Engaged Philosophy – the Case of Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art Cover Image

Angažirana filozofija – slučaj estetike i filozofije umjetnosti
Engaged Philosophy – the Case of Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art

Author(s): Iris Vidmar Jovanović
Subject(s): Aesthetics, Contemporary Philosophy, Sociology of Art
Published by: Hrvatsko Filozofsko Društvo
Keywords: engaged philosophy; aesthetics; philosophy of art; disagreement;

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, I address the question of engaged philosophy with an emphasis on aesthetics and the philosophy of art. Referring to some specific problems discussed in these areas – in particular climate change, ecological crisis and immoral art – I demonstrate that philosophy can be engaged in two ways: (i) in its aspiration to question social reality, culture, human experience and the strategies for making sense of and finding value in that experience; (ii) in the aspiration to contribute to the well-being of individuals and society through its contribution to understanding that reality and experience. First, I point to the connection between the philosophical questions and the fundamental intellectual aspirations of human beings as social and cultural beings, but also as autonomous knowers and valuers. Second, I respond to two objections that can be directed against engaged philosophy: (i) one that points to a lack of consensus among philosophical responses (the problem of disagreement), and (ii) one that highlights the irrelevance of philosophical debates to our social practice.

  • Issue Year: 42/2022
  • Issue No: 04/168
  • Page Range: 687-705
  • Page Count: 19
  • Language: Croatian
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