Immorality and Transgressive Art: An Argument for Immoralism in the Philosophy of Art

Philosophical Quarterly 71 (3):481-501 (2021)
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Abstract

The position of immoralism in analytic aesthetics and the philosophy of art holds that a work's moral defects can sometimes contribute to its artistic value. This position has suffered massive criticism in recent years. In support of immoralism, I present in this paper a new argument by examining immorality in the artistic genre of transgressive art. I argue that in the category of transgressive art, due to the nature of immorality that is a transgressive and liberating force against morality's authority, being immoral can contribute directly to an artwork's artistic value by contributing to the realization of its artistic aim.

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References found in this work

What we owe to each other.Thomas Scanlon - 1998 - Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
The sources of normativity.Christine M. Korsgaard - 1996 - New York: Cambridge University Press. Edited by Onora O'Neill.
Ethics and the limits of philosophy.Bernard Williams - 1985 - Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Mortal questions.Thomas Nagel - 1979 - New York: Cambridge University Press.

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