Beauty and Tragedy: Art and the Great Philosophers Event

A series of short, accessible talks for the general public, exploring the reflections of the great philosophers on the nature of art.

Should art please us with beautiful creations, or reveal painful, ugly truths about our lives? Plato sought to drive the tragic poets out of his Republic. Nietzsche replied that art alone has the power to make our existence bearable. Art has provoked, perplexed and inspired many of the great philosophers and this series of short talks will explore that complex relationship. Travelling from philosophy’s roots in ancient Greece to contemporary philosophy's own struggle with art, the series will consider week-by-week the great philosophers' reflections on the nature, value and power of art.

The talks, run in collaboration with the City Art Gallery, will be given by members of the University of Southampton Philosophy Department, which is a centre of excellence for the philosophy of the arts. Each talk will last approximately 30 minutes and be followed by 30 minutes of discussion with the audience.

• Feb 5, 2012
  Plato - Chris Janaway

• Feb 12, 2012
  Aristotle - Chris Janaway

• Feb 19, 2012
  Hume - Alex Neill

• Feb 26, 2012
  Kant - Chris Janaway

• March 4, 2012
  Schopenhauer - Alex Neill

• March 11, 2012
  Nietzsche - Aaron Ridley

• March 18, 2012
  The Existentialists - Denis McManus

• March 25, 2012
  Wittgenstein - Ray Monk

• April 1, 2012
  The Artworld - Aaron Ridley