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The University of Southampton
Philosophy Part of Humanities

Can Art Save Your Life? Event

The Arming of Perseus
Time:
14:00 - 15:00
Date:
20 February 2011 - 27 March 2011
Venue:
City Art Gallery, Southampton

For more information regarding this event, please email Department of Philosophy at hcm@soton.ac.uk .

Event details

A series of short, accessible talks for the general public, asking what does art do? What is the work of a work of art?

It is not uncommon – especially in times of financial austerity – to hear the questions ‘What is art for?’ ‘What does art do for us?’ This series of talks will explore the roles that philosophers have suggested art plays in our moral, intellectual, emotional, political and religious lives. Does it teach us about the world around us? Does it help us ethically or spiritually? And if works of art do ‘work’ for us, can just anything be art, as some modern artists would have us believe?

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. The speakers will draw on their extensive knowledge of contemporary philosophy and of the history of philosophical reflection on the arts, from Plato to Nietzsche. Each talk will last approximately 30 minutes and be followed by 30 minutes of discussion with the audience.

Speaker information

Aaron Ridley,Sunday 20th Feb, 2pm. Art and Morality: Can art make you a better person?

Alex Neil,Sunday 27th Feb, 2pm. Art and Emotion: Can art deepen our feelings?

Daniel Whiting ,Sunday 6th March, 2pm Art and Knowledge: Can art teach us about the world around us?

Alex Neill ,Sunday 13th March, 2pm Art and Politics: Can art set us free?

Aaron Ridley,Sunday 20th March, 2pm Art and Religion: Can art save your soul?

Chris Janaway,Sunday 27th March, 2pm Art and Ordinary Objects: Can just anything be art?

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