Lecture 11, 2016
“Aesthetic Responsibility”
Susan Wolf
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Full Text
Download/View the PDF
Abstract
Philosophers often suggest that the fact that we are morally responsible is an important mark
of our distinctive humanity. But focusing exclusively on the attitudes and judgments we form
toward people on the basis of their moral qualities leads to overly narrow conceptions both
of responsibility and of humanity. As a corrective, this essay considers the attitudes and judgments
we make of artists on the basis of their artworks, suggesting that there is such a thing
as aesthetic responsibility that is both similar to and different from moral responsibility.
Preferred citation
Wolf, Susan “Aesthetic Responsibility.” The
Amherst Lecture in Philosophy 11 (2016): 1–25.
<http://www.amherstlecture.org/wolf2016/>.
