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Art and painful emotion
Author(s) -
Strohl Matthew
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
philosophy compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.973
H-Index - 25
ISSN - 1747-9991
DOI - 10.1111/phc3.12558
Subject(s) - virtue , value (mathematics) , epistemology , affect (linguistics) , section (typography) , aesthetics , work of art , psychology , philosophy , computer science , linguistics , machine learning , operating system
This essay updates Aaron Smuts', 2009 Philosophy Compass piece, “Art and Negative Affect” in light of recent work on the topic. The “paradox of painful art” is the general problem of how it is possible to enjoy or value experiences of art that involve painful emotions. It encompasses both the paradox of tragedy and the paradox of horror. Section [Section 2. A TAXONOMY OF SOLUTIONS] lays out a taxonomy of solutions to the paradox of painful art and argues that we should opt for a pluralistic approach rather than seeking a unified solution. Section [Section 12. RECENT LITERATURE] surveys recent work on the topic, with an emphasis on views holding that it is possible for an experience of art to be pleasant partly in virtue of involving painful emotion. Section [Section 13. DIRECTIONS FOR FURTHER INQUIRY] suggests a range of phenomena that are not usually considered under the umbrella of the paradox of painful art but that offer promising directions for further research.