Aesthetics Commons^™

A Beautiful Proof By Induction, Lars-Daniel Öhman

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The purpose of this note is to present an example of a proof by induction that in the opinion of the present author has great aesthetic value. The proof in question is Thomassen's proof that planar graphs are 5-choosable. I give a self-contained presentation of this result and its proof, and a personal account of why I think this proof is beautiful.

A secondary purpose is to more widely publicize this gem, and hopefully make it part of a standard set of examples for examining characteristics of proofs by induction.

Mathematical Proofs: The Beautiful And The Explanatory, Marcus Giaquinto

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Mathematicians sometimes judge a mathematical proof to be beautiful and in doing so seem to be making a judgement of the same kind as aesthetic judgements of works of visual art, music or literature. Mathematical proofs are also appraised for explanatoriness: some proofs merely establish their conclusions as true, while others also show why their conclusions are true. This paper will focus on the prima facie plausible assumption that, for mathematical proofs, beauty and explanatoriness tend to go together.

To make headway we need to have some grip on what it is for a proof to be beautiful, and for …

Post Critical Again, Charlie Cannon

Articles

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Making Futures, Pelle Ehn

Articles

No abstract provided.

Double Or Nothing: Reflections On Bridge Design, Hillary Brown

Articles

No abstract provided.

Positive Sum Design And The Economics Of Sharing, Ian Gonsher

Articles

No abstract provided.

Sex Objects And Sexy Subjects: A Feminist Reclamation Of Sexiness, Sheila Lintott, Sherri Irvin

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

The Aesthetic Experiences Of Aura, Awe, And Wonder: Reflections On Their Nature And Relationships, Russell Quacchia

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

The aim of this essay is to examine the semantic nature and linkage between the experiential phenomena of aura, awe, and wonder, central to matters of the aesthetic experience. In aesthetic commentary these terms are generally used rather loosely, often independently of each other and, most often, without regard to the connections between them. It would seem worthwhile to examine the nature of each of these terms to move toward understanding them and their mutual relationships. The conclusions drawn are that the aura effect appears to operate universally at the cognitive level of the aesthetic experience while those of awe …

The Institutional Margins Of Aesthetics: A Study Proposal, Jozef Kovalčik, Max Ryynänen

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

A considerable number of classical texts in aesthetics and cultural philosophy were originally published outside of the framework of institutionalized academic scholarship. One can begin the modern story with two loners, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard, then continue with the Frankfurt School and end the short list with the French “wave” (Blanchot, Bataille). Contemporary aesthetics benefits also from the work of thinkers like Susan Sontag and Nicolas Bourriaud, who have a huge scholarly impact but who built their careers outside academia. We intend to 1) sketch out a short historical overview of the scholars within aesthetics who could be considered to have …

Edward Yang's Confusion, Law Nga-Chun, Lo Chun-Cheong

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

Edward Yang (in Chinese 楊德昌, 1947-2007) is one of the most renowned Taiwanese directors, whose works raise criticisms of modernity. Since the New Culture Movement in the 1910s and 1920s, Chinese literati have queried the place of traditional Chinese culture, especially Confucianism, on the road to modernization. This paper gives an account of Yang’s understanding of modernization and the Confucian tradition as illustrated in his work, A Confucian Confusion (1994). We argue that, though he despised politically endorsed Confucianism as ideology, without sufficient justification Yang nonetheless reserves the possibility of taking Confucianism as a supplement to modernity.

Index

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Moving Letters In Eighteenth-Century Epistolary Writing Arrivals And Departures, Hélène Dachez, Allan Ingram

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Motion In (Eighteenth-Century) Poetry, Bill Overton

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Picturesque Movement In Ann Radcliffe's Novels, Julien Morel

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Kinetic Metaphors In Alexander Pope's The Rape Oe The Lock, Essay On Man, And The Dunciad, Michael Szczekalla

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Swift's Concept Of Physical Exercise: The Gravel Path To Human Perfection, Esther F. Sommer

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Drifting Unguided Or Involuntary Motion And The Enlightenment Sense Of Direction, Kevin L Cope

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Stability Turned Into Motion Erasmus Darwin's Recourse To Ovid's Metamorphoses, Sonja Fielitz

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Turning Round Or Standing Still Movement And Stasis In Defoe, Pope, And Sterne, Allan Ingram, Hélène Dachez

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

The Creative Cost Of Jane Austen's Move To Bath, Gerald J Butler

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Thomas Jefferson, Travel Writer, Kevin J Hayes

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Traveling To Rome For Artistic Purposes The Theoretical Background In Eighteenth-Century France And Britain, Elisabeth Martichou

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Yorick And Lovelace Physical Manifestations And Internal E-Motions, Maryam Ghabris

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Social Mobility And Personal Displacement Queen Charlotte Between England And Germany, Mascha Hansen

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Eighteenth-Century Merchant Circles In London's Wapping Peter Hieuusson, Maritime Trade, And The Global Movement Of Money, Kenneth J Cozens

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

Cook's Ark Animals On The Move In The Service Of Empires, Bärbel Czennia

1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

No abstract provided.

The Normative Architecture Of Reality: Towards An Object-Oriented Ethics, Justin L. Harmon

Theses and Dissertations--Philosophy

The fact-value distinction has structured and still structures ongoing debates in metaethics, and all of the major positions in the field (expressivism, cognitivist realism, and moral error theory) subscribe to it. In contrast, I claim that the fact-value distinction is a contingent product of our intellectual history and a prime object for questioning. The most forceful reason for rejecting the distinction is that it presupposes a problematic understanding of the subject-object divide whereby one tends to view humans as the sole source of normativity in the world. My dissertation aims to disclose the background against which human ethical praxis is …

V.1 2016-2017 Supplement, Center For Arts & Language, Students Of Risd, Risd Archives

All Student Newspapers

v.1 is a publishing platform for the ongoing work, ideas, discussions, debates, and aspirations of students at the Rhode Island School of Design. The 2016-2017 Supplement issue contains handwritten answers on post-its to the question "What feels urgent to you in your studio? In your life? In the world?" These post-its were written at a grad-student gathering on the day after the 2016 US Presidential election, scanned and printed as a zine the next day, and distributed at open studios the day after that.

Notices, Editorial Office

Contemporary Aesthetics (Journal Archive)

No abstract provided.