What is art? What are its forms and boundaries? Why is it significant? The minor in Philosophy of the Arts looks at fundamental questions about art and its significance. The minor includes both contemporary topics and exploration in the history of philosophy, with a focus on issues concerning aesthetics and the nature of art. You will develop skills in identifying and critically evaluating arguments, thinking clearly and independently, writing analytically, and applying principles of logic and good reasoning.
Philosophy of the Arts Minor
Philosophy of the Arts is a great minor for those whose main area of study is in Art or Design, Music, Journalism, History, English, Literature, or even Germanic Studies. While the minor is specific, there is enough variation in the requirements that you can take courses that are best suited for your main discipline.
This minor requires you to take one logic course: PHIL-P 150 Elementary Logic, PHIL-P 250 Introductory Symbolic Logic, or PHIL-P 251 Intermediate Symbolic Logic. You must take two courses from the following list: PHIL-P 320 Philosophy of Language, PHIL-P 347 Contemporary Controversies in Philosophy of Art, or PHIL-P348 Philosophy and Literature, and two courses from the historical list: PHIL-P 201 Ancient Greek Philosophy, PHIL-P 211 Early Modern Philosophy, PHIL-P 301 Medieval Philosophy, PHIL-P 304 19th Century Philosophy, or PHIL-P 346 Classics in Philosophy of Art.
For example, if you are a literature or English major looking to minor in philosophy, the Philosophy of the Arts track is a great choice for you, because you can take PHIL-P 150 to develop critical thinking and argumentation skills, which are beneficial for literary criticism and writing, PHIL-P 320 and PHIL-P 348 for contemporary philosophical insights into language and literature, and then PHIL-P 201 and PHIL-P 304, to round out your knowledge of historical figures in philosophy who had substantial impact on the development of Western writing and thought.
The College of Arts