosophy 1361/Dr. Cynthia Freeland

Spring 2008

Unit Two Paper Topics

 

1.  When is censorship appropriate?

From Plato until today, some philosophers (as well as ordinary people) have felt that certain kinds of art must be censored. Explain why by discussing Plato’s reasons for this point of view. (Be sure to acknowledge that some kinds of art were allowable for Plato, too.) Then compare Plato’s attitude with more modern cases. Examples to be considered might include any of the following: the Hayes film code, the modern Motion Picture Association film rating system, the Video Game Rating System, “Piss Christ,” the U.S. newspapers that refused to print the contentious Danish comic showing Mohammad, or the pornographic imagery of Robert Mapplethorpe and/or John Currin. (You may need to do more research on details of these examples. Be sure to cite your sources in footnotes or a bibliography!)  Do you see significant differences in reasons to censor cases of art that presents sexuality or violence and art that presents religion?

Warning: do NOT discuss the issue of freedom of expression or free speech; this is obviously relevant, but for purposes of this paper, focus on the moral issues at stake, and not the political ones. Also, try to consider cases where you really feel some temptation to control access to art for at least some audiences—that will make the issues tougher and more interesting to discuss.

 

2. Danto’s Examples and Definition of Art

 Explain the purpose of some of Arthur Danto’s key examples in his article, such as the Rauschenberg bed, his “A” and “B” in Figure 1, the “Brillo Box” by Andy Warhol, and/or the Auden poem about the fall of Icarus. How does Danto draw on these examples in developing his own modern definition of art? Does his definition work if applied to different examples from the past, like Greek art, the gardens of Versailles, Chartres cathedral, and/or the operas of Wagner?

 

3. Is it Wrong to Enjoy Tragedy?

Why do people enjoy tragedy and/or horror, despite the violence? Is it because of the violence? Is it wrong to have a taste for such art? Consider various answers to this question by Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Carroll, and/or Freeland. Which answer seems best to you and why? Be sure to include examples in your discussion. Possible examples: The Bacchae by Euripides, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, other horror films, or more recent Oscar-caliber films that might qualify as tragedies (such as No Country for Old Men, The Departed, Brokeback Mountain, Atonement, Babel, Crash, Million Dollar Baby, Hotel Rwanda, Mystic River, or 21 Grams).

 

Paper is due March 5th.  Late papers will be marked down. All papers must be submitted via WebCT.  Suggested length is three pages, double-spaced. You do not need formal footnotes for the two course texts; simply cite them as “Freeland, p. 3” or “Korsmeyer, p. 11”.  Remember to consult the Writing Tips from Dr. Freeland. And remember, do not plagiarize! All sources that are quoted from or paraphrased must be cited with full references in footnotes. Plagiarism will be detected by the use of Turitin.com. Plagiarism is reported to the college dean and results in a department hearing and penalty, a department hearing and a grade of “0” on the paper. Repeated cases of plagiarism can result in suspension or expulsion from the university.