Form and Meaning

Question 1

What philosopher thought that reality was the product of a Universal Spirit (or ‘Geist’)?

Answer 1

Hegel

Question 2

What was Hegel’s concept of ‘Geist’?

Answer 2

Hegel felt that ‘Geist’ is a Universal Spirit and that reality is a product of the ‘Geist’

Question 3

What philosopher felt that there was an ideal blueprint for the world (when the Universal Spirit comes to full self-awareness).

Answer 3

Hegel

Question 4

Hegel said that historical changes are the way that the ‘Geist’ works towards ___________.

Answer 4

self-awareness / self-knowledge

Question 5

What are the three stages of Hegel’s dialectic?

Answer 5

Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis

Question 6

What philosopher used the ideas of Thesis, Antithesis, and synthesis to explain historical change?

Answer 6

Hegel

Question 7

What did Hegel feel about one person and their power to individually change history?

Answer 7

Hegel believed that historical change is the product of historical forces and that the individual has no real power to direct it. The individual is swept along in historical changes.

Question 8

Hegel had a name for the unique spirit of a time. For example, the spirit of the middle ages was different than the spirit of the Renaissance. What was his name for this unique spirit of the times?

Answer 8

Zeitgeist

Question 9

What is ‘Zeitgeist’ and what philosopher came up with the idea?

Answer 9

‘Zeitgeist’ was Hegel’s word for the unique spirit of the times.

Question 10

What were some of Hegel’s ideas about art and its relation to human mind and progress?

Answer 10

Hegel felt that Art was how the human mind made a portrait of itself. It expressed in visual format, how people thought about the world and their beliefs. Art shows how the mind tries to master the material world. Movements in artistic style are evidence of progress as the mind tries to come to self-knowledge.

Question 11

Why did Hegel say it was important to study events of the past (history)?

Answer 11

Since everything is an outcome of what came before, we can only understand present reality if we understand how it came to be. Hegel introduced the idea that the history of the world has a rational structure. To understand this structure, we must understand the dialectic of history.

Question 12

Photography was invented in 1839. What are some ways that this technology challenged traditional notions of art?

Answer 12

1. ) Painting for the sole purpose of imitating visual reality is not as necessary.
2. ) The ‘genius’ of the artist used to rely on their skill in imitating visual reality. Now anyone who could press a button could do it.
3. ) There can be several copies of a photograph, where there is only one painted original.
4. ) The camera actually saw some things (like how a horse runs) better than the artist.

Question 13

How did Japanese Prints influence European art in the 1850’s?

Answer 13

European artists were inspired by how artists like Hokusai referenced the real world without simply imitating it. They were excited by the Japanese artists’ use of pure design elements, angled views, flat pattern design, and bold cropping.

Question 14

How did capitalism and modernism influence modern art ideas?

Answer 14

In capitalism, riches went to the keen innovator of new products and production techniques. Modernism is characterized by rapid changes and advancements. The ideas of change and innovation are ones that artists will embrace and will encourage many artists to abandon the staid Official Academy training which told artists to all do the same thing – copy the masters.

Question 15

What artist is known as THE Impressionist?

Answer 15

Claude Monet

Question 16

What artistic style did Claude Monet ‘invent’?

Answer 16

Impressionism

Question 17

Multiple-choice: Impressionsm focuses on: A) historical subjects of battles and wars B) capturing the effects of changing light with dabs of painted color C) using line and dramatic shadows to show an object’s seeming permance in the world

Answer 17

B

Question 18

Schopenhauer agreed with Kant about the nature of time, space, and causal connections. What did they both believe about these three phenomena?

Answer 18

Schopenhauer and Kant both felt that time, space, and causal connections were human constructions and we cannot know that they actually exist. They are all just ways in which we make sense of data received by our apparatus.

Question 19

Did Schopenhauer believe that Human A is separate from Human B or that Human A, Human B, and everything that exists are all part of one entity?

Answer 19

Schopenhauer believed that all objects (including humans) are part of one entity. We see objects as being separate only because humans find it convenient to believe in things like space and time.

Question 20

What philosopher believed that all objects (including humans) are part of one entity; we see objects as being separate only because humans find it convenient to believe in things like space and time.

Answer 20

Schopenhauer

Question 21

What philosopher believed that the ‘will’ of the world is a mind-numbingly vast amount of energy without personality, intelligence, or purpose.

Answer 21

Schopenhauer

Question 22

Did Schopenhauer believe that the ‘will’ of the world was seeking self-knowledge of itself, or did he believe that the ‘will’ had no intelligence or purpose?

Answer 22

Schopenhauer believed the ‘will of the world had no intelligence or purpose.

Question 23

What philosopher believed that people are one with all else in the world and that this is the reason why we experience compassion and love.

Answer 23

Schopenhauer

Question 24

What did Schopenhauer say was the reason why humans experience compassion and love?

Answer 24

Schopenhauer believed that people are one with all else in the world and that this is the reason why we experience compassion and love.

Question 25

What philosopher argued that animal nature was appalling (creatures hunting down other creatures). He also argued that life was full of violence and injustice, that each life is a meaningless tragedy ending in death, and that, because we are perpetually unsatisfied, our existence is our source of suffering.

Answer 25

Schopenhauer

Question 26

What philosopher argued that we should hold the empirical world of no concern and that the end result of philosophical understanding is learning how to turn away the human will from the world.

Answer 26

Schopenhauer

Question 27

What did Shopenhauer believe about violence, injustice, meaning and suffering?

Answer 27

Schopenhauer argued that animal nature was appalling (creatures hunting down other creatures). He also argued that life was full of violence and injustice, that each life is a meaningless tragedy ending in death, and that, because we are perpetually unsatisfied, our existence is our source of suffering.

Question 28

Did Schopenhauer believe we should find practical ways of dealing with injustice in society, or that suffering was inevitable and the best we can do is to hold this world of no concern?

Answer 28

Schopenhauer believed that, because we are perpetually unsatisfied, our existence is our source of suffering. He believed we should hold the empirical world of no concern.

Question 29

What Eastern philosophy does Schopenhauer’s philosophy resemble.

Answer 29

Buddhism

Question 30

What belief about God did Schopenhauer and Nietzsche share?

Answer 30

Schopenhauer and Nietzsche both believed that there was no God and that we do not have immortal souls.

Question 31

How did Nietzsche’s attitude about the empircal world differ from Schopenhauer’s?

Answer 31

Nietzsche disagreed with Schopenhauer about how important the empirical world was. While Schopenhauer said it was of no importance and we should turn away our concerns from it, Nietzsche said we should not turn away from the empirical world because it is all that there is.

Question 32

What is the main question for Nietzsche and existentialism in general?

Answer 32

How do we get the best out of a godless, meaningless world?

Question 33

What was Nietzsche’s answer to the existential question?

Answer 33

Every person must find a life that is fulfilling on its own terms; a life that is worth living for its own sake (not for any outside rewards or meaning)

Question 34

Why did Nietzsche disagree with Christian values?

Answer 34

Nietzsche believed that Christian moral codes were made to protect the weak and therefore shackled mankind to mediocrity. He also felt that Christian values were ‘slave’ values because they endorse serving others and denying our own desires.

Question 35

What philosopher felt that every person must find a life that is fulfilling on its own terms; a life that is worth living for its own sake (not for any outside rewards or meaning)

Answer 35

Nietzsche

Question 36

What philosopher believed that Christian moral codes were made to protect the weak and therefore shackled mankind to mediocrity. He also felt that Christian values were ‘slave’ values because they endorse serving others and denying our own desires.

Answer 36

Nietzsche

Question 37

What is Nietzsche’s idea of a ‘superman’?

Answer 37

Nietzsche perceived a ‘superman’ as an individual who has developed their maximum potential; a ‘superman’ is a human that has done everything to get to immense personal strength and bravery.

Question 38

What philosopher felt that every individual should strive to develop their maximum potential; to do everything to get to immense personal strength and bravery.

Answer 38

Nietzsche

Question 39

Was Nietzsche a nationalist or an anti-semite?

Answer 39

No.

Question 40

What art movement is Kathe Kollwitz associated with?

Answer 40

Die Brucke (The Bridge)

Question 41

What art movement is Ernst Kirchner associated with?

Answer 41

Die Brucke (The Bridge)

Question 42

Which German art movement of the early 1900s had goals of protesting a decadent materialistic society while also desiring to express personal emotional intensity through the use of folk art techniques and woodcuts.

Answer 42

Die Brucke (The Bridge)

Question 43

What were some of the aims of Die Brucke (The Bridge)?

Answer 43

Die Brucke was an art movement of the early 1900s. It had goals of protesting a decadent materialistic society while also desiring to express personal emotional intensity through the use of folk art techniques and woodcuts.

Question 44

What German art movement of the early 1900s sought symbolic use of color and abstract forms to evoke emotions?

Answer 44

Der Bauer Reiter (The Blue Rider)

Question 45

What art movement is Wassily Kandinsky is associated with?

Answer 45

Der Bauer Reiter (The Blue Rider)

Question 46

Who was the leader and main theorist of Der Bauer Reiter (The Blue Rider) group?

Answer 46

Wassily Kandinsky

Question 47

What art movement set out to criticize and ridicule reason and established order by celebrating absurdity.

Answer 47

Dada

Question 48

What is ‘conceptual art’?

Answer 48

Conceptual art is when the concept/idea of the work is more important that the existance of the work itself.

Question 49

What is the descriptor used for art whose concept/idea is more important that the existance of the work itself.

Answer 49

Conceptual art

Question 50

What artist is famous for inventing ‘readymades’ and is associated with the Dada movement?

Answer 50

Marcel Duchamp

Question 51

What are some of the questions that Duchamp’s readymades bring up?

Answer 51

Duchamp’s readymades brought up questions such as: What is the difference between utilitarian commodities and aesthetic commodities? Does art have to be classifiable as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to be considered art? What is ‘art’? How do we know something is ‘art’? Who gets to determine what ‘art’ is? Can one make ‘works of art’ that were not any ‘work’ to make?

Question 52

What artist is credited with creating artworks that first bring up questions like: What is the difference between utilitarian commodities and aesthetic commodities? Does art have to be classifiable as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ to be considered art? What is ‘art’? How do we know something is ‘art’? Who gets to determine what ‘art’ is? Can one make ‘works of art’ that were not any ‘work’ to make?

Answer 52

Marcel Duchamp