Language, Art, and Music

Choose a piece of music and an artwork that you believe express particular philosophical views, especially concerning our themes of Reality and Ethics and the personal/cultural context of the musician or artist. For example, Wagner’s opera Also Sprach Zarathustra is based on Nietzsche’s philosophical book of the same name and tries to express musically such ideas as the transcendence of the “Superman” in the famous theme used in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Art can obviously express metaphysical or ethical stances, too (for example, Picasso’s anti-war painting Guernica). Similarly, our language can express (or disguise) our values—witness the associations of “blonde” in 20th Century English or the fact that Chippewayan (the language of a traditionally communal society with no concept of personal propert)y has no possessive pronouns. Analyze your examples to explain what personal or cultural beliefs and/or values find expression.

(Unit IIIB Forum Question) Post a link to a webpage or site containing a work of art. Then post your commentary on the philosophical ideas or other ideas and concepts expressed in that cultural item, including ways in which those ideas reflect or invert those held by the artist’s culture.

Students will post their examples in the Forum in Unit IIIB on MyHeritage; classroom students should also bring one of those examples to class for discussion.