![Picture](/uploads/3/8/0/5/38055837/8166252.jpg?273)
In posing philosophical questions about.. well.. anything, we must first learn how to think both critically and creatively. Chapter 6 of our text stresses this point. One area that really stood out to me was the author stating that students need to understand " that the focus of discussion is not on specific works of art or specific events or experiences; rather the focus is on general ideas about art or about understanding art." I feel that many times in our teaching of aesthetics, we often ask students, for example, to merely look at a piece and tell us what they see. Most students are not going to initially try to find a deeper meaning behind a work, but instead point out what they literally see or what it reminds them of. Many times I even catch myself looking at an art piece as one specific work rather than taking the time to look at the bigger picture. The book states that a much broader question may be more useful in helping students to achieve the right philosophical questions and understanding. For example, instead of relating a question to just one work, one could ask, "In what ways are all artworks special?" Interestingly enough, it cautions us to be careful about some questions and when they are asked. Posing a more difficult question to a student or having them pose a question to each other based on assumption could very well hinder their learning process. We must make sure that the proper research has been done to completely understand a question and make sure it's valid for the time before we ask it. The book also shows us several good examples of ways to help students develop their listening skills, support their statements in ways that make sense, and to consider the language they use to do so. Without effective communication, both student and teacher may become hard to understand, or their feelings and opinions may not be properly portrayed.
All in all, taking part in a good aesthetic discussion can help a student a lot in learning to think critically. I find the book stated the consequences of not doing so quite well. It reads, "Without the use of these skills, discussions can be confused and muddled." However, using the tools above can help a student to have a more thought provoking discussion for themselves and with their peers.
All in all, taking part in a good aesthetic discussion can help a student a lot in learning to think critically. I find the book stated the consequences of not doing so quite well. It reads, "Without the use of these skills, discussions can be confused and muddled." However, using the tools above can help a student to have a more thought provoking discussion for themselves and with their peers.