Bringing Philosophy of Art to the Philosophy of Perception

My research project, a monograph, shows how problems in the philosophy of art can fruitfully inform the philosophy of perception. A recent trend, exemplified by Bence Nanay’s recent Aesthetics as Philosophy of Perception (Oxford UP, 2016), suggests problems in aesthetics are best understood as nothing but problems in the philosophy of perception. My approach to problems of perception is distinctive. The book begins by developing an information-theoretic model of perceptual states, which opens up a new way to address problems in perception from the standpoint of philosophy of art. First, I show that techniques for depiction and audio recording show the importance of perspectival qualities for understanding spatial, chromatic, and auditory perception. Second, the problem of identifying the objects of perception can be addressed from the standpoint of understanding how photographs and audio recordings serve as visual and auditory prostheses. And third, exemplification in the arts can be deployed to help explain perceptual intentionality. This project also opens up new interdisciplinary possibilities. The history of European painting in the 17th – 19th centuries, and the history of audio recording technologies both inform my argument.