Choose one of the following three essay topics and write a 1,200+-word essay (around 4+ pages, typed, double-space) in response. Be sure to write clearly and give reasons to back up your views and interpretations.

1. Is Tolstoy correct in claiming that all descriptions of art in terms of beauty are just expressions of the taste of one particular group or other (“There is no objective definition of beauty” he says on p. 43)? How would Hanslick respond do you think? What about Plato? Is Tolstoy’s own interpretation of art subject to the same criticism? That is, does it just reflect his own taste?

2. “He is no longer an artist, he has become a work of art” and “we may assume that we are merely images and artistic projections for the true author, and that we have our highest dignity in our significance as works of art,” writes Nietzsche (pp. 37 & 52). What does he mean by this? Is this to give art too much importance? Would Socrates say such a thing? Is this true of Ion, perhaps? What does Nietzsche think of Socrates’ views on art?

3. The various philosophical approaches to art that we have studied all involve discussion of specific arts: Hanslick deals with music, Plato with poetry and speaking, Nietzsche with tragedy and drama (as well as music), and Tolstoy with music and literature primarily. Do you see any connection between the theories each develops to explain the nature of art and their chosen examples of art? Do theories such as Hanslick’s about musical beauty seem applicable to other arts as well? If not, what does this mean in terms of our ability to “define” what art is?